(AP) ā Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was hit by Russian shelling early Friday, sparking a fire at one of its six reactors and raising fears of a disaster that could affect all of central Europe for decades, like the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown.
Concerns faded after Ukrainian authorities announced that the fire had been extinguished, and while there was damage to the reactor compartment, the safety of the unit was not affected.
But even though the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is of a different design than Chernobyl and is protected from fire, nuclear safety experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency warn that waging war in and around such facilities presents extreme risks.
One major concern, raised by Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator, is that if fighting interrupts power supply to the nuclear plant, it would be forced to use less-reliable diesel generators to provide emergency power to operating cooling systems. A failure of those systems could lead to a disaster similar to that of Japan’s Fukushima plant, when a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed cooling systems, triggering meltdowns in three reactors.
The consequence of that, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, would be widespread and dire.
āIf there is an explosion, that’s the end for everyone. The end for Europe. The evacuation of Europe,ā he said in an emotional speech in the middle of the night, calling on nations to pressure Russia’s leadership to end the fighting near the plant.
āOnly urgent action by Europe can stop the Russian troops. Do not allow the death of Europe from a catastrophe at a nuclear power station.ā
[continues]
KGB agent Putin wanted to reinforce that he is willing to shoot off nukes by having the nuclear power plant blown up.Ā Just in case those saying “oh, he would never use nukes” try to convince the world otherwise.Ā Yes, he is as insane as SFB.Ā In case anyone forgot, the orange dump wanted to use a nuke to stop a hurricane, along with other crazy stuff.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Russia of nuclear terrorism after a fire burned for several hours at Ukraineās Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Subscribe to Guardian News on YouTube āŗ http://bit.ly/guardianwiressub The shelling of the nuclear plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, prompted widespread concern about the safety of Ukraineās atomic infrastructure. ‘We are warning everybody ā not a single state apart from Russia has ever shelled nuclear reactors,’ Zelenskiy said. ‘It is the first time in our history, in the history of humankind, that the terrorist state turned to nuclear terrorism’ Zelenskiy says āEurope must wake upā as Russian shelling sparks fire at Ukraine nuclear power plant āŗ https://www.theguardian.com/world/202…
In case anyone is looking for a bit of a diversion from idiocy I suggest Chunk the Groundhog.Ā Chunk and family, along with assorted other critters eat vegetables and sometimes burp in the microphone.Ā Something about a groundhog munching a carrot makes other issues of the day seem far away.
Lindsey tweets:
Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service.
[…]
The only people who can fix this are the Russian people. Easy to say, hard to do. Unless you want to live in darkness for the rest of your life, be isolated from the rest of the world in abject poverty, and live in darkness you need to step up to the plate.
[…]
According to aĀ reportĀ from Times of London, Zelenskyy sidestepped the attempts on his life after Russian individuals who oppose the war fed intelligence about the planned attacks to Ukrainian government officials.
“I can say that we have received information from [Russiaās Federal Security Service], who do not want to take part in this bloody war,” Ukraine Secretary of National Security and Defense said on Ukrainian television, according to the Times.
The report states that theĀ Wagner Group, a Russian backed paramilitary mercenary force, was behind two of the attempts which would presumably allow Russia to deny involvement if the group was successful in killing Zelenskyy.
“They would be going in there with a very high-profile mission, something that the Russians would want to be deniable ā a decapitation of a head of state is a huge mission,” a diplomatic source said in the report.
[continues]
[…]
The power plant’s six reactors remain intact, though the compartment auxiliary buildings for reactor unit 1 had been damaged, the SNRI said in its statement. Four of the remaining units are being cooled down while one unit is providing power, the statement said.
Separately, Ukraine’s nuclear power operator, Energoatom, said the “administrative building and the checkpoint at the station are under occupiers’ control.” It said staff are working on the power units to ensure their stable operation.
“Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded among the Ukrainian defenders of the station,” Energoatom added in a statement posted to Telegram.
The update came after Ukraine’s State Emergency Services (SES) had earlier confirmed several dozen firefighters had extinguished a blaze that had started in a training building outside the main reactor complex, following shelling from Russian military forces.
Reports of the fire raised concern from world leaders and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — who called for a stop to fighting around the facility — though the IAEA said Ukrainian authorities had reported background radiation levels were normal and the fire had not affected “essential” equipment
However the ongoing military operation around the site meant the situation was “very fragile,” IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned.
[continues]
I don’t think Russians understand the idiomatic expression “step up to the plate.”
Plate?Ā Ā What plate?Ā Ā and why would I step up to it?Ā Ā Is the plate empty or does it have food on it?Ā Americans are crazy.
The admiral on joe and mika says the Ukes are following the Kutuzov model.Ā Ā Stretching out supply lines, etc.
Last week was Putin being polite. Ā This week will be terrible, and no one will stop him
The only problem I see with the Admiral Stavridisā analogy is that the goal of first Napoleon and then Hitler was Moscow, which was deep in Russia and far from Supply sources. Kyiv is close to the tip of a 40 mile convoy that while poorly provisioned, its plight appears to be Russiaās armyās lack of planning and execution of supply chain provision from territory it controls that is not that far away. I expect weāll see that problem solved soon and Kyiv fighting heat up quickly.Ā I do think the strategic retreat approach is what Ukraine has as a best option to extend the fighting as it builds its strength to ultimately wear them down and start exacting damage rather than being ground down by the advancing Russians.
yeah, so, Russia has seized control of all southern coasts and has all major cities east of Odessa surrounded, Ukraineās fucked
India and China are continuing normal relations with Russia, so that will create an economic zone that will mitigate long-term effects of sanctions on Russia, theyāll take a short-term hit on quality-of-life, Putin will enforce compliance until then
(Bloomberg) — Swedes and Finns are increasingly in favor of joining the NATO defense bloc after Russiaās invasion of Ukraine, adding pressure on the countriesā leaders to change long-standing policies of military non-alignment.
Polls released in the two Nordic countries on Friday showed 51% of Swedes and 48% of Finns now back joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Itās the first time a Swedish majority favors the entry, while an earlier poll in Finland has also indicated majority support.Ā
Authorities have so far indicated no rush for the move that President Vladimir Putinās administration has warned would result in āmilitary and politicalā repercussions.
Finland has the European Unionās longest border with Russia at 1,300 kilometers (800 miles), while Swedenās island of Gotland is in a strategically important location in the Baltic Sea, not far from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Four Russian combat aircraft violated Swedish airspace east of Gotland on Wednesday, coinciding with a military exercise by Swedish and Finnish forces around the island.
In the last week, Finnish politicians have held a raft of meetings to discuss how to respond to Russiaās aggression against its neighbor, and on Friday, the nationās president, Sauli Niinisto, will visit President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C.
[continues]
We can eschew the no fly zone because it might set off the hot war,Ā but sooner or later putin will not need that for a provocation and will go further anyway, by invention of some other perceived provocation. Ā Not saying do the NFZ but stand by because putin means to go further than ukraine.Ā I’m sure our leaders are aware of this and are making chess moves related to that possibility.Ā At least I trust the Bideners, I just think it’s going to turn into a hotter and wider war.
Only someone within firing range of Vlad can stop this madnessā¦unless his generals agree with him.
I doubt that forcing him to watch the movie āWar Gamesā would make him realize nobody wins in a nuclear war. He is deranged.
Everyone in Europe needs to be prepared for Russia to breech their borders.
As the United States increasingly goes after some of the Kremlinās business tentacles, the latest person arrested for violating U.S. sanctions against Russia is a former Fox News director who left to launch a Russian propaganda network.
The Department of Justice on Thursday revealed that Jack Hanick was quietly arrested in London on Feb. 3 for dodging U.S. sanctions by helping a sanctioned Russian oligarch, Konstantin Malofeyev, start his right-wing Tsargrad TV.
Sturg, yes.Ā I can see NATO flights over and near the borders of the NATO countries that border Ukraine to the West and North as the Soviets Russians creep toward those borders.Ā I understand the potential for drifting into Ukrainian airspace and setting off a response, but I also see that as a necessary warning for Putie to stay the fuck east of Ukraine’s western border.Ā I agree that this will become a broader war, particularly as Putin engages in similar “special military exercises” in the former eastern bloc countries that abut NATO member countries.Ā Oh, and yes, hell, get Norway. Sweden and Finland into NATO as quickly as they request it.
More bad news outa Russia …………… I’ve been following this one for years .Ā
The Arctic Seafloor Is Degrading and Could Be a Climate Time Bomb
Up to a trillion tons of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, may be locked away in the decaying ocean floor of a vast Arctic continental shelf.
In fact, since the sanctions will be the only thing understandable and visible to the average russian….the only thing from outside government propaganda, that is;Ā the dictator will probably just use the sanctions as his required provocation.
Putin: The whole world, as usual, is out to slaughter the russian state.
ImagineĀ huge areas of the ocean boiling like Yellowstone , except it’s not heat beingĀ the driver , but methane coming to the surface.Ā
Then some Russian sailor comes along and lights his cigaretteĀ .Ā
Putin has built an LNG terminalĀ in this area to export their gas to Asia.Ā The Deep Water HorizonĀ blew up when their diesel enginesĀ sucked in all that methane coming out of the well bore.Ā
Hell at the top of the world.Ā
We are leaving for home todayā¦ a day early. Ā Rick has had enough skiing and itās much easier packing up without a morning deadline.
Personallyā¦ I have no idea how this will all endā¦ but I think advocating for WWIII is insane. Ā I think Biden is right to be patient. Ā
RR –
Drive safely , and yep there seems to a lot of insane running around these days.Ā
If Putin is going to start winning that’ll break my TV addiction of late. More interesting when he’s losing
What happened to predictions Russia could shut down utilities with cyber attacks? Instead they’re using guns and bombs.
Tom Nichols , an expert on all things Russia. has a piece in the Atlantic, a good read.Ā His main point is that given how badly Russia bungled the first week of this war it is going to get much worse and we need to be prepared for it mentally.
An important point
Indeed, one more reason not to let our emotions get the better of us is that the only way Putin can save himself from his own fiasco is to bait the West into an attack. Nothing would help him more, at home or abroad, than if the United States or any other NATO country were to enter direct hostilities with Russian forces. Putin would then use the conflict to rally his people and threaten conventional and nuclear attacks against NATO. He would become a hero at home, and Ukraine would be forgotten.
Craig
there have been a lot of predictions by armchair warrior/pundits that have been way off the mark. But that won’t stop them from drawing a check for the wrong opinions.
Jack
But Jack, the Pentagon was also making those predictions
I wonder whether the predictions about Russia’s cyber capabilities were based on prior attacks from official Russian cyber warriors or from the Russian criminal groups that have launched cyber attacks — or whether there is any distinction. I’d like to know hat our cyber capabilities are for fucking with Russian systems, but since I have no clearance for anything above what is posted online and available to any old jamoke, I suspect I’ll know only to the extent any such stuff is posted by the press. But I bet it is much more than I imagine.
They pay the folks at the pentagon to be paranoid and not tell all they know.
BTW my favorite bit of misinformation is tidbit that the assassination plot against Zelensky was stopped because a group in the Russian Federal security services tipped Ukraine about the plot. Obviously designed to get under the skin of a certain paranoid dictator. Ā
Jack
Pogo, also a lack of understanding of how the Ukraine power grid is designed. You can’t hack a switch that has to be flipped by hand.
Jack
Pissin’ in the wind. A wind map of Ukraine region it looks like if the Russians had destroyed that nuclear power plant last night the fallout would have blown back over southern Russia.
Jack
Jack in re the atlantic piece……if the west attacks it’s right up his alley etc……that’s what I’m getting at, that even if he’s not attacked he’s going to maybe search out and come up with “The Provocation”, because he HAS to.Ā Ā Right now he’s at the mercy of the Great God: Necessity.
One other thing, ya know the pentagon is a big place, Who in the pentagon, did they know what they were talking about or did they just impress a cub reporter who wrote up the story that had good sensational headlines just fit for drivingĀ clicks and eyeballs.
Jack
Jerry Jeff…..one of the best NY cowboys they ever made…….:)
I used to identify with the kid, but nowadaysā¦ā¦just sayinā
Pissin’ in the Wind was one of my favorite JJW songs – make that my favorite, well, except for Mr. Bojangles of course. And lest I forget, Night Rider’s Lament was a good one, too. Served as the basis for a rip off version cooked up by Dowser that we used to sing when I was sailing up and down the Maine coast as an OB instructor at Hurricane Island Outward Bound School called Watch Officer’s lament – referring to stuff and places up and down the coast of Maine.
Jack, I’d hope that a power grid that includes the largest nuclear plant in Europe doesn’t rely on switches flipped by hand, but of course that would prevent hacking.
Sturg, I wasn’t aware of Jerry Jeff’s early 70s cowboy conversion – I always assumed he was from Texas – other than Bojangles I first heard of him when Ridin’ High came out. Picked it up on a recommendation from a buddy who wore cowboy boots, and I’m sure he had no idea he was actually a guy named Ronald Clyde Crosby from Oneonta, NY before hanging with Waylon and Willie and the boys (& Townes, of course).Ā Ā
Sturge
He is certainly going to look for a reason but we don’t have to make it easy for him.
I suspect, seeing some of the damage that is happening to Russian armor that we are already involved more than we want to admit. It may be with “contractor/volunteers”.
Also,Ā this oped in the WaPo points out NATO has been in helping train Ukraine forces for some time.
The setup of regional forces, mentioned in the article, will make it much harder for Russia’s forces to take all of Ukraine.
He kept the syllables the same in his nom de plume and the real moniker…..he must have liked the beat of it….my own full name gots the same beats…..funny dat.Ā Ā dah di dah, dah dah.Ā Ā wonder if that’s a letter in morse.Ā Ā Ā
aha…….K M
Pogo, given that much of it is ancient Soviet design from back when computers with the power of your phone filled a room, I wouldn’t be surprised at anything.
Except for maybe that they are all hooked up in modern hackable form.
Jack
I always get amused with Jerry jeff, how a boy from upstate NY can out Texas the Texans.
Jack
Jack I hope our gov has the goods for this because I think that right now this whole damn shooting match is balanced on the edge.Ā Ā i e.Ā Ā atĀ this point it could go either damn way, more than at any time i ever spent in the 50’s and 60’s dodging, being scared shitless, and climbing under desks and such.
I’m lucky to have finally decided “the hell with it, Let ‘er blow” at a very young age.
I think it took a New Yawkah to write Mr Bojangles….I don’t think a texan, or any other southerner could have ever touched that perfection.
Like it took a New Yorker to invent Al Jolson.
Sturge,
can’t disagree and I suspect that most of Europe shares your fear, which is why all of Europe has signed on to sanctions, Even Switzerland.Ā
I just glad that Putin waited until Biden got his team in place.Ā
Thank God the former bozo and his team of lightweights and idiots aren’t in charge.
Jack
“Mr. Bojangles” was written by Grammy-nominated country music artist and American icon from Austin,Ā Texas,Ā Jerry Jeff WalkerĀ for his 1968 album of the same name. It’s been covered by multiple artists, includingĀ Bob Dylan,Ā John Denver,Ā Nina Simone, Whitney Houston,Ā Neil Diamond, Sammy Davis Jr. and theĀ Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, whose 1970 cover rose to number nine in the 1971Ā BillboardĀ top 100 charts. The covers have been as diverse as they have been impressive.
Who was the original “Mr. Bojangles” who inspired Walker to write this well-known country music song? Believe it or not, it was based on a homeless man he met in aĀ New OrleansĀ jail. The man referred to himself as “Mr. Bojangles” and regaled Walker with various stories about his life. While in the cell, Mr. Bojangles talked about his dog who had died. When one of the other men requested for someone to cheer everyone up, “Mr. Bojangles” hopped up and performed a tap dance.
The nickname likely originated with the tap dancer and performer, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. You might recognize him from some classic 1930s Hollywood films, such as Shirley Temple’s Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. His success led to many street performers being called “Bojangles,” which inspired Walker’s jail cell buddy’s alias (mostly to keep his true name under wraps from the cops). With the background on that legendary, timeless name in mind, Jerry Jeff Walker’s song takes on a whole new meaning and brings that character to life. It’s a fitting character for someone nicknamed “The Gypsy Songman” to write about, we might add. The tune has left an indelible print on American country music and the outlaw movement out of Nashville that Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson started.
If you’dĀ written a song that got that much applause it’d make you bust ya damn buttons……
“Write what you know.”
And to write it as a waltz. Hot dang, y’all…..good move, Dude.
BBC pulled all of their reporters out of Russia in response to new law jailing reporters who truthfully report war https://t.co/S00VOaRxfp
As it turned out, being thrown into a New Orleans jail was the best thing to ever happen to JJW.Ā A simple twist of fate.Ā Nothin’ good ever happened to me in jail……Nothin’ i’m tellin ya.Ā I got bupkis.
Except for maybe that kid in the Conway, SC jail outside Myrtle Beach……that was funny. But not much of a song.
Sometimes funny’ll just have to do.
Boris Johnson is a big winner in the conflict: in a week he went from almost losing a vote of no-confidence to getting to play Churchill like many claim heās always dreamedĀ
Boris Johnson really pissed me off when I found out he wasn’t a stupid lout after seeing him in a debate with Mary Beard.Ā Ā That was depressing.
Ms Beard won the debate, by the way.
ā¦he a moderately-intelligent lout
haha…..and the moral is don’t even dare to fuck with ms mary beard.
She cleaned his clock, and I remember even thinking I mostly adhered to the side of the debate which he drew prior to seeing the debate. It was Greek vs Rome but i don’t remember who had which and what the which was. Probably something totally irrelevant.
When did you last go and see a tragedy by Seneca??
–Boris Johnson
imus.comĀ Ā Ā
A nice page for those with long memories.
The russian potato has overplayed his hand.
In 404 BC, Alcibiades, exiled in the Achaemenid Empire province of Hellespontine Phrygia, wasĀ assassinated by Persian soldiers, who may have been following the orders of Satrap Pharnabazus II, at the instigation of Sparta.
You asked about chess, Sturge- well, Putin gave western Europe a choice: stand up for democracy, or heat their homes in the middle of a cold European winter.
Russians have no motivation to overthrow a leader that is stymying the West at every turn. Ā The EU is scared shitless, right now, as they donāt have the luxury of an ocean between them and him
If Alcibiades hadn’t had his rogues break the peckers off all those gate statues all over Athens…….gosh, who knows what kind of people we might have become?
Itās like the Denver Broncos asking the New England Patriots to cut Tom Brady because heās too good at football
Anyone that can afford a $600 million boat can just get another $600 million boat
Yes, they can do that, but they can’t just go out and find another Homer should he die.
if thatās our best hope weāre all fucked
āViolence is the last refuge of the incompetentā -Isaac Asimov
Alright, looks like i picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glueāļøšŗš¦
Yeah, we’re pretty much all fucked, all right……pretty weird given how smart we are.
It’sĀ kinda neat how all those surviving Greek plays are pretty much all about how fucked we all are.
I sniffed glue one time……sixty eight…….it was like the rage of the news and very cheap at the px……me and this kid from Detroit got some glue and some cough syrup and made a night of it in the barracks there in Memphis.
Everything smelled like glue for 3 days.
Ok, i had a nice dinner, back to the slaughter. Ā If Ukrainians are going to fight and die for my freedom, the least i can do is pay attentionš
I was too much of a wuss to sniff glue. Had a buddy who huffed gasoline and it fucked him up good. Had a Honda 65 and he just cracked the gas cap and inhaled. I stuck with beer back then. Didnāt get into inhaling stuff until college, and then it was pot. I always looked at milk as my gateway drug to beer then pot, then ā¦ on and on but truth be told I was a lightweight among my drug using friends. I was the guy theyād get to drive – I could find my keys and keep it between the lines.Ā
Like, if we allow Putin to wield the nuclear threat like a cudgel, he just takes over the whole world, allĀ of the European continent at the least. Ā We have to defeat him there, and then destroy all of the worldās nuclear arms
ā¦if we are to survive AS A SPECIES
He was asked by reporters if he is afraid of dying in the war. “I’m an alive person, like any human being,” he said. “And if a person is not afraid of losing his life, or the lives of his children, there is something unwell about that person.”
As president, he added, “I simply do not have the right” to be afraid.
-Zelenskyy (translated)
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EXPLAINER: How dangerous was Russia’s nuclear plant strike? (msn.com)
KGB agent Putin wanted to reinforce that he is willing to shoot off nukes by having the nuclear power plant blown up.Ā Just in case those saying “oh, he would never use nukes” try to convince the world otherwise.Ā Yes, he is as insane as SFB.Ā In case anyone forgot, the orange dump wanted to use a nuke to stop a hurricane, along with other crazy stuff.
In case anyone is looking for a bit of a diversion from idiocy I suggest Chunk the Groundhog.Ā Chunk and family, along with assorted other critters eat vegetables and sometimes burp in the microphone.Ā Something about a groundhog munching a carrot makes other issues of the day seem far away.
Lindsey tweets:
Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service.
[…]
The only people who can fix this are the Russian people. Easy to say, hard to do. Unless you want to live in darkness for the rest of your life, be isolated from the rest of the world in abject poverty, and live in darkness you need to step up to the plate.
Laura Ingraham Calls Lindsey Graham’s Putin Assassination Remarks ‘Stupid’ (newsweek.com)
speaking of the unspeakable:
Ukranian President Zelenskyy avoided 3 assassination attempts since Russia invasion: report | Fox News
Ukrainian nuclear power plant fire extinguished as Russian troops ‘occupy’ facility (msn.com)
I don’t think Russians understand the idiomatic expression “step up to the plate.”
Plate?Ā Ā What plate?Ā Ā and why would I step up to it?Ā Ā Is the plate empty or does it have food on it?Ā Americans are crazy.
The admiral on joe and mika says the Ukes are following the Kutuzov model.Ā Ā Stretching out supply lines, etc.
Last week was Putin being polite. Ā This week will be terrible, and no one will stop him
The only problem I see with the Admiral Stavridisā analogy is that the goal of first Napoleon and then Hitler was Moscow, which was deep in Russia and far from Supply sources. Kyiv is close to the tip of a 40 mile convoy that while poorly provisioned, its plight appears to be Russiaās armyās lack of planning and execution of supply chain provision from territory it controls that is not that far away. I expect weāll see that problem solved soon and Kyiv fighting heat up quickly.Ā I do think the strategic retreat approach is what Ukraine has as a best option to extend the fighting as it builds its strength to ultimately wear them down and start exacting damage rather than being ground down by the advancing Russians.
yeah, so, Russia has seized control of all southern coasts and has all major cities east of Odessa surrounded, Ukraineās fucked
India and China are continuing normal relations with Russia, so that will create an economic zone that will mitigate long-term effects of sanctions on Russia, theyāll take a short-term hit on quality-of-life, Putin will enforce compliance until then
Swedes, Finns Favor NATO Entry in Shift After Ukraine War (msn.com)
We can eschew the no fly zone because it might set off the hot war,Ā but sooner or later putin will not need that for a provocation and will go further anyway, by invention of some other perceived provocation. Ā Not saying do the NFZ but stand by because putin means to go further than ukraine.Ā I’m sure our leaders are aware of this and are making chess moves related to that possibility.Ā At least I trust the Bideners, I just think it’s going to turn into a hotter and wider war.
Only someone within firing range of Vlad can stop this madnessā¦unless his generals agree with him.
I doubt that forcing him to watch the movie āWar Gamesā would make him realize nobody wins in a nuclear war. He is deranged.
Everyone in Europe needs to be prepared for Russia to breech their borders.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/former-fox-news-producter-for-sean-hannity-jack-hanick-indicted-for-helping-russia
Sturg, yes.Ā I can see NATO flights over and near the borders of the NATO countries that border Ukraine to the West and North as the
SovietsRussians creep toward those borders.Ā I understand the potential for drifting into Ukrainian airspace and setting off a response, but I also see that as a necessary warning for Putie to stay the fuck east of Ukraine’s western border.Ā I agree that this will become a broader war, particularly as Putin engages in similar “special military exercises” in the former eastern bloc countries that abut NATO member countries.Ā Oh, and yes, hell, get Norway. Sweden and Finland into NATO as quickly as they request it.More bad news outa Russia …………… I’ve been following this one for years .Ā
Ā
We’re talking about an area the size of Mexico.Ā
In fact, since the sanctions will be the only thing understandable and visible to the average russian….the only thing from outside government propaganda, that is;Ā the dictator will probably just use the sanctions as his required provocation.
Putin: The whole world, as usual, is out to slaughter the russian state.
ImagineĀ huge areas of the ocean boiling like Yellowstone , except it’s not heat beingĀ the driver , but methane coming to the surface.Ā
Then some Russian sailor comes along and lights his cigaretteĀ .Ā
Putin has built an LNG terminalĀ in this area to export their gas to Asia.Ā The Deep Water HorizonĀ blew up when their diesel enginesĀ sucked in all that methane coming out of the well bore.Ā
Hell at the top of the world.Ā
We are leaving for home todayā¦ a day early. Ā Rick has had enough skiing and itās much easier packing up without a morning deadline.
Personallyā¦ I have no idea how this will all endā¦ but I think advocating for WWIII is insane. Ā I think Biden is right to be patient. Ā
RR –
Drive safely , and yep there seems to a lot of insane running around these days.Ā
If Putin is going to start winning that’ll break my TV addiction of late. More interesting when he’s losing
What happened to predictions Russia could shut down utilities with cyber attacks? Instead they’re using guns and bombs.
Tom Nichols , an expert on all things Russia. has a piece in the Atlantic, a good read.Ā His main point is that given how badly Russia bungled the first week of this war it is going to get much worse and we need to be prepared for it mentally.
An important point
Craig
there have been a lot of predictions by armchair warrior/pundits that have been way off the mark. But that won’t stop them from drawing a check for the wrong opinions.
Jack
But Jack, the Pentagon was also making those predictions
I wonder whether the predictions about Russia’s cyber capabilities were based on prior attacks from official Russian cyber warriors or from the Russian criminal groups that have launched cyber attacks — or whether there is any distinction. I’d like to know hat our cyber capabilities are for fucking with Russian systems, but since I have no clearance for anything above what is posted online and available to any old jamoke, I suspect I’ll know only to the extent any such stuff is posted by the press. But I bet it is much more than I imagine.
They pay the folks at the pentagon to be paranoid and not tell all they know.
BTW my favorite bit of misinformation is tidbit that the assassination plot against Zelensky was stopped because a group in the Russian Federal security services tipped Ukraine about the plot. Obviously designed to get under the skin of a certain paranoid dictator. Ā
Jack
Pogo, also a lack of understanding of how the Ukraine power grid is designed. You can’t hack a switch that has to be flipped by hand.
Jack
Pissin’ in the wind.
A wind map of Ukraine region it looks like if the Russians had destroyed that nuclear power plant last night the fallout would have blown back over southern Russia.
Jack
Jack in re the atlantic piece……if the west attacks it’s right up his alley etc……that’s what I’m getting at, that even if he’s not attacked he’s going to maybe search out and come up with “The Provocation”, because he HAS to.Ā Ā Right now he’s at the mercy of the Great God: Necessity.
One other thing, ya know the pentagon is a big place, Who in the pentagon, did they know what they were talking about or did they just impress a cub reporter who wrote up the story that had good sensational headlines just fit for drivingĀ clicks and eyeballs.
Jack
Jerry Jeff…..one of the best NY cowboys they ever made…….:)
I used to identify with the kid, but nowadaysā¦ā¦just sayinā
Pissin’ in the Wind was one of my favorite JJW songs – make that my favorite, well, except for Mr. Bojangles of course. And lest I forget, Night Rider’s Lament was a good one, too. Served as the basis for a rip off version cooked up by Dowser that we used to sing when I was sailing up and down the Maine coast as an OB instructor at Hurricane Island Outward Bound School called Watch Officer’s lament – referring to stuff and places up and down the coast of Maine.
Jack, I’d hope that a power grid that includes the largest nuclear plant in Europe doesn’t rely on switches flipped by hand, but of course that would prevent hacking.
Sturg, I wasn’t aware of Jerry Jeff’s early 70s cowboy conversion – I always assumed he was from Texas – other than Bojangles I first heard of him when Ridin’ High came out. Picked it up on a recommendation from a buddy who wore cowboy boots, and I’m sure he had no idea he was actually a guy named Ronald Clyde Crosby from Oneonta, NY before hanging with Waylon and Willie and the boys (& Townes, of course).Ā Ā
Sturge
He is certainly going to look for a reason but we don’t have to make it easy for him.
I suspect, seeing some of the damage that is happening to Russian armor that we are already involved more than we want to admit. It may be with “contractor/volunteers”.
Also,Ā this oped in the WaPo points out NATO has been in helping train Ukraine forces for some time.
The setup of regional forces, mentioned in the article, will make it much harder for Russia’s forces to take all of Ukraine.
He kept the syllables the same in his nom de plume and the real moniker…..he must have liked the beat of it….my own full name gots the same beats…..funny dat.Ā Ā dah di dah, dah dah.Ā Ā wonder if that’s a letter in morse.Ā Ā Ā
aha…….K M
Pogo, given that much of it is ancient Soviet design from back when computers with the power of your phone filled a room, I wouldn’t be surprised at anything.
Except for maybe that they are all hooked up in modern hackable form.
Jack
I always get amused with Jerry jeff, how a boy from upstate NY can out Texas the Texans.
Jack
Jack I hope our gov has the goods for this because I think that right now this whole damn shooting match is balanced on the edge.Ā Ā i e.Ā Ā atĀ this point it could go either damn way, more than at any time i ever spent in the 50’s and 60’s dodging, being scared shitless, and climbing under desks and such.
I’m lucky to have finally decided “the hell with it, Let ‘er blow” at a very young age.
I think it took a New Yawkah to write Mr Bojangles….I don’t think a texan, or any other southerner could have ever touched that perfection.
Like it took a New Yorker to invent Al Jolson.
Sturge,
can’t disagree and I suspect that most of Europe shares your fear, which is why all of Europe has signed on to sanctions, Even Switzerland.Ā
I just glad that Putin waited until Biden got his team in place.Ā
Thank God the former bozo and his team of lightweights and idiots aren’t in charge.
Jack
Kind of a reverse-Jolson
‘Mr. Bojangles’: The Story Behind the Song (wideopencountry.com)
“Mr. Bojangles” was written by Grammy-nominated country music artist and American icon from Austin,Ā Texas,Ā Jerry Jeff WalkerĀ for his 1968 album of the same name. It’s been covered by multiple artists, includingĀ Bob Dylan,Ā John Denver,Ā Nina Simone, Whitney Houston,Ā Neil Diamond, Sammy Davis Jr. and theĀ Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, whose 1970 cover rose to number nine in the 1971Ā BillboardĀ top 100 charts. The covers have been as diverse as they have been impressive.
Who was the original “Mr. Bojangles” who inspired Walker to write this well-known country music song? Believe it or not, it was based on a homeless man he met in aĀ New OrleansĀ jail. The man referred to himself as “Mr. Bojangles” and regaled Walker with various stories about his life. While in the cell, Mr. Bojangles talked about his dog who had died. When one of the other men requested for someone to cheer everyone up, “Mr. Bojangles” hopped up and performed a tap dance.
The nickname likely originated with the tap dancer and performer, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. You might recognize him from some classic 1930s Hollywood films, such as Shirley Temple’s Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. His success led to many street performers being called “Bojangles,” which inspired Walker’s jail cell buddy’s alias (mostly to keep his true name under wraps from the cops). With the background on that legendary, timeless name in mind, Jerry Jeff Walker’s song takes on a whole new meaning and brings that character to life. It’s a fitting character for someone nicknamed “The Gypsy Songman” to write about, we might add. The tune has left an indelible print on American country music and the outlaw movement out of Nashville that Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson started.
If you’dĀ written a song that got that much applause it’d make you bust ya damn buttons……
“Write what you know.”
And to write it as a waltz. Hot dang, y’all…..good move, Dude.
BBC pulled all of their reporters out of Russia in response to new law jailing reporters who truthfully report war https://t.co/S00VOaRxfp
As it turned out, being thrown into a New Orleans jail was the best thing to ever happen to JJW.Ā A simple twist of fate.Ā Nothin’ good ever happened to me in jail……Nothin’ i’m tellin ya.Ā I got bupkis.
Except for maybe that kid in the Conway, SC jail outside Myrtle Beach……that was funny. But not much of a song.
Sometimes funny’ll just have to do.
Boris Johnson is a big winner in the conflict: in a week he went from almost losing a vote of no-confidence to getting to play Churchill like many claim heās always dreamedĀ
Boris Johnson really pissed me off when I found out he wasn’t a stupid lout after seeing him in a debate with Mary Beard.Ā Ā That was depressing.
Ms Beard won the debate, by the way.
ā¦he a moderately-intelligent lout
haha…..and the moral is don’t even dare to fuck with ms mary beard.
She cleaned his clock, and I remember even thinking I mostly adhered to the side of the debate which he drew prior to seeing the debate. It was Greek vs Rome but i don’t remember who had which and what the which was. Probably something totally irrelevant.
When did you last go and see a tragedy by Seneca??
–Boris Johnson
imus.comĀ Ā Ā
A nice page for those with long memories.
The russian potato has overplayed his hand.
In 404 BC, Alcibiades, exiled in the Achaemenid Empire province of Hellespontine Phrygia, wasĀ assassinated by Persian soldiers, who may have been following the orders of Satrap Pharnabazus II, at the instigation of Sparta.
You asked about chess, Sturge- well, Putin gave western Europe a choice: stand up for democracy, or heat their homes in the middle of a cold European winter.
Russians have no motivation to overthrow a leader that is stymying the West at every turn. Ā The EU is scared shitless, right now, as they donāt have the luxury of an ocean between them and him
If Alcibiades hadn’t had his rogues break the peckers off all those gate statues all over Athens…….gosh, who knows what kind of people we might have become?
Itās like the Denver Broncos asking the New England Patriots to cut Tom Brady because heās too good at football
Anyone that can afford a $600 million boat can just get another $600 million boat
Yes, they can do that, but they can’t just go out and find another Homer should he die.
if thatās our best hope weāre all fucked
āViolence is the last refuge of the incompetentā -Isaac Asimov
Alright, looks like i picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glueāļøšŗš¦
Yeah, we’re pretty much all fucked, all right……pretty weird given how smart we are.
It’sĀ kinda neat how all those surviving Greek plays are pretty much all about how fucked we all are.
I sniffed glue one time……sixty eight…….it was like the rage of the news and very cheap at the px……me and this kid from Detroit got some glue and some cough syrup and made a night of it in the barracks there in Memphis.
Everything smelled like glue for 3 days.
Ok, i had a nice dinner, back to the slaughter. Ā If Ukrainians are going to fight and die for my freedom, the least i can do is pay attentionš
I was too much of a wuss to sniff glue. Had a buddy who huffed gasoline and it fucked him up good. Had a Honda 65 and he just cracked the gas cap and inhaled. I stuck with beer back then. Didnāt get into inhaling stuff until college, and then it was pot. I always looked at milk as my gateway drug to beer then pot, then ā¦ on and on but truth be told I was a lightweight among my drug using friends. I was the guy theyād get to drive – I could find my keys and keep it between the lines.Ā
Like, if we allow Putin to wield the nuclear threat like a cudgel, he just takes over the whole world, allĀ of the European continent at the least. Ā We have to defeat him there, and then destroy all of the worldās nuclear arms
ā¦if we are to survive AS A SPECIES
-Zelenskyy (translated)
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