Historical European borders for the past 2400 years, a great sound track too…
https://youtu.be/UY9P0QSxlnI
Interesting to see the “blip” that is modern Ukraine.
It also makes total fools of those who proclaimed “the end of history” after the Berlin Wall came down.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Mar 13 2022 20:43 utc | 103

@ Peter AU1 | Mar 13 2022 20:37 utc | 100
that’s fine! i don’t think of it as superstition myself, but i’m also not interested in trying to change anyone’s mind about any of this either..
@ Unnamed … pardon me for simplifying your ongoing viewpoint here… re the 300 billion.. “basically putin is an idiot and anyone who supports him is an idiot”.. do i have that right?

Posted by: james | Mar 13 2022 20:51 utc | 105

So…. Zelensky publishes a video of himself, supposedly visiting a hospital today. Only problem is that he is accompanied in the video by a woman who died 26. February! Is he trying to prove everything is fake and he perhaps has left Ukraine?
https://t.me/intelslava/22261

Zelensky published a video in which he allegedly visited a hospital with wounded soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine today.
But on the footage, a physician, Inna Derusova, was seen, who died on February 26. The death of the woman was confirmed by her relatives. Then Zelensky himself awarded her the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously.
It turns out that the published video of the meeting of the President of Ukraine with wounded soldiers on March 13 is a fake. The video was recorded back in February, before the death of Inna Derusova.
Earlier, many media outlets wrote that Zelensky left Ukraine a long time ago, and all videos with him and recordings allegedly from Kyiv were made in advance.

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 13 2022 20:59 utc | 107

Norwegian | Mar 13 2022 20:39 utc | 102
i’m not misstating your oft repeated positions on global warming or the coronavirus. fake, fake and fake. didn’t somebody point out to you earlier how many people died from heat in British Columbia this last summer?

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 13 2022 21:19 utc | 109

psychohistorian | Mar 13 2022 20:14 utc | 90
Will the Plato’s Cave Display breathers come out and engage with other than top/bottom aka God of Mammon humans?
Plato knew that what people call “money” and use as a store of value is a mere trick of the light. Gold is valuable because of its beauty, nothing else, certainly not because it is “rare”. what is the value of the animal who can be tricked by such childish things? they become slaves over it, and worse. they bring forth fire from the earth.
Job 28 NRSV
Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold to be refined.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Miners put an end to darkness,
and search out to the farthest bound
the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
4 They open shafts in a valley away from human habitation;
they are forgotten by travelers,
they sway suspended, remote from people.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread;
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of sapphires,
and its dust contains gold.
7 “That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
8 The proud wild animals have not trodden it;
the lion has not passed over it.
9 “They put their hand to the flinty rock,
and overturn mountains by the roots.
10 They cut out channels in the rocks,
and their eyes see every precious thing.
11 The sources of the rivers they probe;
hidden things they bring to light.
12 “But where shall wisdom be found? etc

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 13 2022 21:35 utc | 111

Yemen…. dream on….
https://t.me/rogers_kitchen/3694

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 13 2022 21:38 utc | 113

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 13 2022 20:34 utc | 97
Probably IA speech, nothing to worry about …

Posted by: Greg Galloway | Mar 13 2022 21:46 utc | 115

Stonebird | Mar 13 2022 21:08 utc | 108
I have quite a bit of respect for you, james and many others here who at times I may disagree with. I await the future. In the meantime there is an annoying little yapping dog next door that may provide a source of tucker. There are also many cats in the neighborhood. I dunno about meals on wheels but there are plenty of meals on legs.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 13 2022 21:52 utc | 117

Here’s an item on soaring nickel prices, but no mention of market rigging and such. We’ll know if it’s as bad as it seems if the US Treasury stops minting the nickel coin, which is now worth more than the dollar coin metallically.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 13 2022 22:06 utc | 119

Russian ambassador cancelled at Australia’s National Press Club. Disturbing comparisons and implications for free speech.
https://johnmenadue.com/what-has-gone-wrong-with-australian-journalisms-commitment-to-free-speech/

Posted by: Paul | Mar 13 2022 22:15 utc | 121

This looks realistic –
US ‘journalist’ killed in Irpin

Posted by: ted001 | Mar 13 2022 22:19 utc | 123

how do you respond to someone who says, “but there are 5 times as many Nazis in Russia as in Ukraine”? This was part of counterpunch editor J St Claire’s reply, to an email I wrote to him about his chest thumping that if he were in Kiev, he’d be rolling flaming tires toward Rooskie tanks. (my opinions mean less than my money, so a threat not to support and to advise others not to support CP is not that much of a threat.)
I quote: “There are about 5 x as many Nazis in Russia as Ukraine.”
so Putin is our Franco and Hitler wannabe? but J St C claims he is arguing for a ceasefire? contradict self much? if what he says is true, many a person might feel duty-bound to oppose the latest Hitler. the recruitment of “volunteer” soldiers, seems rather justified in his view, rather that what is: a blatant war crime?
again, as I said to him, we are talking about the same people who, as i type, are recruiting the most vile trash to fight in Ukraine, as they did in Syria, Afghanistan, etc., etc..
Russia is not doing that.
but there are 5 times as many nazis in Russia as Ukraine…vomit.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 13 2022 22:27 utc | 125

Posted by: Kim | Mar 13 2022 17:15 utc | 34
“…New York Times correspondent press card.”
According to the New York Times he last worked there in 2015.
NYT = credibility.

Posted by: ted001 | Mar 13 2022 22:36 utc | 127

karlof1 | Mar 13 2022 22:00 utc | 118
In Antalya, march 10, Lavrov hasn’t changed his mind:
“ As for our proposals made on December 15, 2021, they were extremely serious. These are proposals to build a security system, and not some new system, but to put into practice what has been agreed more than once at the highest political level, including the OSCE summits in Istanbul in 1999 and in Astana in 2010, where it is written in black and white that each country has the right to choose its alliances, but no one has the right to strengthen his own security at the expense of the security of others. This formula was agreed in the complex. This was the pinnacle of diplomacy. It was a decision signed by the leaders of Russia and our neighbors, and (pardon the indiscretion) of the free world. No state, group of countries, organization in the European space has the right to claim a dominant role, as NATO is doing now in flagrant violation of all the obligations of its member states. “
https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1803752/

Posted by: FZappa | Mar 13 2022 22:43 utc | 129

rjb1.5 | Mar 13 2022 22:44 utc | 130
sorry, meant to conclude that because peeps like those of the SEP at wsws.org refuse to look at the conflict from the perspective of “boots on the ground,” they have nothing to say about the conflict. their perspective is pure idealism, so it’s irrelevant. “build the international working class” in theory sounds great, but there are particular parties doing certain things on the ground in combat.
“build the international working class” in this context is the equivalent of saying, “do nothing.”

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 13 2022 22:53 utc | 131

Comments? Criticisms? Expansions? Corrections?
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 13 2022 17:31 utc | 40
To split Ukraine like Yugoslavia was split. Russian speaking oblasts forming several new States like the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics. Or for instance a New Russian State.
All this after demilitarisation and denazification.

Posted by: Olivier | Mar 13 2022 22:55 utc | 133

@118 Cont’d–
I see that Sergei Ryabkov in this report by Vzglyad made this statement that was published by RIA Novosti at its Telegram channel:
“I would not say that Russia’s proposals for security guarantees remain fully in force, the situation has changed.”
That’s all I could find. There’s nothing at the MFA’s website about such a change. At the most recent Security Council meeting, Shoigu’s report’s most important point was the massing of NATO forces on borders close to Russia and the need to offset them with Russian forces. Ryabkov apparently gave an interview on the 12th to TV channel 1 in which he made that statement along with many others; but as I said, there’s no transcript at the MFA.
As I’ve noted, the big problem is rolling NATO back to its 1997 status, which as things now stand would probably mean war as NATO’s boss wants the confrontation to continue.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 13 2022 22:59 utc | 135

More Nazi paraphernalia found, this time at a base of the Ukrainian 81st Airmobile Brigade in Izyum: photos.

Posted by: S | Mar 13 2022 23:06 utc | 137

FZappa @129–
Thanks for your reply! I documented the presser at Antalya here. NATO better beware or it’ll get caught up in a massive cauldron where it has zero air superiority, logistical support, or ability to retreat.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 13 2022 23:09 utc | 139

@120 Ian Kummer
“What’s happening right now is the single most horrifying thing I have ever seen.”
Welcome to reality as seen from most of the world for the last 75 years

Posted by: ptb | Mar 13 2022 23:16 utc | 141

rjb1.5 | Mar 13 2022 19:52 utc | 79
There cannot exist Your Highnesses without there being lots of Your Lownesses.
re “…and so we have all been deeply educated and encultured to believe and to practice…”
So assume you mean mis-educated…or wrongly educated.
“to educate” is “to lead out” from whatever one wants to get out of, or be free of, or away from. Note word derivation: e- or ex- means out; duc- means to lead.
And mis-educated works well to mean “wrongly educate”, or lead into something one wants to avoid.
Russia with its great natural wealth has been a target of the world’s established wealth-accumulators long before you and I were born…because it threatened such persons’ ability to continue dominating others which is necessary to perpetuate their privileged status.
Your Lowness are us. And the game we are stuck in is to keep it so! Every reader at MOA is far removed from the Highnesses.

Posted by: chu teh | Mar 13 2022 23:18 utc | 143

i’m not linking to this rubbish, but the poster child for “scratch a liberal, find a fascist,” David Corn in ‘Mother Jones’ is calling Tucker Carlson a traitor because Tucker, apparently, is the lone MSM voice suggesting that we have some, even a modicum, of understanding for Russia’s position. Per Corn, trying to understand someone else’s perspective, basic empathy, is now a crime. Lack of empathy is the norm. what’s that called again, “antisocial behavior”? “psychopathy”?
yet, how can you defeat your enemy if you don’t understand what the enemy is trying to achieve? best to call him the latest Hitler and paint every thought, word and gesture of the enemy as purest evil. that way we are never surprised by any Hitler when everything he does is Hitler and could never be otherwise.
that little brat Tucker may be unwittingly setting himself up to be crucified by the MSM. pour encourager les autres. they so easily devour their own.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 13 2022 23:23 utc | 145

Paul Craig Roberts nails it in this article from today: https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2022/03/13/washington-and-moscow-vie-for-the-stupid-prize/
The big question now is if there is a cadre of development oriented economists in Russia who can step in to replace the neoliberals with new thinking. If not, the neoliberals will respond to the new situation in according with their ideology, and introduce further austerity measures in line with the interest rate hike to 20% introduced by Nabiullina about a week ago.
Unfortunately, going by the strategy employed by Putin and his economists after the of 2014, there is absolutely no guarantee that it will be taking the necessary steps toward autarky, even when it’s left with no reasonable alternative by the West. There is a lot to suggest that Putin himself does not even understand that Russia can create its own domestic money and employ its natural resources for its own development. There are countless examples of Putin describing how infrastructure projects cannot move forward due to a lack of foreign investors. (Imagine the Chinese, or for that matter the Iranians or even Indians, doing this.)
It will also, as Paul Craig Roberts points out, be impossible to punish and weaken the West by restricting energy and minerals exports and to direct energy resources and raw materials to Russia’s own development, as the neoliberals believe that a continued inflow of foreign currency is an end in itself and trumps every other consideration.
Russia will then move from the chronic stagnation the neoliberals put it in after 2014 to a depression, and from there into a collapse. There are so far no signs at all that any shift away from neoliberal dogma is taking place. The bright spot in the senior leadership was always Sergey Glazyev, but he was fired as an economic adviser by Putin in August 2019, leaving only neoliberals shaping policy.

Posted by: Unnamed | Mar 13 2022 23:31 utc | 147

Ryabkov’s statement is this: https://tass.com/politics/1421141
It doesn’t say HOW they changed

Posted by: FZappa | Mar 13 2022 23:42 utc | 149

I dont find the bit about foreign volunteers credible – not going to have some random individual standing just behind me with gun in a fraught conflict.
More likely they are a mix with blackwater, paid for by you know who.
If you want to be a hero, volunteer to fight for enemy.

Posted by: jared | Mar 13 2022 23:44 utc | 151

@Norwegian #52
I don’t see a scenario where all of Kiev goes into Russia outside of a full occupation. Cities are where the Atlanticists congregate, and Kiev is the biggest city in Ukraine.
But I understand where you are coming from.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 13 2022 23:49 utc | 153

@too scents #52
Lavrov and Putin have stated the problem, but there are many possible resolutions to that problem.
What I asked you specifically is if you actually think Russia will attack Poland and/or Romania.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 13 2022 23:50 utc | 155

Abdel Bari Atwan has a very good analysis of the current crisis. It is worth reading.
https://thecradle.co/Article/columns/7707

Posted by: bevin | Mar 13 2022 23:54 utc | 157

Thanks to b @1 for that item of news and for the context provided by the “Coffee or Die” link. For someone who refuses the mainstream war reportage experience this is very important. And also many thanks to Stonebird @66, especially for the Dugin quote. Couldn’t have said it better myself! That Alexander Dugin is Putin’s favourite philosopher says a lot about the intellectual and moral stature of Putin. Bet you even General Gerasimov reads Dugin. (It thrills me to know I share this moment of epochal history with people of the caliber of Vladimir Putin, and we were born in the same year).

Posted by: Australian lady | Mar 13 2022 23:56 utc | 159

@Cabe #78
I don’t have a “most likely” scenario primarily because I don’t believe Putin/Russia have a solitary goal in mind. I believe they have a graduated plan that has different outcomes depending on the world/Ukraine ground situation.
The second issue is that Western interference in Ukrainian leadership is a major spoiler.
As I noted in the original post – I believe Zelensky has a golden parachute to Miami if he fights to the last Ukrainian, and the Pravy Sektor/Svoboda/Azov types are win or die.
Thus it is impossible to base any predictions on “logic”.
As for nuclear war: I do not see this at all.
The scenario where nuclear war is possible is one where Russian and NATO forces are directly facing each other and executing provocations.
I don’t see this at all happening so far or in the near future.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 14 2022 0:02 utc | 161

@Olivier #133
Yes, good point. That is different than the existing scenario 2 types.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 14 2022 0:05 utc | 163

@ Unamed 147 Paul Craig Roberts nails it in this article from today- Washington and Moscow vie for the stupid prize
PCR wrote in previous article he is chagrined that Mr. Putin has yet to use all his armour. . Lots of hand wringing and whining. What is being overlooked is that since 2007 Russia has been warning of NATO’s encroaching – and of their deception. The Ukraine exercise, and protection from the expected sanctions, are well prepared. The West will bear the burden of the sanctions. In a word. Hyperinflation and collapse of the financial world order.
Sunday- 7:42 EST March 13, 2022 it’s Monday in Moscow.
Statement from Russian Foreign Ministry
Moscow Will Not Ask Western Sanctions to Be Lifted, Pressure Will Not Change Its Course
https://sputniknews.com/20220313/russian-fm-moscow-will-not-ask-western-sanctions-to-be-lifted-pressure-will-not-change-its-course-1093839326.html

The United States, EU countries and a number of other states including Japan and Canada have imposed extensive new sanctions against Russia and major Russian organizations in response to the Kremlin’s special military operation to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine.
Russia will not ask the US and EU member nations to lift the sanctions, as pressure from the West and around the world will not change Moscow’s course, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said on Monday.
According to the deputy FM, both Washington and the EU “have tried very hard” to impose as many sanctions against Russia as possible as a means of reversing the Kremlin’s course, “to force us to change the decisions that have been made.” “Nothing will come of it,” stressed Vershinin.
“Sanctions are not our decision. They are being imposed by those who, like the US, and – let’s be direct – its satellites, want to exert pressure on Russia, put our economy and ordinary Russians in a very difficult situation, doing this as a punishment for Russia’s sovereign political decisions,” Vershinin said in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper.[.]
“We will not ask for these sanctions to be lifted. We will simply further develop our own economy and our ability to develop independently, relying on the friends and like-minded people that we have,” Vershinin said.[.}

Posted by: Likklemore | Mar 14 2022 0:07 utc | 165

@81 Likkelmore, I would advise Jake Sullivan against talking about “backfilling” anything…

Posted by: Maximus | Mar 14 2022 0:21 utc | 167

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 13 2022 23:46 utc | 152
I used to have the same view as you do, for a long time. And for you to say that I just need to “watch” Russia is incredibly arrogant. I have watched Russia, especially its economy and industry, very closely for many years. It’s one thing for Putin to say that “Western neoliberalism killed more Russians than WWII”, it’s another for him to have any concept what neoliberalism actually means and from there to counteract it in reality.
Look at the balance sheet of the Central Bank of Russia, how it barely contains any Russian government securities on the asset side (only foreign exchange and gold). This is not something that has no significance to Russia’s economic development. It is indicative of an extreme, fundamentalist application of neoliberal economics, unparalleled anywhere in the Western world. And the Central Bank of Russia is state-owned, with its governors appointed by Putin.
Look at how Russia, after more than 20 years of Putin as president/prime minister, has almost no motorways built in the post-Soviet era, and how the very few new motorways that do get built are toll-roads (!). It is the “toll-road economy” that Michael Hudson will refer to as an outcome of neoliberalism, but in the most literal sense. Compare this to the development of China’s expressway network.
Another very important example is how the Russian government has jacked up electricity prices in recent years, essentially harmonizing their price levels with parts of western Europe. There is no good reason for Russia to export most of its oil and gas, to earn foreign currency that Russia does not actually need, only to leave its households and industries without a competitive edge compared to the West when it comes to energy costs. It is also the opposite to China, which heavily subsidizes electricity production to lower costs for its industries, even though China does need to import its energy, except most of its coal.
There are still no high speed railways in Russia (the Moscow-St. Petersburg link uses German ICE trains, but they do not travel at high speeds), the domestic semiconductors industry left by the Soviet Union was squandered, and so on. Petrochemicals were completely neglected for decades, until finally China basically forced it to get started (from almost zero) with large investments, in both the Far East and the Baltics, a few years ago. Large, important conglomerates for example in heavy industry (like OMZ) will have laughable revenue figures of only a few million dollars, reflecting the total dysfunction of the financial system in supporting the real economy.
A company with (the equivalent of) 56 million dollars in revenue (essentially the government decides it should have such a low revenue, by not creating the domestic money at the level needed by the real economy), but which contains critical industries like Cryogenmash and the manufacture of reactor pressure vessels, will not have the money to invest in new machinery to make these operations more efficient or to sustain these operations into the future.
Accordingly, the capital stock simply rots, and sooner or later these industries inherited from the Soviet Union, and still to this day in many ways world-leading, will (needlessly) have to be abandoned. This is pure capital destruction, also helping to repel many of Russia’s best engineers and scientists, driven by neoliberal austerity ideology brought to an extreme without any parallel, whether in the developed world or in the third world.
Merely spouting that “Putin is all about People-Centered Development” is completely meaningless, when it does not correspond to any real policy.

Posted by: Unnamed | Mar 14 2022 0:25 utc | 169

@169 “Unamed” nice Moniker… now GTFO

Posted by: Maximus | Mar 14 2022 0:29 utc | 171

Posted by: Maximus | Mar 14 2022 0:29 utc | 171
Not going to happen, sorry. You will have to look for some place else for a little cult where you won’t be disturbed.

Posted by: Unnamed | Mar 14 2022 0:35 utc | 173

From Grayzone:
https://thegrayzone.com/2022/03/04/war-ukraine-unipolar-world/

Posted by: vetinLA | Mar 14 2022 0:40 utc | 175

@Unnamed 169
The flip side of Russia’s recently expired symbiosis with Germany, perhaps, and Putin’s aversion to communism.
And to a degree of the factor of oligarchs never quite trusting the Russian government and trying to sneak the proceeds of export industries out of the country — and one of the ways of doing this is by going for mega deals with their multinational industrial vendors, with the end result that they eventually walk away with part ownership of the vendors in foreign jurisdictions, effecting the transfer when everything is said and done.
I wonder how much of this began to reverse, by necessity, after 2014 …

Posted by: ptb | Mar 14 2022 0:55 utc | 177

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-seeks-military-equipment-and-aid-from-china-us-officials-say/ar-AAV0LDf?ocid=uxbndlbing
What’s with this headline on Drudge? I can’t imagine any military equipment China could offer. Or maybe this is just a lie to cast blame on China in expectation that Ukraine will lose.

Posted by: Eighthman | Mar 14 2022 0:59 utc | 179

@ 179
Top three China military exports – ships, aircraft, and armored vehicles.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 14 2022 1:06 utc | 181

Posted by: RJPJR | Mar 14 2022 0:59 utc | 178
OK, that’s interesting. How would this collateral be necessary, for example in a trade where Russia sells oil to a Western company? Would a bank in fact demand collerateral to issue a letter of credit? Could you describe this in more detail?

Posted by: Unnamed | Mar 14 2022 1:12 utc | 183

CNN
Russia said it could seize the assets of Western companies that have suspended operations in the country. Dozens of American, European and Japanese companies from almost every sector of the economy have abandoned joint ventures, factories, stores and offices in the last two weeks in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuring sanctions.
companies pulling back from Russia . .
Ford, Toyota, Volswagen, Nissan, Boeing, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Hitachi, IBM etc here
Russians like McDonald’s. There are 850 McD’s in Russia, most of them company-owned. Operations have been ‘paused.’ Some websites have tried to pick up the slack, moving into the stores may be next.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 14 2022 1:23 utc | 185

@185 Takeover McDonalds! Would they dare?? Reminds me of a scene in Dr. Stranglove….
https://youtu.be/DUAK7t3Lf8s

Posted by: dh | Mar 14 2022 1:30 utc | 187

Just finished watching a Consortium News video from March 4th with Scott Ritter and Mark Sleboda. It’s a week old but still perfectly relevant to the current situation. One of the best analyses from two of the best analysts. I’ve followed Mark Sleboda since the 2014 Maidan event, although on occasion I’ve been irritated because he tends to be dismissive of certain arguments (including some of mine on Twitter.) He’s a former U.S. Navy nuclear engineer, political analyst and radio host who has been on the RT “Crosstalk” show as a regular guest. He lives in Russia, is married to a Russian, and knows Russian society and politics very well. He’s also fairly good on military analyses, although I don’t think he’s as good as The Saker or Martyanov or Ritter. He cites Michael Hofnan and Rob Lee as military experts he follows, and those guys have been getting this Ukraine operation wrong from the get-go, and are dismissed by Martyanov.
This is probably the best exposition of all the issues around the Ukraine situation, the military and economic aspects, that I’ve seen so far. There’s some disagreement between Ritter and Sleboda about whether there might be an insurgency after the war ends, and I tend to agree with Ritter rather than Sleboda. One solution I see for the Western Ukraine problem Russia faces is deportation – simply kick out everyone identified as Ukrainian nationalist or neo-Nazi to Poland and the West. Once the new government is set up and a proper border control instituted, just don’t let any of them back in. So rather than Ukraine ethnic cleansing eastern Ukrainians because they are Russian, just “politically cleanse” Western Ukraine of the nationalists and neo-Nazis. We’ll see if that happens, but that’s how I’d do it. But that’s just me. 🙂
It’s long, slightly over two hours, but well worth the time. I know it’s next to impossible to find the time, which is why I just got caught up with it. But it’s worth it. Check it out.
CN LIVE! S4E3 UKRAINE UPDATE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjOkk-xfMfQ

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 14 2022 1:49 utc | 189

Don Bacon | Mar 14 2022 1:04 utc | 180
lol. try also “catalytic converter theft”.
we’ll soon be stealing our anti-depressant meds from EV car batteries. thanks Elon!

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 14 2022 1:50 utc | 191

Re: #48 (S. Brennan)
So, you were on Mcloughlin and Oak Grove. Yeah, had the same problem. Was stopping off at Voodoo donuts to get some quality rush going, might have even spoke with the same woman who called me a Russian stooge and didn’t love my country. (BTW: Ex-SF in our reindeers games in SE Asia in the 70’s).
The folks here in Portland are losing it pretty badly. Cognitive disonance everywhere you look.

Posted by: Degringolade | Mar 14 2022 1:58 utc | 193

Alastair Crooke said. . .
Write the script for a new scenario; direct its production; and then stage it on video. Many may disbelieve the resulting piece, but there is nothing for them to do, except to watch it in mute, frustrated silence. Game over. You have ‘won’.
>President Joe Biden warned on Friday that Russia will pay a “severe price” if the country uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.
>National security advisor: Russia claiming that US, Ukraine are using chemical weapons is ‘a tell’ that Russia could be ‘preparing to do so’
>US State Secretary Blinken has warned of a provocative “false” chemical weapon attack by Russia before it invaded Ukraine in the “coming days.”
>The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia calling Friday’s U.N. Security Council hearing to spread lies and disinformation about Ukraine and chemical weapons. Greenfield told the international body that the U.S. believes Russia could use chemical or biological agents for assassinations as part of a false flag incident or to support tactical military operations. And we are deeply concerned that Russia’s calling for this meeting is a potential false flag effort in action — exactly the kind we have been warning about, including from Secretary Blinken here in the security council last month,” she said.
>Intelligence points to heightened risk of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine, officials say
>More than two weeks into the war in Ukraine, and the unthinkable is not only being thought, it’s being said out loud: could Putin use nuclear weapons? The Ukrainian forces’ tenacity in fighting back has been extraordinary, but could it make Putin even more dangerous? And what happens if he fails with conventional weapons? Will he use unconventional ones next?

Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 14 2022 2:02 utc | 195

. . .from an article by Ivan F. Ingraham who “served 24 years as a Special Operations Officer in the United States Marine Corps” . . . .
Russia doesn’t wage war elegantly. Their military is ponderous and heavy-handed with support and emphasis being placed on the unit making the best progress. Two weeks after invading, Russia’s war to date is characterized by stalled progress; a demonstrated lack of logistics; a fractured advance; and strong Ukrainian resistance. . .Russia expected a quick fight followed by a swift capitulation of the Ukrainian government due to their reputation as a European bully. Reputation doesn’t win wars. Fighting hard, quickly, and to win, does.
. . .my response (unanswered)
After two weeks the Russian advance has stalled? Of course not. Russia has made advances in the south, east and north. There’s no basis for saying “Russia expected a quick fight followed by a swift capitulation of the Ukrainian government” but it makes a convenient strawman. Speaking of stalled advances, remember that it took the mighty US Army four years to pacify Baghdad.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 14 2022 2:13 utc | 197

I’m quite concerned that China is going to roll over for the West and play ball. Shades of 1.3B and social unrest should they lose their target markets of the EU and US. Maybe that’s naive but I don’t think so. Maybe even some intimation that Taiwan gets sold down the river in exchange for China getting on board with the winning team?
Either way, I see China and Russia as the only reliable counterweights to an increasingly malign global North. I just don’t see how China is going to break with the coalition of the stupid and hypocritical when to do so would cost them more than they can seemingly afford.
And the consequences of losing this counterweight means we’ll all pay a price as wokeism and all the other unthinkable trappings of the westernized world metastasize further.

Posted by: WastelandChic | Mar 14 2022 2:14 utc | 199