Comments

  • Ukraine Crisis
    RYBAR reports movement in this area:


    Incidentally, google maps says "Light traffic in this area". :smile:
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Back in 2002, an Iraqi vice president suggested a duel between Bush and Hussein. :)

    A president against a president and vice president against a vice president, and a duel takes place, if they are serious. And in this way we are saving the American and Iraqi people.Taha Yassin Ramadan
    NPR; CNN; BBC

    (Musk trolled Putin. :grin:)

    Getting Rid of Nukes: The Trilateral Statement at 20 Years (, Brookings · Jan 13, 2014)

    Putin Challenges the West (Again) (Carnegie · Jan 27, 2022)

    All of the so-called Western bloc, which the U.S. formed in its image and likeness, all of it in its entirety, is what’s known as the empire of lies.Putin Wants Revenge Not Just on Ukraine But on the U.S. and Its Allies (Time · Feb 24, 2022)

    Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say? Let them try.West wants to defeat Russia on battlefield? ‘Let them try’: Putin (Al Jazeera · Jul 7, 2022)
    RFE/RL

    There are more statements, speeches, whatever, to that end. Thus spoke (and did) Putin. The Ukrainians look elsewhere, their choice to make. Compromise could be no nuclear weapons in Ukraine (above), or no Ukraine NATO membership, say. EU affiliation/membership is a different matter.
    (If someone steals my bike, then giving half of it back isn't compromise, but, hey, I won't be riding in their garden. :death:)
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Reports like these have been coming up now and then since earlier in the year ...

    Nuclear Weapons Convoy Spotted in Russia (Ground News; Oct 4, 2022)


    Unclear what to make of them.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    It’s not normal to be so excited by nuclear bombs.Oliver Carroll


    World war 2 Hiroshima-Nagasaki 77 years ago? Bit of a reach. But some will lap it up.

    If we're speculating far out ideas anyway, how's this out for Putin?

    Set up real democracy in Russia. Prepare a real election, including international observers, independent verification, all that. Oust dangerous people that would stop this move, slowly, incrementally perhaps. Just in case a genuinely elected new government was to chase him, wanting to prosecute him, he can always say that it was he that set up the (real) election at least, that resulted in him being chased, and, worst case, get a house in Chile or something, stash enough money to secure a life. Don't run for the next election, retire, claim family reasons, sickness, whatever, make something up, doesn't matter. Leave the crap to the next government.

    Unlikely. :)

    Slavery in the 2010s, and the environments that condone them:

    The Slaves of St Petersburg (Mar 28, 2017)
    Human trafficking in North Korea » North Korean workers sent abroad (Wikipedia)

    Please note, this is only peripherally related to Russia :fire: Ukraine, but just gives a glimpse into the environment in Putin's Russia (Medvedev is also mentioned). Poland was accused of something similar in the 2000s.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    , you think Ukraine has bullied Russia?
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Has been, is, costly for Putin's team.
    I guess when you're a defending freedomfighter, the cost is sort of secondary.
    Apparently there are skirmishes outside of Pavlivka (Donetsk Oblast). Russian supply route?
    Didn't know the freedomfighters were that far south.
    What's their strategy...? Or maybe just some locals with guided anti-tank missiles?

    7xrmcmvfk98bt04s.jpg
  • Ukraine Crisis
    As of typing, the net result summary (through hosts of hand-waving, propaganda, killing bombing ruinage, pseudo-legalities and shams, excuses, what-have-you), Putin has (incrementally) declared 4 more Ukrainian regions parts of Russia, i.e. another (attempted) land grab, marked orange:

    5a3k3fe1le20curo.jpg

    Source: Mapping the occupied Ukraine regions Russia is formally annexing (Sep 30, 2022)

    "Liberation" of Donbas from Nazis? Ending a NATO "invasion"? :D As usual, goodwill, ethics, truth has given way to ambition, lying, politics. (Science fiction is more entertaining and incurs less suffering.)

    President Volodymyr Zelensky has hit back at Russia's annexation moves by seeking accelerated membership of Nato.
    That is a marked change from the start of the war, when he announced he would stop pushing for membership of the 30-strong Western defensive alliance because of Nato's concern about confrontation with Russia. He knows, however, that he will have to persuade every member state to agree, and Turkey for one is unlikely to.
    What Russian annexation means for Ukraine's regions · Paul Kirby · BBC · Sep 30, 2022
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Some threats, perceived or otherwise:

    NATO a threat to Russia
    • put forth by Putin and compadres as major/existential
    • Georgia, Ukraine, Finland, Sweden, ...
    • in speeches (schools, Valdai, whatever mentioned earlier) Putin also seems out to sell a picture of "The West" as doomed culturally/politically, a threat of sorts to Russia (countered by his alleged ideals), incidentally supported in part by his church (parallel thread)
    • hindrance of free Kremlin movement/action

    Russia a threat to Ukraine

    Secondary:

    Russia a threat to Moldova, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia
    • depends on Ukrainian situation, except perhaps Moldova (Transnistria)
    • by extension most of Europe

    Putin and team a threat to Russia(ns)
    • especially in case of unchecked escalation

    Probably missed some. Feel free to extend/correct.

    EDIT: added links
  • Christianity’s Perpetual Support of War
    I will interpret it as "I'm too intellectually lazy to actually read the Bible and try to understand it." Nothing new.Moses

    It's not my reading. You're free to tell the world what exactly the "correct" reading forevermore is. I suppose you might include The Quran, The Book of Mormon, and a few more perhaps.
  • Christianity’s Perpetual Support of War
    Well, it's a characteristic of such texts that they often enough can be "read" as whatever is presently convenient or whatever. :shrug: Nothing new. Great political tool, by the way.


    God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule
    God
    The Onion | Alerts
    Sep 26, 2001, 15:00 New York time


    ys7m46gnfjw5lx9x.jpg
  • Ukraine Crisis
    :up: Cool find

    By the way, going by ...

    Russian Society and Foreign Policy: Mass and Elite Orientations After Crimea (Mar 14, 2019)

    ... the general Russian population isn't particularly keen on the outward aggressions nor feels particularly threatened by other countries.
    Hard to tell, but does make sense (to me anyway).
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Seems unlikely that something like this could take place in Putin's Russia:

    ew2vtymq87rp4rjy.jpg

    Washington DC, USA; Oct 21, 1967
    George Harris demonstrating against the Vietnam war
    100,000+ protesters participating
    Photo by Bernard N Boston
    (Similar protests have been seen elsewhere)


    Nowadays, such protesters wouldn't really be seen as crazy extremists, except perhaps in Moscow?
    Either way, Putin has put a firm lid on other voices.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Alexander Gabuev (Financial Times; Sep 23, 2022) writes:
    Putin has once again overplayed his hand in Ukraine

    Source is respected enough, but some details not so easy to verify.
    I guess we'll see.

    Misc comments via max seddon ...
  • Ukraine Crisis
    If Russia was to take over Ukraine (in whichever way), then Putin's whi...err rhetoric about NATO, equally becomes Moldova's, Poland's, Romania's, Hungary's, and Slovakia's neighbor-fears, and by extension, likely most of Europe's, having enjoyed fair stability.
    Putin's nuclear rattling doesn't help.
    By Putin's "logic" at least, they'd be justified in direct military action to free Ukraine — direct as in planes in Ukrainian airspace, troops on the ground, whatever — not a mere "special operation".

    If Russia was to take over some parts of Ukraine (in whichever way), like Donbas and Crimea, then Putin's rhetoric would still apply to the rest of Ukraine.
    Sort of similar to the current occupation, with whatever instability.

    If Russia was to leave Ukraine alone, except for acquiring a guarantee that Ukraine won't become a NATO member, then these two scenarios wouldn't be applicable, at least.
    For such a guarantee to work, some sort of international observers/inspectors might have to be put in place, not sure, don't know if that could work.
    I'm guessing this option is acceptable to the Ukrainians (mentioned earlier), maybe also to many/most Russians, hard to tell.

    (By the way, Europe won't become "Western Russia", under Kremlin control, hardly realistic, rattling or not.)
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Land grab.

    RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty (Apr 30, 2022): Draft Document Gives New Clues To Russian Plans For Occupied Ukrainian Regions
    AP News (Sep 22, 2022): EXPLAINER: What’s behind referendums in occupied Ukraine?
    Reuters (Sep 23, 2022): Ukraine says residents coerced into Russian annexation vote
    NPR (Sep 23, 2022): Russia begins annexation vote, illegal under international law, in occupied Ukraine
    NBC News (Sep 23, 2022): Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine begin staged votes as the Kremlin denies reports of men fleeing partial mobilization
    France 24 (Sep 23, 2022): Live: Ukraine pushes east into Donbas as Russia holds 'sham' annexation polls
    Al Jazeera (Sep 23, 2022): Russia-Ukraine live news: Kremlin planning for quick annexations
    The Guardian (Sep 23, 2022): ‘Referendums’ on joining Russia under way in occupied Ukraine


    Is this rubbish recognized anywhere outside of Russia, or perhaps even outside Putin's Kremlin?

    With a(n incremental) land grab, Putin can change his rhetoric from "a special operation" to "an attack on Russia", and continue on, or at least try to. Being so transparent, why aren't more calling him out for it?

    Apparently, Russia's neighbors have some busy border controls at the moment.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Why Vladimir Putin is raising the stakes in Ukraine war
    Max Seddon (Moscow), Polina Ivanova (Berlin), Ben Hall (Kyiv)
    Financial Times
    Sep 21, 2022


    Why Vladimir Putin is raising the stakes in Ukraine war

    Russian president’s move underscores his shrinking room for manoeuvre at home and on the battlefield

    As he addressed the nation on Wednesday morning to announce a “partial mobilisation” of 300,000 reservists, president Vladimir Putin framed Russia’s war in Ukraine in stark, existential terms.

    The nation was defending itself against a west that wanted to “weaken, divide and destroy Russia” and it was prepared to use nuclear weapons in response.

    The apocalyptic threats are intended to coerce Ukraine and its western allies to accept Russia’s gains in the conflict. The hasty staging of “referendums” in occupied areas this weekend is supposed to set a line that Ukraine and the west must not cross.

    By in effect annexing large parts of southern and eastern Ukraine, Putin wants to dissuade Kyiv and its western allies from attacking what the Kremlin now considers “Russian territory” — laying the groundwork for full mobilisation or even nuclear conflict if they persist.

    Putin’s escalation is a gamble that underscores his shrinking room for manoeuvre on the battlefield in Ukraine and domestically in Russia.

    “The whole world should be praying for Russia’s victory, because there are only two ways this can end: either Russia wins, or a nuclear apocalypse,” Konstantin Malofeyev, a nationalist Russian tycoon, said in an interview.

    “If we don’t win, we will have to use nuclear weapons, because we can’t lose,” Malofeyev added. “Does anyone really think Russia will accept defeat and not use its nuclear arsenal?”

    On the defensive after losing thousands of square kilometres of territory to Ukraine in recent weeks, Wednesday’s announcement is an attempt to change the calculus at a time when Moscow has even fewer options, said Rob Lee, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

    A successful Ukrainian counter-offensive this month has not only pushed it out of the Kharkiv region in north-eastern Ukraine but is also now threatening territories Russia seized in the Donbas — the eastern industrial heartland whose “liberation” Putin has defined as the main goal of the war.

    “If they start losing territory that they just gained there, it raises all sorts of questions and there’s no way they can easily brush it off. It quite clearly is a military and political failure if that happens,” Lee said.

    By declaring these areas Russian territory, Putin is probably hoping he can halt Ukraine’s advance and deter the west’s appetite for sending more weapons, because it would demonstrate that “any offensive here by Ukrainian forces or by Nato weapons will get interpreted as an attack on Russian territory”, Lee said.

    Western leaders have instead condemned the referendums, reiterated their support for Ukraine’s attempts to recapture its territory and restated their willingness to provide Kyiv with high-tech weapons.

    Russia’s gamble is unlikely to pay off, said Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at the Rand Corporation. “I don’t think Putin fully internalises the consequences of this,” he said. “What happens when Ukraine ‘occupies’ ‘Russian territory’? Then the next step is declaring war if Ukraine retakes it.”

    Many analysts are also sceptical that a partial mobilisation will have a rapid impact on the battlefield, because it could take several months to train reservists and to create new units with commanders and logistical support.

    Seven months since Putin first sent troops into Ukraine, Russia’s heavy losses put its forces at a manpower disadvantage, particularly in terms of well-trained soldiers. Moscow originally deployed about 180,000 troops for its invasion of Ukraine, according to western estimates.

    Defence minister Sergei Shoigu said only 5,937 Russian soldiers had died in the conflict — less than a tenth of the casualties Moscow claims were suffered by Ukraine. The US said in August that Russia had suffered “probably . . . 70,000 or 80,000” killed and wounded since February.

    The Russian reserve has a notional 2mn former conscripts and contract soldiers, according to the Institute for the Study of War, but few are actively trained or considered ready to fight.

    A 2019 Rand study estimated Russia only had 4,000 to 5,000 reservists in the western sense of receiving regular monthly and annual training, although in 2021 it launched an initiative to create a standing reserve force.

    “If this is meant to scare Ukraine and the west into capitulating, it’s not going to work. When it fails, Putin will have even worse choices,” Charap said.

    But even as Russia escalated its stand-off against the west, the Kremlin attempted to reassure Russians that life would mostly go on as normal.

    In a pre-recorded statement aired immediately after Putin’s speech, Shoigu said Russia would only call up reserves, rather than deploy the conscript army, and stressed that students would be exempt.

    Throughout the invasion, Moscow has avoided introducing martial law or conscripting Russians into the armed forces and insisted on calling it a “special military operation” — a term evoking far-off conflicts rather than stirring Russians’ memories of brutal wars.

    The attempt to project calm for the domestic audience — presenting the war as a necessary but distant battle — has been successful so far.

    “Over the past six months, an adaptation has taken place to the new conditions, people calmed down,” said Denis Volkov, director of the Levada Center, an independent pollster in Moscow. Spending increased, and polls showed Russians increasingly saying that the situation was developing in the right direction.

    But the announcement of even a partial mobilisation brings the war closer to home. “I think if the Kremlin could have avoided it, it would have,” Volkov said. “But the conflict has its own logic, and it has led them to take an unpopular decision.”

    Some Russians have voted with their feet: flights to Yerevan and Istanbul, two of the few available destinations after western countries closed off their airspace to Russia, were sold out within minutes of Putin’s announcement.

    The effect on public sentiment will be gradual, however, said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of political consultancy R.Politik.

    “Mobilisation will be gradually expanded. Society will slowly become irritated and indignant — do not expect mass protests, but rather waves of indignation,” she said. “This is the erosion of Putin’s power in its purest form.”

    nhqalg6nhyqdnxq6.jpg
  • Ukraine Crisis
    , and people with no military training are being drafted. There was an interview on TV last night. Whatever Putin has in mind, it doesn't seem to be peace.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Unclear if the Ukrainians can cut off a Kherson supply route.

    q7d2bi3c0ggt4604.jpg
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Evidence/observations that Putin wants to enroll Ukraine in Russia, as far as feasible at least, has been mentioned prior.
    The NATO thing applies to all of Ukraine;
    various statements (propaganda style) like calling Ukraine not a real country, should never have been given self-governance, history this history that (there's a bit of irony here), suppression-oppression-repression (if not assassination) of other voices in Russia along with calls for nationalism, whatever;
    Yanukovych was ousted in a bad way, granted, yet the parliament voted to fire him, and democratic elections followed, putting Ukraine on a trajectory of more openness and democratic transparency with international observers, despite all the foreign meddling in different directions - all construed as nothing but a wicked coup d'état by the Putinistas;
    officials demanding Ukraine just give up, and that the "special operation" has been expanded;
    yep, the initial Feb move on Kyiv, too;
    diplomatic "hesitance" and semi-concern, perhaps even pseudo-efforts (apparently being dictated by Kremlin war strategists - albeit conjecture, it's consistent);
    too little bona fides indications;
    actions taken in Ukraine, the interrupted Kherson pseudo-vote, militarily, against civilians, what-have-you.
    As of typing, I can't be bothered to round up more.

    Something that stands out is the disregard for, even forgetting, Ukrainian self-governance.
    They're the ones being bombed, killed, while flooded (past and present) with propaganda/meddling in different directions.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Well, US intelligence (with the UK close behind) had warned (at least) since Oct 2021 about Russian moves and danger. The EU and Ukraine kind of fumbled some, except for the general training/mobilization since the 2014 Crimea grab, which, I'm guessing, made a difference. I suppose, since the decision to start warring rests with the attacker-invader, there's only so much peace-mongers can do. I've no doubt that there'd be some fumbling again in a similar situation, and that many would effectively argue toward that.

    The Guardian (Feb 11, 2022): US warns of ‘distinct possibility’ Russia will invade Ukraine within days
    The New Yorker (May 9, 2022): How Ukrainians Saved Their Capital
    Washington Post (Aug 16, 2022): Road to war: U.S. struggled to convince allies, and Zelensky, of risk of invasion
    ↑ paywalled, ↓ summarizes
    The Brussels Times (Aug 19, 2022): US warned of Russian invasion for months but EU dithered

    The Ukrainians had information, though, from there to thinking it would happen, and to further proactively implement a strong defensive posture, is another step (also easily construed as provocation by Putin for that matter). Seems doubtful that Putin would sacrifice military resources like that in an outright fake Kyiv takeover; history tells a different story. What would that say about Putin anyway? Belarus and Transnistria are standing by. A few states have now taken measures, less fumbling, which Putin and team may or may not have anticipated.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    , meddling was/is in all kinds of places, not just "the West".

    (I suppose we could start categorizing meddlery, like rationales-outcomes, material for a thread on its own, heck maybe a book, tedious. Say, do Transnistria and Donbas have "fingerprints" of sorts?)

    Draconic, domestic oppression-repression is taking things further, as is attempts to take over other nations.

    Meddling creepy. People ought to (be left to) make up their own minds by maximum information+ethics and minimal imposition/bias. Takes just one meddler to complicate that.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Misc reports, not much new I suppose ...

    RAND (Jul 11, 2016): The Russian "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model
    CSIS (Jul 20, 2020): Russia Ramps up Global Elections Interference: Lessons for the United States
    Reuters (Mar 16, 2021): Putin likely directed 2020 U.S. election meddling, U.S. intelligence finds
    Wilson Center (Mar 4, 2022): The Limits of Putin’s Propaganda
    Defense One (Mar 11, 2022): Putin’s Propaganda Machine Is What America’s Far-Right Wants (seemed +speculative at first)
    National Post (May 13, 2022): Wesley Wark: Russian Victory Day was a powerful propaganda tool for Putin


    Meddling, subversion attempts, etc, happens all over, sometimes in response to each other.
    Systematically suppressing other voices domestically is another ball game.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    The situation, however, is very unstable.boethius

    In the scheme of things, I'm guessing this won't change much with someone like Putin (or worse) at the helm.
    The history, measures taken domestically (and foreign for that matter), rolling into Ukraine, ...
  • Ukraine Crisis
    Could the Russians hold Donbas and Crimea if they settled into just those regions?
    It would at least be in line with their earlier propag...err statements, perhaps even be sold as keeping a promise to Donbas Russians.
    They'd be taking a defensive position, though, which may not sit well with Putin and team.
    And, if foreign support to Ukraine was to keep up, then holding those regions might not be feasible, unless some sort of peace deal was struck, which, in turn, might not be acceptable to Ukraine, after all, they've been subject to the invasion fire and whatnot for some time now.
    If possible, then the destruction and killing would cease at least, but I'm guessing it wouldn't fly.
  • Is the multiverse real science?
    Not quite science, at least not at the moment, maybe some day?

    Ethan Siegel writes:

    This is why physicists suspect the Multiverse very likely exists (Big Think; Dec 2021)

    I guess a few physicists/cosmologists find the idea compelling while going by current theories.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    referendum on joining Russia has been postponed by the Russian occupation authorities in Kherson

    Via TASS (Sep 5, 2022): Kherson region postpones referendum due to security considerations — authorities

    Via RFERL (Sep 5, 2022): Kherson Referendum On Joining Russia Postponed, Official Says

    (incidentally answers earlier question in the affirmative)
  • Ukraine Crisis
    A couple of things that's come out so far ...

    NATO getting directly involved or officially at war with Putin's Russia ups the stakes markedly, be it internationally, with respect to the Kremlin/Putin, loose-cannon'ery, or whatever;
    the latest hi-tech equipment/weaponry, or similar, falling into the wrong hands is a tangible risk.

    Someone takes this stuff seriously enough. Maybe direct foreign involvement happens some time, don't know, should it?

    Regardless, it seems like foreign aid has made a difference this far:

    List of foreign aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War

    No one's marching on Moscow or has threatened to do so (as far as I know anyway); should someone? (Alternatively, should someone hand Putin further excuses to whip up domestics and/or spread fear?) Ukraine is being invaded attacked bombed by Putin's Russia — ruinage and killing. Basic facts setting up what others have to contend with and decide from through noise and diversion attempts.

    Anyway, apart from the ?s perhaps, nothing new.
  • Ukraine Crisis
    There's a rail nexus in Kupyansk east of Kharkiv. Might be of some importance, don't know.

    A minute of silence for the fallen on both sides!

    :death: :flower:
    Agent Smith

    Who knows how many civilians, children, non-combatants have been killed... Destroying infrastructure doesn't help.

    LB in Kyiv reports (not independently confirmed) ...

    Sep 10, 2022 Names of the nameless grave. The story of four people whose bodies were found in a ravine in the Kherson region
    Sep 10, 2022 In a de-occupied village of Kharkiv region, they found dead people with traces of torture
    Sep 12, 2022 At least a thousand civilians died in Izyum as a result of the armed aggression of the occupiers
    Sep 12, 2022 Hostages of geography. How the Russians take revenge on Kharkiv for the counteroffensive
    Sep 13, 2022 Not a single local resident remained in the village of Udy in the Kharkiv region, the police said
  • Ukraine Crisis


    More or less the usual, "the evil hemisphere" is mad about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Putin seems to have a bit of sancxiety, ...
  • Is space 4 dimensional?
    , do you mean whether 3-dimensional space needs another spatial dimension to wobble in and out of, if you will?
    From memory, that's not needed (for relativity at least).
    Might need someone well versed in relativity to respond, in case that's what you meant.

    , neat.
    Reminded me a bit of Aristotle's wheel, though it doesn't go all ∞.

    4p3o3pscx1ypeqlk.gif
  • Ukraine Crisis
    , the Kherson counterattack?
    The Russian puppets were preparing for a vote, with the usual propaganda etc.
    Maybe they'll get interrupted by the counterattack (don't know if they already have).

    , an "anti-Russian enclave" that Putin's efforts have made more or less = Ukraine.
    Arguably, Putin has created much Ukrainian Russophobia (analogous to a self-fulfilling prophecy).

    , that's a lot of scrap metal. :o
    I'm guessing that moving 100s of tanks from wherever they are in Russia can be seen by satellites or whatever monitoring.
    If so, then the Ukrainian defense might get a warning.

    Meanwhile, Trump applauds Putin.
    Gotta' wonder what'd happen if Trump had been in The White House.

    "Fierce" (using Trump's term):

    Russia warns Moldova over Transnistria troops (Deutsche Welle · Sep 3, 2022)
    DISINFORMATION: Russians in the Diaspora face discrimination (Veridica · Mar 21, 2022)
  • Could we be living in a simulation?
    "Programmers may be programs" could go on indefinitely/infinitely/regressively.

    There's a whole class of these kinds of thought experiments ... brain in a vat, the dream argument, The Matrix as Metaphysics (Chalmers), The Butterfly Dream (Zhuangzi), Zhuangzi And That Bloody Butterfly (Tallis), maya (the Vedas), Descartes' evil demon, the veil of Isis, ...

    Formulated as a proposition, p, they're often thought up in such a way that all available evidence is compatible with both p and ¬p. So, metaphysics, indeterminate, like a difference that makes no difference.

    EDIT: ditched quantum woo comment
  • Ukraine Crisis
    I guess with enough time we all trace back to Africassu

    :up: We're all African apes. If someone discriminates personally prejudicially by shoe size, place of birth, freckle count, melanin pigmentation, or some such, then they're a racist (and that's meant as an insult).
  • Joe Biden (+General Biden/Harris Administration)
    Circus.

    House conservatives prep plans to impeach Biden (The Hill; Aug 30, 2022)

    Should we expect impeachment of ≈ every president onwards? Future statistics going by least impeachments? Hopefully not.