left field

The Queen does have balls.

Five and that was hard.

Side note - I used a profane word which got me a warning from the mods. Apologies if anyone was offended. I am Ukrainian and emotionally affected by this with extended family currently in the Ukraine.

PH is owned by Canadians - you're welcome - and Canada has a huge population of Ukrainians. That Mussolini sure was murderous dictator, but boy did the trains run on time! Whether this was a smart strategy or not (and it may turn to be Putin's downfall if E EU goes against him), it's pretty much Politics 101 that you don't publicly praise an enemy and certainly not during the initial stage of an invasion and precursor to war. Which the US could well be dragged into. Bill Maher got roasted and lost sponsors for this comment on the 911 terrorists after Bush called them cowards: "Staying in the airplane when it hits the building. Say what you want about it. Not cowardly.” Was Maher wrong? Forget the ramifications for a moment and look at the thing itself. An avowed enemy of the US and NATO is using the freely given praise from a former US President in his propaganda broadcasts as he invades a democratic country. Trump doesn't care about Putin and couldn't find Ukraine on a map. He was speaking extemporaneously and didn't consider what he was saying, just that it was a shot at Biden. What Trump cares about is losing the WH is the most humiliating manner to the most ridiculous opponent imaginable and it galls him so he will do whatever he can to hurt Biden. Whether it harms the US or not is secondary. Back to what matters ... Devastating if true: Wolverines: This seems desperate:

Again, no, North. I am a little disappointed that you don't see this for what it is. It is unconscionable for a former US president to publicly praise the war-mongering tactics of a Russian President and throw the current US president under the bus. I would categorize it as anti-American. It is a very simple statement: I wholeheartedly condemn Russia's illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine and stand with the Ukrainian people. Of course it's bullshit as Trump doesn't stand with anyone, but it would have been the right thing to do and he might have picked up some good will. Even the presidents of the Czech Republic and Hungary condemn Putin's action. These guys are supposed to be friends, hell, they supported Putin in Crimea. But this was a step too far and they remember the USSR. They are now calling for Russia to be removed from SWIFT. https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-russia-hungary-prague-czech-republic-dfe9b03ce3553e899da79e4974fd93d7 But once again Trump shows that he can't do the simple right thing and has to be a self-serving moron. Anyway, back to the harsh reality. Ukrainian couple gets married. And goes on their honeymoon.

Very well, thank you. But better discussed in the fishing thread. Another Ukrainian hero. https://god.dailydot.com/ukrainian-soldier-bridge/?fbclid=IwAR2ZVlpbh8rynvhkIxyYX-wqPxP_5jG4SNxHvuJ1XIhH2xfsSb4wkdyafB0 The thing you have to understand about Ukrainians is that they have been fighting forever. On all sides. When they had a country and when they didn't. They haven't always been good people or in the right, but they are resigned to war and know how to fight. Putin can't win an insurgency war.

I don't know about that. It's been a pretty open country for decades. Russia knows how the rest of the world lives. Coincidentally, I was talking with an American woman in Mexico on Monday who raved about her trip to St Petersburg a few years back. Despite a history of conflict with Russia - including Stalin killing 4,000,000 Ukrainians by starvation - Russians and Ukrainians are essentially "brothers" and it's difficult to say how much stomach the average Russian soldier has for killing Ukrainians.

Ukrainian woman confronts Russian soldier. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-soldier-woman-confrontation-b2022993.html I was raised by Ukrainian women. They don't back down.

Too bad you're not a betting person ... a fellow could clean up. Al, say or think what you will about me, but I'm pretty straightforward in my posts.

As I recall, the third question on the immigration paperwork is, "point to Canada on this world map," so he may not make the grade. You know I like you and therefore chalk these strange opinions up to the exuberance of youth.

As I understand it, these sanctions are targeted at a lower level of the Russian elite and they haven't gone after Putin directly. But in general, if you take a billion away from a guy with three billion, it sucks, but life goes on. Take away thousands from a guy only earning thousands and you have a riot in the streets. The wealthy people that I know here are shrugging their shoulders at inflation. The people it's affecting most are calling for Biden's head. On another note, it doesn't matter if the Ghost of Kyiv is true or not. The story has done its job. The Ukraine could "win" this based on "propaganda" war. Putin has few admirers. Well ... Trump aside.

Why would he screw up having a US president as his buddy? Is this part where we shift from expert epidemiologists to geo-political savants? Sanctions aren't meant to hurt the leader's wallet. They are designed to hurt the overall economy and the common man who then applies pressure to the leadership. As the article I linked to pointed out, sanctions would also have ramifications here. Are you ready to accept higher prices and fewer items on the shelf? A hit to the stock market. For Ukraine? Or to put Putin in his place? Based on the general bitching about higher prices, I say no.

To invade while the world was in the middle of covid would literally invoke the ire of every major country and start a full-scale world war. It would have been easy to rally the troops against Russia and Putin at that time. He also had an "ally" in the WH and why screw with that? Better to wait until the world is in recovery with everyone wanting to get back to normal life. Now we have a good portion of the country and media say, "Yeah, Putin" and essentially "Fuck Ukraine". @phade This is an interesting take on the Russian attack and Ukrainian defense.

In 2020, Russia was being devastated with Covid. Bad time to put soldiers together.

Zelensky appeals to Russians to take to the streets in protest and for Europe to defend itself.

Four and four. NYT was tricky.

Severe sanctions have worldwide implications. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/24/business/russia-swift-financial-system.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&module=&state=default&region=footer&context=breakout_link_back_to_briefing As much as I would like to see Putin executed in Red Square by his own people, this is a very delicate and dangerous situation. And who replaces him? Putin wasn't waiting for Biden, he is taking advantage of the worldwide chaos from the pandemic and the political nonsense of the last few years here. It's telling that Russian TV is playing clips of Trump praising Putin. Keep America fighting each other is a good strategy. Sadly Trump is too stupid to realize he's being used. Think about that for a moment. A former US president has just praised a Russian president's invasion tactics of a democratic country. The mind reels. Or not. I agree with your contention that Ukraine may be lost. This is the 13 that @phade referenced. Here is a Russian tank rolling over a car of civilians.

Before I try, are we still doing presidential stuff or back to hunting? And yes to "bloke". Good word.

As the grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, who were lucky enough to escape before the Holodomor killed 4,000,000 and wiped out our family, I can say that you are correct, Phade. The memory of Russian aggression runs through their blood. Though they may be beaten, these are tough people that will not give up easily. What Zelensky did was very smart. I doubt Putin wants a street-to-street fight with civilians.

Four. My first presidential word was not a valid word.

Is it POOPY????? Oh please let it be POOPY!!!!!

Well, it’s Presidents’ Week so I’ve been using BIDEN. Doesn’t seem to be working.

Four. (Picking up on a little editorialising!)

Got it.

Four, but I keep trying to make hunting words fit. Are we moving off the theme?