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bangkok

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by bangkok

  1. in an alternate reality, everything unfolds as it has to this point. only one change - trump is potus. what are the changes in the us reaction, how does trump handle this? obviously there were ties to russian intervention, trump also middling with ukraine and the impeachment following. i'm truly curious how he would have messaged things.
  2. as horrifying as this war has been in its very early days, particularly for civilians in ukraine right now - it's largely an idealogical one. i get that he feels threatened, economically and also militarily if ukraine were to join nato. but i don't really think this is what it's about, ultimately. it's clear putin doesn't give a fuck about civilians and his communication to russians is pure propaganda at its worst. that propaganda wouldn't be necessary from putins standpoint if the threat from ukraine was mostly economic and military (and would probably be viewed as justified in some sense) rather than idealogical. so that's why he needs the messaging to the russian general public, the lies and distortion. he can't just say "you know what, fuck everyone else" and have the general population jump on board. he want's that, though. but it's pretty clear to those outside of russia (and a chunk within), that "fuck everyone else" mindset is abhorrent. so he tries to justify it in whatever way he thinks will bring him more support. ukraine is in the crosshairs, but it's really a war on the west, just as putin said our collective support of ukraine and sanctions was effectively also a declaration of war. i think this is escalating, even if their invasion has been underachieving thus far. it's very dangerous - but clearly, this is about much more than ukraine.
  3. putin pulls out, that's gotta be absolutely humiliating and his grip on power drops as quickly as the ruble has. concessions in the breakaway regions would save some face, but thats not what putins intentions were. and the widespread, unified support of ukraine and condemnation of russia gives them all the negotiating power, they don't need to concede anything. putin either has an A in the deck, or folds.. i'm not seeing a middle-ground here.
  4. absolutely. i'm just concerned putin will act even more recklessly after this exposure. one caveat - i also think this is very premature and there's plenty of russian troops that could potentially turn the tides rather quickly. but, the consequences of his current perception of weakness may not be ideal. it could be devastating for ukraine and other countries seeking peace rather than an embarrassment and diminishing of power for putin. i'm concerned he'll act out, feeling bullied and disregarded or looking for a power-type play, going out with a bang. i do think our intelligence in regards to russia is very strong - we knew this was coming. just as we knew they were fucking with the election(s). and what we as the general public know is obviously much less than our intelligence is informing. so hopefully we'd know if the situation internally within putin's inner circle becomes desperate, and we could respond before something catastrophic occurs. i just wonder what that response may be.
  5. in a worst-case scenario, hypothetically, putin lashes out further, feels cornered or whatever, some hawkish destructive idiot of an advisor suggests pushing the nuke button and putin says ok, fuck it. while this scenario seems very far-fetched, i'd assume we've considered the remote possibility of that unfolding. what's an appropriate response from NATO / the US then? what if it were a chemical weapon or other type of WMD that isn't a nuke, but still causes immense devastation and loss of life?
  6. internationally we're seeing a major rally in support of ukraine. ukraine's defenses and civilians seem to be very engaged and motivated, contrary to russian support and engagement. unconfirmed reports are showing fairly significant losses for russia in the first 3 days. clearly the international community is outraged and that's completely justifiable obviously but - are russian losses overreported? this also seems to be just "warming up" as the vast majority of russian troops have yet to cross into ukraine. i'm curious of putin's internal reaction, thus far. all of the support for ukraine has to be crushing and it seems there are clear miscalculations. i don't think he can accept anything less than an overwhelming "success" here, in his maniacal vision. i hope the huge show of support, fairly impressive resistance (so far), and reports of russian weakness don't encourage him to escalate further. but, i think they will. i'm very concerned the initial reports and international reaction with his fragile ego are counterintuitive and will ultimately be more destructive than if this had gone according to plan.
  7. very delicate situation. i'd like to see a unified response beyond sanctions. well, fuck, no, i wouldn't really like to see it - i just think a strong response here, in unison, is justified. putin is treading on thin ice as it stands.
  8. as an interested outsider, i've done a fair amount of reading and research on this over the last several weeks from different sides, in a meager attempt to have an informed opinion. this shit's going down, unfortunately. the costs will be immense. seems we have solid intel within the russian government and they're not bluffing. i hope we've got plans in place to confront this, of course heavy sanctions are expected, but any outside the box approaches or ideas - i wonder whats on the table, behind the scenes.
  9. 37-17 win here, we control the game throughout. i'm predicting jimmy g inconsistencies, the offense showing their nuts, and the defense capitalizing on those jimmy g jitters. next game though, is going down to the wire.
  10. yes the lakers look like shit. that said, they're going to get their shit together and make a postseason run, tbd how far that goes but it's a high ceiling, low floor. bron will preach overcoming adversity, a new roster, injuries, yadda, yadda.
  11. haha. hahahahaha. i love this, and also hate it in a disgusting sort of way. it‘s so typical and was called out yesterday. what if they found out we actually do fuck livestock? quick, let’s make some shit up! what if they found out we actually are a middling team that would be embarrased by wake? quick, let’s make some shit up! i’d love to play wake with our own portal’d roster and try to get a w.
  12. on the topic of informing players first as riley and kelly both got heat for the manner in which they left.. espn all but confirms cristobal to miami, pending a player meeting. hahaha. i guess this is the new standard. fire coach (or coach leaves), hire new coach, leak to media, “inform players,” confirm new hire. i find the leak to media step ridiculous for some odd reason- why not just inform the players first, then make it public. it’s an unnecessary circus.
  13. absofuckinglutely. part of this scenario is how well sark performs next year and year 3, and how poorly (or better) rhule performs too. perhaps an analyst candidate or one year coordinater is in the cards for saban. then again, should we be interested in hiring another coach with evident question marks? or just offer urban 15mil/yr? i hope sark rights the ship and can’t imagine blowing 3 consecutive hires.
  14. no team has really looked national championship-calibur in the b12 since, like 2010. so it's not surprise that both of these teams are continuing that tradition.
  15. baylors looking ready to blow this lead and ok lite will backdoor into the cfp.
  16. yea, but, maybe this is the time to show his cards! maybe he was holding back before.
  17. these very weak performances fucking suck. even worse, is trying to comprehend where we're headed. the players suck, generally. the coaches have underperformed, clearly. we're deep in the abyss of ineptitude and there isn't a clear way out. that's much more concerning than any individual performances from players, coaches, gameplans, etc.
  18. i've been higher on sark and the staff than most of you, but the lack of effort and weaknesses in, well, every single facet of the game at this point is evident.
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