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BamaATL

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Posts posted by BamaATL

  1. 1 minute ago, troph said:

    A farmer, shop worker, a mom, a student, yeah Russia is fucked and those ordinary folks couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Not on them. Are there Russians to blame, you get your ass there are, but this is a country with more in common with Saudi Arabia than any neighboring free European country. Ordinary folk are constantly left out or worse under threat. This isn’t on them. 

    A farmer, a shop worker, a mom, a student stood up to the biggest power the world had ever seen and forced the matter, its name is the United States of America.  Its a matter of will, principle, determination, and ultimately sacrifice.  It takes this type of will to break away from this sort of system and the others you mentioned.  However, it has to be an internal drive to do so, otherwise it is entirely ineffectual.  

  2. 6 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

    I do agree with the others that think it would be a step too far for even China, but I also don't see how Putin backs out of this without losing power.

    Things are only going to get worse for Russia as more and more experienced volunteers arrive and integrate with the Ukrainians, and all the while the West will be sending in massive amounts of weapons and aid, to knock out tanks and trucks and what not, that Putin won't be able to easily replace.

    We know Putin is a coward of sorts, with the green screens, the long tables, the large rooms.

    But who is he more afraid of - the West, or his own people if he admits failure and backs out of Ukraine?

    First, I completely agree with Putin being a coward.  No question about it.

    My guess is that he could pack it up and retreat and still spin this with his propaganda, at least for a while.  But once the public began to figure out that while the conflict is over, none of what they had before is coming back, he'd have pretty significant problems.  That's why in my opinion he's more scared of his own people than he is of us.  If he plays his cards right, he still has his nukes to deter us, but how long can you really go detaining everyone that opposes you in your own country.  I know the Stalin purges were millions but could that still work today, I have no idea the conviction level of the internal Russian powers that could make that happen.  

  3. 3 minutes ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

    Need to find the article from the past week about that Putin is still operating a vertical economy, most stuff is in a few sectors, and RU military doctrine is a left over from the vertical economy era while the rest of the world is moving to a horizontal economy around technology and innovation. The places that are providing cheap tech labor are starting to have a middle and upper middle class.  Basically the modern version of a rising tide lifts all boats.

    Earlier this week, when they shot a missile at the TV tower, thinking that they could disrupt Ukraine's ability to get info to the people it struck me as a group of guys that are extremely out of touch with the new reality.  That's only one way people get info, and its now one of the smaller ways.  It oddly reminded of the Schitts Creek episode where the whole joke was about how out of touch Eugene Levy's character (find us on the tweeters, the Lee Iacocca quotes, etc).  Of course this isn't a joke, but it sure did make me think of that.  

    Their lack of a grasp of the modern economy is part of this whole thing.  You can't go it alone anymore, not even close. 

    • Like 2
  4. 12 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

    OK, then play that out a little further.  They use nukes.  Tactical nukes so as not to trigger full scale mutually assured annihilation.  How, then, does Russia EVER reintegrate into the multinational stage?  They become untouchable even for the dregs of the international community.  Complete and utter collapse of not only the Russian economy, but the entire society.  They are cut off from absolutely everything.  All markets.  All trade.  Everything.  If he's too stupid to play that forward, well, there's no hope for them.

    I don't agree that nukes are embedded in the playbook.  He'll rattle his sabres that they are.  But that would be a genie he would never get back in the bottle.

    I have to think even Putin sees that there is no way back for "his" Russia.  That could prove to be a disaster because he may well choose the unthinkable because he has nothing to lose. 

    The long way back for Russia doesn't involve Putin at all.  It involves a severely reformed Russia with free and fair elections (with UN monitoring), nuclear disarming, and believe it or not a carrot to an eventual NATO membership (way down the line).  All those should be on the table with these steps integrated into a Russian reintroduction to foreign markets as they meet criteria.  

    • Hook 'Em 1
  5. 1 minute ago, BabaYaga said:

    Reading on the UK Starstreak.  It's a nasty bitch.  Accelerates up to Mach 4, faster than any other MANPAD and has a great distance (4 miles), and that flares as countermeasures are useless against it.  Point & shoot weapon that rides a laser beam to the target before unleashing three internal warheads to increase the chances of getting a hit

    Sleep well Rusky pilots....

    It looked interesting, but not ferocious.  Looks can be deceiving.  Yikes good hunting Ukraine.  

  6. 6 minutes ago, Smax said:

     

    Thats fair and I agree with much of what you've said but god damn man its been bad over the past week but this maternity hospital.. and Russia will say it was an accident or whatever meanwhile they target similar non military instillations and do the same thing over and over. Its frustrating and maddening, at the end of this when hes decided its done, there will be nothing left (structurally) in Ukraine. I guess the positive is he couldn't take the country but the loss of life on both sides and for what? IDK why this one is hitting me the way its, we've seen destruction from war in the news every day for the past 20 years or so but I'm really pissed off at this whole thing

    We are very much in a helpless situation here and we are all angry.  We are watching evil play out and its a helpless feeling.  There are some things we can do as private citizens to help:

    1.  Consider donating to organizations like habitat for humanity in both Romania and Poland.  (Moldova may fall, Hungary who knows with them).  Housing is going to be a huge issue.  Perhaps we can help getting 3D printing operations up and running quickly.

    2.  Boycott all products of Russian (shouldn't be hard to do)

    3.  Remember when you fill up your car, however annoying the additional cost is, that no one is shelling your home or community.  If this is the biggest sacrifice we have to make we are doing ok.  

    4.  Call your congressmen and Senators and let them know how you feel.  Encouraging and supporting US foreign aid to Ukraine, Poland, and Romania is critical.  

    • Hook 'Em 4
    • Like 1
  7. 3 minutes ago, Smax said:

     

    Then Ukraine is lost and whatever previous soviet union country Putin sets his eyes on next, this lackluster display by the west really maes me questions nato response if he tries to take Armenia or Azerbaijan

    The only way the Ukraine is lost is if the Ukrainian people lose the will to fight.  I see no evidence of this whatsoever.  There aren't degrees of winning for Russia, only degrees of losing here.  The Afghani's fought for 10 years against them using will to fight, and eventually western assistance and won.  The Ukrainians didn't have to wait for western assistance.  Big difference.  

    • Hook 'Em 2
    • Like 1
  8. So I've been largely watching CNN, and it continually brings on retired brass with outdated ideas and beliefs.  I have to imagine Fox News is no different.  Basically, leave your bias at the door, we are all witnessing fossils pontificating on a world they have little understanding of.  On CNN, the old brass keeps insisting that Russia will take everything east of the Dnieper River.  I find his extremely unlikely, even if Russian forces manage to control this territory for a brief amount of time, it seems completely unlikely that they can actually hold this territory (it's half of Texas).  Also, everyone was going crazy over the 40 mile column no less than a few days ago, and now I hear virtually nothing about it.  

  9. 59 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

    I am in Atlanta...all my shit is in Texas. "All my shit is in Texas..." Somewhere on here I have a picture of him on the battle ship. Farthest left row seventh from the front. 

    "All my shit is in Texas" may well be the next great country anthem.  It sure as hell beats the current stuff coming out of Nashville just as a sheer ideology.  Its concept country, no different in spirit than ideas like Dark Side of the Moon.  Also, I've had tenants make claims along these lines.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  10. 5 minutes ago, msucolt45 said:

    During Desert Storm, Fng 30 years ago, I was a Fire Direction Specialist for an MLRS Battalion. I had a launcher about to receive a “mission” requiring 2 rockets. Back then each MLRS launcher contained two “six packs” of pods, so at most they held twelve rockets.

    The launcher assigned only had three rounds/ rockets left in a pod of six, so I changed the mission to three, in order to empty his pod. You’d thought the world ended with that change!!

    I had everyone from a Colonel to those with stars, thinking I’d just wasted money!!! I’m like WTF, we’d already shot over 1K rockets and they were worried about ONE. It wasn’t even an air corridor problem with “friendly jets”, they were saying I wasted $$$.

    You owe all of us a check for 3 cents, I demand an ACH

  11. 1 minute ago, Cheeseweasel said:

    It's Zlatan. It's always Zlatan.

    <iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/jlSOXeQC1PXGM" width="480" height="258" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/ashton-kutcher-film-gif-dude-wheres-my-car-jlSOXeQC1PXGM">via GIPHY</a></p>

  12. 2 minutes ago, Nivek said:

    How can Ukraine end the sanctions?  It is not their choice.  

    This, and why would the rest of NATO agree to anything short of no more Vlad and a removal of the nuclear arms at this point.  We have Putin's balls in a vice, there is no way we walk without getting these kind of results.

    • Hook 'Em 1
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