An I worried about a nuclear exchange? Always. I've been briefed, and during the Cold War I was privy to certain things that kept me awake at night.
The world is closer than it has been for a very long time.
Tom Rogan, over at the Washington Examiner, says that nukes are extremely unlikely. I hope he knows what he is talking about.
Oh the other hand, Joe Biden says we don't need to worry. He hadn't been right about anything yet.
Putin knows he's losing, and that does not ake him happy.
Russian Space Chief Threatens to Crash International Space Station into U.S. or Europe
That ain't no problem. We can hang him too.
The Russians and other like-minded persons need to be taught that naked aggression has consequences. Personal consequences.
Some are reporting that peace talks will soon begin in Ukraine.
It isn't going well for the Russians. Their gains have been limited and slower than they expected. Resistance is stiffening. The Russians have a tough military problem, and a tougher political problem.
Zelensky is in the catbird seat. He must balance the idea that Russia is the aggressor with his desire to limit damage to his country, but he knows that he is on a target list.
Were I Zelensky, I would start the talks with three demands. Immediate ceasefire. Removal of Russian forces to recognized borders. Hang Putin publicly as an example to other dictators. That's right. Dangle Putin from a rope, and post it on Rumble, Facebook, and YouTube.
Those would be my starting demands, and they would not be negotiable.
The Russians face a tough military problem that will only get worse as the days drag on. The soldiers on the ground know this and they are not looking for a protracted fight.
I notice that the 2nd Amendment seems to be alive and well in Ukraine, where citizens are bearing arms in defense of home and country. I notice that those dreaded "assault" rifles are now defensive rifles and are being handed out by the government.
I notice that "green" energy is being re-thought in Europe, as suddenly the continent realizes that Russia holds all the cards in petro-energy, and that they are dependent on the natural gas that flows trough pipelines
I notice that Covid hysteria has dropped off, everywhere except in the White House, where people still wear masks. Never let it be said that Joe Biden let reality intrude on his fevered dreams.
I notice that military aged men are staying in Ukraine, while the women and children flee. It is amazing how natural gender roles re-assert themselves in the face of reality.
There is a story going around about a Ukrainian woman who had a chance encounter with a Russian soldier.
She handed hi sunflower seeds and said "Put these in your pocket so that they can grow in Ukraine after we bury you."
It's probably apocryphal, but it's a great sentiment.
I will pray for that Ukrainian woman.
He's getting fuzzier by the day. When it warms up, we'll take him to the groomers.
Climate czar John Kerry is concerned that the Ukraine crisis might divert attention from climate change.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry appeared for an interview to express his regret that the war between Ukraine and Russia is distracting people from climate change.
Damn, John. It's bad enough that you are irrelevant, without displaying your stupidity.
I wonder what Russia's carbon footprint in Ukraine looks like today?
The last thing I'm worried about today is climate change, which I believe to be a total farce. It's apparent that John Kerry is not a serious person, and should never be trusted with serious tasks. He is totally unsuited to the job.
Despite the ongoing crisis at our southern border, the Biden administration is asking Customs and Border Patrol agents to temporarily deploy to Poland. What the hell?
For the second time in a year, the Biden administration is seeking to divert Customs and Border Protection officers from the southern border crisis to an overseas conflict, this time to help process people fleeing the Russian assault on Ukraine.
Why? I suspect that the Poles can process refugees. I mean, it's not like the folks on our soutern border are sitting around, twiddling their thumbs,
The request comes six months after a similar effort to process Afghan refugees after the bungled U.S. exit from that country. That operation was sharply criticized Friday by the Pentagon inspector general for poor Defense Department vetting that allowed 50 Afghans posing serious security risks to enter the United States.
This is amazing. Crazy Joe isn't willing to secure our own borders, but he wants to help secure Poland's borders.
The BBC is reporting on the fighting in Ukraine.
About 10 civilians are believed to have been killed, including six in an air strike in Brovary near the capital Kyiv. A man was also killed in shelling outside the major eastern city of Kharkiv.
A Ukrainian presidential adviser said that more than 40 soldiers had died and dozens more were wounded. Ukraine said it had killed 50 Russian troops and shot down six Russian aircraft, but this has not been verified.
I admit that I haven't been paying much attention to the conflict. I have been more concerned about other things closer to home. Things like gas prices, food prices, energy costs, the effect that inflation is having on my retirement income, rising crime, and other outrages that this inept administration has foisted upon us. It seems like Biden is more concerned about European orders than he is with the US border.
I am reminded that I predicted the timeline of the invasion in a post in late January. I predicted that the invasion, if it occurred, would be after the Olympics and before the spring thaw. Here we are in the last week of February.
Joe Rogan has, arguably, the biggest podcast on the internet. His listening audience dwarfs many established news organizations. Rogan does long-format interviews with interesting people. Just long conversations about any of a variety of topics. From politics to aliens, to mixed martial arts, to bitcoin to drug addiction, you never know what you are going to get. Rogan is no conservative, but more of what I would describe as a classical liberal.
Yesterday, he revealed that he did not vote in the last presidential election.
“He’s [Biden] not a good example, because he’s basically a shell, you know, cognitively,” Rogan shared. “And the fact that that took a long time for people to admit. That was one of the things that people were saying that I was a Trump supporter during the election because I said I would vote for Trump before I would vote for Biden.”
“But I didn’t vote for either,” he added. “The reason why I said that was like, ‘You don’t see this? Are you guys out of your fucking mind? You guys don’t see that this guy can’t, he can’t talk right anymore?’ Go watch videos of him from twenty years ago. He was a dummy, he said a lot of silly shit, he lied about a bunch of things, but at least he was articulate.”
I am reminded of the story about the Emperor's new clothes, and the little boy who observed that the King was naked.
Crazy Uncle Joe decides to talk sh*t
And, the next thig we know, Russian tanks are rolling in Ukraine. It's a flimsy pretense, but it is all he needs.
We all know how the Russians tremble when a Democrat is in the White House.
Red beans and sausage over rive is one of the simplest recipes I know. It's perfect for cold, rainy days when you simply want something warm, filling, and hearty. Over the years, Belle and I have turned it into an almost no-cook recipe. We own several slow-cookers and we use them for lots of things, red beans included.
Red Beans
Ingredients
CBS News is reporting that Russian commanders on the Ukraine border already have their orders for the invasion.
On Sunday, CBS News reported that U.S. intelligence agencies have confirmed that Russian commanders have received orders to proceed with an invasion of Ukraine, with commanders on the ground making specific plans for how they would maneuver in their sectors of the battlefield,
Well, yeah, that's the way these things work. These orders spell out objectives, boundaries, road networks, and how the maneuvers are supposed to unfold. These orders give subordinate commanders time to do their studies, make plans and assign tasks within their respective areas of operation. The only thing that might be missing from those orders is D-day, H-hour, or when those missions are supposed to begin..
Putin has ~190,000 troops available, or approximately 19 divisions, That should be plenty, but those troops have to arm up, move to assembly areas, and do a vast amount of coordination, All of which are spelled out in the orders.
This is the way an army works, and only a neophyte would be surprised to learn that the RUssians know how to conduct military operations.
