Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

This really is a full service blog.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

After roe, women are no longer free.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

This fight is for everything.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 397: A New Week Begins

War for Ukraine Day 397: A New Week Begins

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(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump:

I held an away meeting of the Staff – in Dnipro, a strategic city in the center of Ukraine – address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

27 March 2023 – 22:39

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

I have just held a meeting of the Staff – for the first time away, in Dnipro. Right here – in the strategic city of the center of our country, after visiting Marhanets and Nikopol, Zaporizhzhia, the frontline positions of our warriors in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The commanders of the operational areas reported the actual situation. General Syrskyi, General Tarnavskyi – they were there in person. Those who lead the defense in the Donetsk region, in the hottest areas. There were also online reports by commanders of the operational and strategic groups of troops covering the south and the north. There was a report by the Commander-in-Chief and others.

By the way, I want to thank the warriors of our intelligence for the powerful work today in Bakhmut, the “Kraken” unit, as always – top level. Well done, guys!

At the Staff’s meeting, we discussed the overall situation in the frontline areas, the reinforcement and protection of our borders along the entire length of the front – from the Kherson region to the Kharkiv region.

Every commander understands that the enemy must be held accountable for every attack on our cities and villages, on our people. For Slovyansk, for Kostiantynivka and Druzhkivka, for Avdiivka and Toretsk, for all the pain of Ukrainians – and not only during the full-scale war, but also since 2014.

Dnipro has been our fortress for more than 9 years, all this time supporting the front and warriors. It is here, in Dnipro, that since 2014, thousands of our soldiers have been saved after being wounded. Dnipro concentrated the work of volunteers – from the first weeks of aggression in 2014.

I thank you, Dnipro, I thank everyone here in the city who helps Ukraine stand, stand strong and beat the occupier.

Today in Zaporizhzhia, I visited the site where Russian rockets hit residential buildings. Ordinary houses… Burnt, partially destroyed, unfortunately.

Dozens of people were injured by this insane Russian strike. The terrorists knew exactly where they were aiming their missiles. High-explosive “Smerch”. At the houses. 37 people were injured, 2 died. My condolences to those who have lost loved ones…

More than 400 people applied for help.

Of course, Russia will be held accountable for this strike as well. It is for this that we cooperate to the maximum with international justice, mobilize the world to create a Special Tribunal for Russia’s aggression. All this will happen. Terrorists will be sentenced.

Of course, we help those who lost their homes as a result of this and similar strikes. Local authorities and partners have the resources to provide people with first aid. And I thank everyone who implements the relevant programs quickly and without excessive bureaucracy.

It was painful to look at what Russia did to our Marhanets, to our Nikopol. But our warriors, each and every one of them, who are now in the frontline positions, whom we visited today in Zaporizhzhia, know exactly what they need to drive the enemy out of our land. And it will happen.

Today I paid a visit to our soldiers in the hospital, where they are recovering from injuries. Thank you to every doctor, every nurse, and all the volunteers who help save the soldiers.

I met with IAEA head Rafael Grossi. The topic is clear: the security of our energy industry, our nuclear plants. First of all, the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which Russia still uses for radiation blackmail of the world. No other terrorist has reached such depths in his cynicism, in which Russia constantly seeks and finds a new bottom.

Holding a nuclear power plant hostage for more than a year is the worst thing that could happen in the history of the European and in general global nuclear energy sector. The longer the Russian occupation of the ZNPP continues, the greater will be the threat to the security of Ukraine, the whole of Europe and the world. I am grateful to our partners, grateful to Grossi for understanding this and for supporting Ukraine in the relevant issues.

And one more thing.

We are already preparing for an important international event that will take place this week at the initiative of President Biden and the United States. Summit for Democracy. Ukraine will participate. Our position in support of freedom will sound strong, as always.

I am thankful to everyone who helps our country protect freedom!

Glory to all who fight for Ukraine!

I am thankful to all our people in Zaporizhzhia, in Marhanets, in Nikopol, in Dnipro, in all the cities that Russia wants to destroy so badly and that stand so firmly!

Together we will win.

Glory to Ukraine!

The Ukrainian MOD’s Telegram channel posted an update from Ukrainian Land Force Component Commander Colonel General Syrskyi. Here is a machine translation:

The Ukrainian MOD informs us that Ukrainian SOF and partisans are still hunting and haunting the Russian reinvaders in Russian occupied Mariupol:

Here is former NAVDEVGRU squadron leader Chuck Pfarrer’s most recent assessment of the situations in Avdiivka and Bakhmut:

Bakhmut:

Melitopol:

Solviansk:

Here’s an interesting thread from the Ukrainian officer who tweets as Tatarigami, which exposes a Russian disinformation campaign against Ukraine. First tweet in the thread followed by the rest from the Thread Reader App:

2/ The location where the video was filmed has reportedly been identified by the Telegram channel “Moscow Calling” as 47.9769473, 37.9534718. Source: t.me/m0sc0wcalling/…Image

3/ The identified location, 47.9769473, 37.9534718, is situated deep within the occupied territory of Donetsk, as can be seen on the DeepState map.Image
4/ The soldiers in the video are wearing yellow armbands, which is an uncommon practice among Ukrainian soldiers who currently wear green armbands. This raises suspicions about the authenticity of the soldiers depicted in the video.Image
5/ The fact that the woman was driving with a dashcam is another cause for suspicion. It is illegal to film the movement of Ukrainian troops, and one would not be able to pass a checkpoint with a dashcam. Thus, the presence of a dashcam raises huge questions 
6/ The car depicted in the video appears to be very clean, which is an unlikely condition for a vehicle traveling in a war zone. This gives the impression that the car was recently washed for the purpose of filming the video. 
7/ The soldiers in the video appear to assault the woman because she speaks Russian, which is a trope that is often utilized in propaganda. The portrayal of the soldiers as two masked Ukrainian nationalists stopping a car with a woman and a child and then 
8/ abusing them because they speak russian appears to be a manufactured narrative from russian propaganda playbook. Additionally, the woman’s name appears to have a Muslim origin, which aligns with recent fake propaganda videos circulated by Russians, 
9/ showing fake Ukrainian soldiers burning the Quran. It is worth noting that the location of the incident is deliberately obscure, making it difficult to determine where it took place. Additionally, all soldiers are conveniently wearing masks, obscuring their identity 
10/ Furthermore, there is additional evidence suggesting that the video is staged. However, I will withhold further analysis until it is completed. The full video can be accessed via this link:

Additional: As the user @MrClarkyofAxel pointed out, the cross on back of the car is not a regular one, which is used by Ukrainian troops, but stylized Balkenkreuz, that resembled German troops during WW-2 period. Another clear indications of a staged propaganda piece. 
Further analysis by @EjShahid provides independent confirmation of the locationImage

fdsfd

Just in time delivery!

In case you were wondering what the inside of an Iranian drone looks like:

And another bit of evidence as to why the Russians will not break Ukrainian resilience:

Politico is reporting that US and allied officials are asserting that Putin’s talk of putting nuclear weapons in Belarus is an attempt to distract everyone.

U.S. and European officials do not believe Vladimir Putin intends to transfer tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus anytime soon, according to three senior officials involved in diplomatic conversations about Moscow’s recent threat.

Putin announced on Saturday that he planned to send the battlefield weapons across the border to store in a facility that is under construction and would be ready in July. If such a shipment happened, it would mark the first time Russia’s nuclear weapons have existed outside of the country since the 1990s.

Putin did not clarify when he intended to send the weapons, but the Western officials said they do not have any evidence to suggest Putin is going to move forward with the shipments in the near future. The Russian president appears to have made the threat to try to rattle the Ukrainians and distract from the Kremlin’s losses on the battlefield, the officials said.

The officials said they have not seen any indication — such as satellite imagery or other intelligence — that shows Russia is moving forward with an immediate plan to deploy nuclear weapons. The officials represent both U.S. and European governments and were granted anonymity to speak freely about a sensitive national security issue.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby made similar comments to reporters on Monday.

“We haven’t seen any movement of any tactical nuclear weapons or anything of that kind since this announcement, and we certainly haven’t seen any indication that Mr. Putin has made some sort of decision to use weapons of mass destruction, let alone nuclear weapons inside Ukraine,” he said.

The assessment and comments by U.S. and European officials underscore the degree to which Western governments are batting down Putin’s messaging despite previously warning about the Russian president’s potential use of nuclear weapons earlier on in the conflict.

Another country heard from:

Good luck with that!

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

And a new video from Patron’s official TikTok!

@patron__dsns

Засновано на реальних подіях! P.s. Трішки запізнився з трендом, але ви ж мені пробачите?🤭 #песпатрон

♬ son original – Girl Crush Gang

Whatever is going on with TikTok, it’s still not letting me highlight the caption for machine translation and then copy and paste it.

And some Patron adjacent material to finish the update!

Touch not the cat bot a glove!

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

81Comments

  3. 3.

    Alison Rose

    No other terrorist has reached such depths in his cynicism, in which Russia constantly seeks and finds a new bottom.

    I hope one day, after Ukraine’s complete victory has been achieved and russia has slithered back beyond its own damn borders, and after Zelenskyy has served his time in office and moved on to whatever is next for him, that he writes a memoir about his experience, because not only would it be great to hear about from him rather than outsiders, but he has such a poignant way with words, even through translation. 10/10 would pre-order.

    Thank you for sharing the thread from Tatarigami. I’d seen that video referenced and assumed it was fake, but am glad to have pretty solid evidence as to why. The car being freshly washed somehow sticks out to me as the most ludicrous element.

    Patron is like “don’t worry, i defend u legolas”.

    Thank you as always, Adam.

  4. 4.

    West of the Rockies

    Didn’t Russia lose 1,200 troops a couple days ago?  Another 600 today.  They’re losing 12-15K a month.  They are creating so much trauma, PTSD, hundreds of thousands of orphans, mourning parents, widows…

    That’s a lot of intergenerational trauma, all whilst tanking their own economy, and shredding their reputation throughout the world.

    All because of some greedy, evil orc-men.

  10. 10.

    Jay

    @Alison Rose:

    and at the end of the thread’

    The story takes an unexpected turn. Russian famous telegram channel, with over 300,000 subscribers, has admitted that the video is fake:
    “The video is fake, our crooked exercise. In conducting such information operations, there is still much for us to learn and improve upon.”

  11. 11.

    Jay

    @Jay:

    One would think that getting caught so quickly making a fake, one would blame someone else for fooling them with the fake, rather than publically admitting that they needed to make better fakes.

  12. 12.

    NobodySpecial

    @West of the Rockies: Even though the general reports seem to be going well, every time I hear a casualty count, I immediately cut in in half. It’s a thing to continually inflate body counts going back at least to US Army reports fighting Indians in the 1800’s, covers all sides of every conflict.

  13. 13.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Kent: Correct. It is a popular slang/colloquial term for explosions in enemy territory. The Ukrainian word is “bavovna.”

  18. 18.

    Andrya

    @Alison Rose:  It’s plenty ludicrous, but not as ludicrous as the video showing the “lair” of a purported Ukrainian team out to assassinate warmongering TV host vladimir solovyov.  The “assassins” were equipped with bright red t-shirts with prominent swastika, a green wig, and 3 copies of the Sims video game.  (Presumably the FSB thugs had been told to get SIM cards and screwed up.)  link

  19. 19.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @Andrya:

    Up until recently, RU information warfare and propaganda efforts have been really well done. I wonder if some of the talent fled post invasion.

  20. 20.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Alison Rose: Thing is, that video is for Western consumption, and I’m sure the tankies will take it hook, line and sinker. In Ukraine everyone knows it’s bogus, because it’s filmed from a dashcam, and use of dashcams has been prohibited since last February.

  21. 21.

    Jay

    @Princess:

    Unfortunately, he was standing outside the car when the dentonation happened, so he lived.

    On the bright side, lots of stuff burning today in Moscovia.

  22. 22.

    Gin & Tonic

    That sewing video is nice, but it’s far from a unique operation. Ukrainians have been doing this for years. One of my closest friends set up a workshop like this in 2014-2015, sewing tactical vests, and was doing that up until he re-signed with the armed forces last spring (he’s a veteran.) There are lots of people like that – somehow I doubt there are many such stories in russia.

  23. 23.

    Gin & Tonic

    And here the UN’s “Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights” utterly beclowns herself and her organization:

    just an extraordinary tweet, telling the victims of an invasion they’re not being broad-minded enough. https://t.co/c8ADNs8MpC
    — James Palmer (@BeijingPalmer) March 27, 2023

    I have been incandescent with rage since coming across this.

  24. 24.

    Alison Rose

    @Andrya: Yeah, I guess ludicrous has been the name of their game from the beginning. “We must deNazify this country that is run by *checks notes* a Jew.” Cool story, broksi.

  28. 28.

    Anoniminous

    Into the muddy season so maneuver operations are off the table. Fortunately the Russians spent the winter killing off their soldiers, losing armored fighting vehicles, depleting their munitions, and just generally screwing around and being f—k ups. The Ukrainians spent the winter getting trained and ready for a summer counter-offensive — an attack made in response to one from an enemy, typically on a large scale or for a prolonged period.

    At least I hope it’s a counter-offensive.

    With the drone tech they had and the newer tech coming online supporting their other air assets they should be able to achieve air superiority and – maybe? – air dominance (?) over a battlefield, protecting their schwerpunkt. This would allow an armor breakthrough*, deep penetration into the Russian rear areas**, and an opening of maneuver warfare. Something the Russian absolutely suck at.

    * but please to not call it blitzkrieg
    ** yeah, a lot of military jargon is homo-erotic. Deal.

  30. 30.

    Jay

    @Alison Rose:

    All the “global” Sporting Associations, the IOC and a bunch of the “Cultural” Associations are beclowning themselves with vapid excuses to allow Russian and Belorussian athletes and artists back on the stage for the $$$,

    meanwhile Ukrainian athletes and artists are dying and being crippled in Ukraine.

  34. 34.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Gin & Tonic: ​
    I may be remembering incorrectly, being as I was extremely unborn when it happened, but I don’t think the Germans got to do sporty stuff after they invaded Poland.

  36. 36.

    Carlo Graziani

    The absurdity of the”Nukes for Belarus” play is beyond belief. Belarus could be the next Ukraine, and Lukashenka the next Yanukovych if he fails to keep the lid on his restless citizens. Russia is really going to make a parcel of its nukes hostage to such an obvious instability? Pull the other one, Vladimir, it’s got bells on.

  39. 39.

    Jay

    There was an incident where Ukrainian athletes wanted to commemorate their killed athletes in the war unleashed by Russia but the Olympic arm for fencing (@FIE_fencing) interfered.I see the necessity to notify European politicians to stop Russia (and Belarus) from participating. https://t.co/Zfks2aicbh— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) March 27, 2023

  40. 40.

    Anoniminous

    @Jay: ​
     
    The IOC is right up there with FIFA with not wanting the flow of money into their pockets sport be stemmed by politics.

  41. 41.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    Thank you again, Adam. I can’t wait for the day that the war is over and you can stop with the updates. Until then I will read everything you post, every single day. While there are several outlets for war footage, r/CombatFootage has some of the best/worst stuff out there. Yes it is gruesome, but it is happening and people should see what is going on. The utter incompetence and deep depravity of the Russian military and their mercenaries is something to behold. Every time I start to feel sorry for the Russians on the receiving end of drone drops and artillery I remember the rapes, murders and indiscriminate bombings they have committed and any sorrow for them evaporates.

    Every Russian killed is one less Russian around to kill others.

  43. 43.

    Carlo Graziani

    @Gin & Tonic: Amusingly, Xanthaki appears to be a failed and ignored academic. She published a book in 2007, Indigenous Rights and United Nations Standards, which so far as Google Books can ascertain has not drawn a single review, academic or otherwise. It may never have been read by anyone except her editor, and some bored but dutiful peer reviewers. My guess is that a cushy UN Civil Service career must have seemed to her like a good trade-in for her justly abortive and mediocre academic one

    ETA: Someone with a Twitter account should ask her earnestly about the sales of her book, and why they can’t find a review anywhere to decide whether it’s worth a read.

  45. 45.

    Origuy

    @Jay: I couldn’t be sure from the video, but it looked like those people were Chinese officials, not FIE, although they might have been from the Chinese national fencing federation.

  49. 49.

    Carlo Graziani

    @Gin & Tonic: The UN “hires” by national quotas, and despises meritocracy. It is the least transparent and accountable of all International organizations. Competence is intermittent, and purely accidental. Complaining about mediocrity in the UN Civil Service is like complaining that a Port-A-Toilet smells bad.

  50. 50.

    Alison Rose

    @Carlo Graziani: It’s got SIX whole ratings on Goodreads, and the only actual written review, which gave it 4/5 stars, is from someone who has otherwise read nothing but manga and YA/NA fantasy. So I’m guessing…..a cousin of hers or something. LOL.

  51. 51.

    Ruckus

    @NobodySpecial:

    Well sure but then stopping to actually count the bodies doesn’t really seem to be a smart move. And in this case it’s pretty obvious that vlad is shoveling bodies into Ukraine with way less than the absolute minimum necessary training to keep them any where near alive. Along with that they really don’t have a what you might call a line supervisor or NCO core and it hurts them seriously. So I’m inclined to give far more credit to the Ukrainian numbers than I might otherwise. Besides quite often the bodies are just laying there to be counted.

  54. 54.

    bookworm1398

    @34. Omnes. The 1940 and 1944 were canceled altogether. At other times, countries have boycotted the Olympics for political protest. As far as I know, South Africa is the only country to be banned.

  55. 55.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Origuy:

    @Jay:

    There was/is an international fencing event held in China, & the staff of the Chinese organizers prevented a Ukrainian athlete from hoisting a poster memorializing a fellow Ukrainian fencer killed in the invasion. Not really surprising. Setting aside whether there has been directives from on high wrt to potential Ukrainian protests, if the staff had allowed the poster stand, there would inevitably be a vehement protest from the Russian team that makes international news, & then it becomes an international incident, & the staff will be punished for allowing such an incident to happen.

    All the incentives for the Chinese staff & organizers are the opposite of what they would be if the event was held in a western country. The official “Beijing Straddle” is unmistakably pro-Russian in rhetoric, & while there is greater sympathy for Ukraine & less admiration for Russia among the Chinese population than Chinese social media might suggests (which itself has become less pro-Russian as the invasion stalled), majority of the most vocal ones are still pro-Russian (though anti-West might be more accurate).

  56. 56.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: I don’t follow these things, so don’t know what impact this has, but at least, the WAF seems like they have their heads on straight.  Perhaps it’s b/c they’re toothless, who knows.

    https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/council-meeting-march-2023-russia-belarus-female-eligibility

    War in Ukraine
    The World Athletics Council has also reaffirmed the decision it originally made in March 2022, to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes, support personnel, Member Federation officials and officials who are citizens of those two countries from all World Athetics Series events for the foreseeable future.

    These sanctions take effect immediately and include:

    a. no hosting of any International or European athletics events, which includes World Athletics Series, Continental Tour meetings and other International Competitions;

    b. no right to attend, speak and/or vote at meetings of Congress;

    c. no accreditation to attend any World Athletics Series events;

    d. no involvement of Member Federation personnel in any official World Athletics development or professional programmes; and

    e. Athletes, Athlete Support Personnel, Member Federation Officials and Officials who are Citizens of Russia and Belarus are excluded from World Athletics Series Events for the foreseeable future.

  57. 57.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @ Adam, what is the nature of the Ukrainian Army formations formally designated as “airborne”, “air assault” or “marines”? Ukraine does not have the airlift capacity to conduct paradrop operations, the vertical lift capacity for air assault operations, or the sealift capacity for amphibious assault operations. It seems that for all intents & purposes they are line infantry/mech. infantry units, though perhaps of somewhat higher quality (at least at the start of the current invasion). See the “air assault” brigade being equipped w/ heavy armor donated from NATO countries. So, why are they still named for specialized purposed? Was it inheritance from their Soviet Army predecessors? Were they ever trained for airborne/air/amphibious assaults before 2022 or 2014? Do their designations suggest certain unrealized ambitions from the Ukrainian military?

  58. 58.

    kalakal

    @Carlo Graziani: I was looking at her previous ‘triumphs’ at the UN.

    The highlight was a speech on “The human right to a cultural life in Scotland’

    I wonder how we ever got on back home without her help? I hope they fed her nothing but tatties’n’neeps while she was there.

    That comment. Does she actually possess any capacity for self reflection?

  59. 59.

    Chetan Murthy

    @kalakal: “Look buddy, I got a cushy job here, sweet money, sweet digs, fuck-all work required, and you want me to *mess that up* by taking a principled stand?!?!?!1??!”

    ETA: I think this is part of what President Zelenskiyy means when he talkes about how the UN is no longer fit for purpose, and will need to be rebuilt.

  62. 62.

    Another Scott

    @kalakal:

    No need to bet – you can see for yourself.

    Beware, though, Google Scholar counts are often inflated compared to Web of Science and similar indexing sites.

    To be clear – I’m not defending her or the UN. I don’t know anything about her.

    I don’t think VVP’s russia should be competing in international sports as long as they are killing Ukrainians. And I think the pro tennis leagues are showing that they only care about money by letting russians compete (without showing their flag – Oooh. Scary.).

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  63. 63.

    Jay

    @YY_Sima Qian:

    So, why are they still named for specialized purposed? Was it inheritance from their Soviet Army predecessors? Were they ever trained for airborne/air/amphibious assaults before 2022 or 2014? Do their designations suggest certain unrealized ambitions from the Ukrainian military?

    A big chunk of it is historical naming.

    The PPLIC, (Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry of Canada), hasn’t been a Light Infantry since the Boer War. Since the mid 1990’s, it’s not even been a “Regiment”, but instead a core unit, which on deployment is “braced up” with deployments from various Militia units like the Seaforth Highlanders, the New Westminster Regiment, (arty) and the Calgary Tanks, to form a “heavy” Battalion Tactical Group.

    The “Westies” date back to the early establishment of The Crown Colony of British Columbia, the Royal Engineers, New Westminster as the capital, the use of the Fraser River as a defensive line against the “Murkin’s”, and the need for a local Militia unit to man the Royal Navy guns to prevent a crossing of the river if there was an invasion.

    Some of the naming calls back to pre-Soviet Ukraine, some, Soviet Ukraine, some post Soviet Ukraine.

    The names are important as it ties the new guys into the history, and allows us old guys to have continuity.

  66. 66.

    Jay

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    Geese are sweet loving animals, that mate for life, care extensively for their brood and their flock, and will defend against the greatest odds.

    The thing is, you gotta make friends first, before they will let you on their turf.

    When we lived in the hills, a neighbor had a cougar go after their sheep. Their one male goose ran him off. When I would drive over, as soon as I passed through the fence, there he was. I would have to get out of the truck, and say hi, open the passenger door and ask if he wanted a ride back to the house. 90% of the time he would take it.

    He would sit beside me on the porch, let me scruff his head.

  67. 67.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: @kalakal: It must be nice having such a strong belief in the fundamental decency of other humans.  I think she does indeed have the capacity for self-reflection, and that she knows what she’s doing and what its implications are.  She just DGAF, b/c hey, gotta eat.  And hey, somebody else will take care of cleaning up that mess in Ukraine, “not my problem”.

    I’m reminded of the time-servers in Le Carre’s Smiley novels: it wasn’t their job to hunt down Karla so, y’know, they didn’t bother even trying.  They just covered-up, every step of the way.  People like Oliver Lacon.

  69. 69.

    Jay

    @Chetan Murthy:

    yup, I agree, but if she had the capacity for self reflection,………

    never would have posted that crap.

    There are easier, less offensive ways of saying “I need a paycheque”.

  70. 70.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: I’m reminded of Peskov, or various other mouthpieces of the RU regime, who just come out and say the most ridiculous things.  Like Lavrov in India, where he got laughed at: I’m quite sure he knew he was saying something completely bullshit, but there were two other things at play:

    1. it’s the party line, and he is paid to spout it
    2. it’s an exercise in power: they say absolute bullshit, and force you to go along with it: that is their way of showing that they have the power and you do not.

    But whatever: she’s a morally reprehensible creature, and that’s the end of it.  I really do hope that if Macron doesn’t ban all these damn Ruscists, he’s roundly roasted by his people for it.  And these Ruscist athletes: they should all be turned out of their Olympic housing and every public place by mobs of Frenchmen.  Fucking Ruscist scum, most of them (IIUC) are military personnel.

  72. 72.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: Yeah, Putin is his “roof”.  That fucker needs to be sent back to Russia: he can live and work in the West, or he can live and work in Russia.  But he can’t live and work in the West, and support those fascists.

  73. 73.

    Chris T.

    I saw a very brief article on my phone (from, I think, “business insider”) saying that some producer-of-shells (didn’t say what size, who, etc) is unable to produce ammo (didn’t say for whom, to sell to whom) because there are too many cat videos on Tiktok (well, “not enough electricity” which in turn was blamed on Tiktok servers). Any idea who this might be? Is it a Chinese company producing ammo for the Russians, or what?

  76. 76.

    Hangö Kex

    @Carlo Graziani: ​

    The absurdity of the”Nukes for Belarus” play is beyond belief. Belarus could be the next Ukraine, and Lukashenka the next Yanukovych if he fails to keep the lid on his restless citizens. Russia is really going to make a parcel of its nukes hostage to such an obvious instability? Pull the other one, Vladimir, it’s got bells on.

    This might be a feature-not-a-bug kind of thing as it gives Putin an excuse to intervene in case of renewed unrest against Lukashenko or other developments threatening to displace Belarus from its orbit around Russia.

  81. 81.

    lowtechcyclist

    Glad to see we’ve got some Firesign fans here!  Wasn’t sure if anyone would get the reference.

    (ETA: How about Betty Jo Bialoski?)

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