xzar_monty Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 8 hours ago, Zoraptor said: Patrushev is one of the biggest influences on Putin few people have heard of and very highly trusted. Few people have heard of? How's that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoraptor Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 Well, if you polled the general public for name recognition Patrushev would almost certainly be behind even someone like Dugin. Who it isn't even certain has actually met Putin, let alone influenced him. Certainly behind Lavrov/ Medvedev/ Shoigu/ Prigozhin/ Gerasimov/ Zakharova/ Mishustin who all have (had for Prigo) fairly prominent public roles. If you know, say, who the head of the FSB is and what the SVR is without looking them up you'd know who Patrushev is; but then that requires more than passing familiarity. If you don't... (yes, any article on Putin's inner circle isn't complete without a prominent mention of Patrushev. Those are by their nature infrequent though, and since he's 'quiet' even those who read them will still tend to remember the forementioned people a lot more) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamoulian War Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 18 hours ago, kanisatha said: Well, they don't necessarily have to "take" the city. They just need to encircle it and then lay seige to it. They themselves are going to realize that if the point is to trade it away, then it makes no sense to expend the kind of resources it would take from them to capture the city. But it also keeps open the possibility that the Ukrainian defenses in the city simply collapse. Forcing the Ukrainian side to accept defeat/surrender on Russia's terms is ultimately the end-game for Russia. Their first strategy to accomplish this end-game was to try and take a huge swath of Ukraine, essentially all of Ukraine east of and including Kiev, and force surrender in this way. That did not work. Their second strategy was to try and coerce the Ukrainian side by threatening to escalate to the use of tactical nukes. That also didn't work, mainly because of the external pressure on the Russians, including even from their friends. Now this is their third plan for coercing Ukraine's surrender, born from their battlefield succeses in eastern Ukraine recently. And this plan is the one that has a really good chance of succeeding, especially because Ukraine's Western allies are "going wobbly" (to use a line from Thatcher back in the day), and because within Ukraine itself we now have political differences over war strategy and Zelenskiy is no longer seen as Superman. According to various sources, RU has accumulated aprox 32000 men around Kharkiv. Looking back at 2022, when they had probably same number of men and the advantage of surprise, and less armed and trained UA army, and were not able to encircle the city for more than half year. Do you think they might have a better chance now? Especially when you consider, that they lost more than 17000 men trying to surround Avdiivka. edit: General staff of UA has also posted a new record from yesterday: https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02AG84aiQvdw761cD5wYf4EFXti2JaqUViGkyhPFhHixwXtitp9GSGVa9itPdzPvFul 1 Sent from my Stone Tablet, using Chisel-a-Talk 2000BC. My youtube channel: MamoulianFH Latest Let's Play Tales of Arise (completed) Latest Bossfight Compilation Dark Souls Remastered - New Game (completed) Let's Play/AAR Europa Universalis 1: Austria Grand Campaign (completed) Let's Play/AAR Europa Universalis 2: Xhosa Grand Campaign (completed) My PS Platinums and 100% - 29 games so far (my PSN profile) 1) God of War III - PS3 - 24+ hours 2) Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 130+ hours 3) White Knight Chronicles International Edition - PS3 - 525+ hours 4) Hyperdimension Neptunia - PS3 - 80+ hours 5) Final Fantasy XIII-2 - PS3 - 200+ hours 6) Tales of Xillia - PS3 - 135+ hours 7) Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 - PS3 - 152+ hours 8.) Grand Turismo 6 - PS3 - 81+ hours (including Senna Master DLC) 9) Demon's Souls - PS3 - 197+ hours 10) Tales of Graces f - PS3 - 337+ hours 11) Star Ocean: The Last Hope International - PS3 - 750+ hours 12) Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 127+ hours 13) Soulcalibur V - PS3 - 73+ hours 14) Gran Turismo 5 - PS3 - 600+ hours 15) Tales of Xillia 2 - PS3 - 302+ hours 16) Mortal Kombat XL - PS4 - 95+ hours 17) Project CARS Game of the Year Edition - PS4 - 120+ hours 18) Dark Souls - PS3 - 197+ hours 19) Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory - PS3 - 238+ hours 20) Final Fantasy Type-0 - PS4 - 58+ hours 21) Journey - PS4 - 9+ hours 22) Dark Souls II - PS3 - 210+ hours 23) Fairy Fencer F - PS3 - 215+ hours 24) Megadimension Neptunia VII - PS4 - 160 hours 25) Super Neptunia RPG - PS4 - 44+ hours 26) Journey - PS3 - 22+ hours 27) Final Fantasy XV - PS4 - 263+ hours (including all DLCs) 28) Tales of Arise - PS4 - 111+ hours 29) Dark Souls: Remastered - PS4 - 121+ hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceVC Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 4 hours ago, xzar_monty said: Few people have heard of? How's that? I have never of him but I dont follow up of Putins inner circle or prominent Russian politicians I had heard of Shoigu but only when the war started "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanisatha Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 6 hours ago, Mamoulian War said: According to various sources, RU has accumulated aprox 32000 men around Kharkiv. Looking back at 2022, when they had probably same number of men and the advantage of surprise, and less armed and trained UA army, and were not able to encircle the city for more than half year. Do you think they might have a better chance now? Especially when you consider, that they lost more than 17000 men trying to surround Avdiivka. Yes I do, unfortunately, because the Russian army is now actaully bigger in available combat units than it was in 2022, and those units are now experienced and battle-hardened. But most importantly, they have massive amounts of artillery available (which they have already used very effectively to clear out Ukrainian defenses in several border villages around Khar'kiv) whereas Ukraine's artillery capability, heavily outnumbered to begin with, is relatively nonconsequential because they've run out of munitions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcador Posted May 13 Author Share Posted May 13 And Butusov has always been pretty pessimistic, in past. 1 Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoraptor Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 Artillery wise Ukraine has also outright lost a lot of systems. 40% of donated m777 and m109s if you go by Oryx (more if you go by Lostarmour, which reflects the biases involved). Even higher proportion of Krabs most likely. Caesar and PzH not so much, but they're also there in far fewer numbers- and PzH allegedly isn't on the front line much due to reliability issues. (Ukraine has a lot of issues to deal with- less motivated troops, better Russian tactics/ responses, better Russian systems and the Russians catching up/ surpassing them in drones- but the biggest problem for Ukraine in terms of sheer balance are the glide bombs. Doesn't seem any accident that the Russians have been advancing constantly- slowly- since they've been in significant use. Building fortifications to defend against 152/155mm shells with ~10kg of HE is relatively easy, not so much when it's 320kg. Especially so when there are thermobaric variants and for the really tough nuts F/K/ODAB1500s. Not the sort of tactics which will get you much in the way of plaudits for genius or flair, but effective and without an effective counter. And all the comments from Ukrainians on the ground in places like Avdiivka have implied that they're absolutely awful for morale in addition to the physical damage done. HiMARS/ ATACMS/ Storm Scalps/ JDAMs etc might garner the upvotes on twitter or likes on reddit but they aren't being used anywhere near the 70-100 per day that the UMPKs are. Maybe... 1% of that, which is probably generous, and only the JDAMs have anywhere near equivalent scale. Apart from that... the very occasional Tochka or Krim and not much else) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcador Posted May 13 Author Share Posted May 13 https://breakingdefense.com/2024/05/estonia-seriously-discussing-sending-troops-to-rear-jobs-in-ukraine-official/ More "hold me back, bros" type talk from Baltics. Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamoulian War Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Another Shoigu’s lap dog has been arrested. https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/05/14/7455684/ 1 Sent from my Stone Tablet, using Chisel-a-Talk 2000BC. My youtube channel: MamoulianFH Latest Let's Play Tales of Arise (completed) Latest Bossfight Compilation Dark Souls Remastered - New Game (completed) Let's Play/AAR Europa Universalis 1: Austria Grand Campaign (completed) Let's Play/AAR Europa Universalis 2: Xhosa Grand Campaign (completed) My PS Platinums and 100% - 29 games so far (my PSN profile) 1) God of War III - PS3 - 24+ hours 2) Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 130+ hours 3) White Knight Chronicles International Edition - PS3 - 525+ hours 4) Hyperdimension Neptunia - PS3 - 80+ hours 5) Final Fantasy XIII-2 - PS3 - 200+ hours 6) Tales of Xillia - PS3 - 135+ hours 7) Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 - PS3 - 152+ hours 8.) Grand Turismo 6 - PS3 - 81+ hours (including Senna Master DLC) 9) Demon's Souls - PS3 - 197+ hours 10) Tales of Graces f - PS3 - 337+ hours 11) Star Ocean: The Last Hope International - PS3 - 750+ hours 12) Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 127+ hours 13) Soulcalibur V - PS3 - 73+ hours 14) Gran Turismo 5 - PS3 - 600+ hours 15) Tales of Xillia 2 - PS3 - 302+ hours 16) Mortal Kombat XL - PS4 - 95+ hours 17) Project CARS Game of the Year Edition - PS4 - 120+ hours 18) Dark Souls - PS3 - 197+ hours 19) Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory - PS3 - 238+ hours 20) Final Fantasy Type-0 - PS4 - 58+ hours 21) Journey - PS4 - 9+ hours 22) Dark Souls II - PS3 - 210+ hours 23) Fairy Fencer F - PS3 - 215+ hours 24) Megadimension Neptunia VII - PS4 - 160 hours 25) Super Neptunia RPG - PS4 - 44+ hours 26) Journey - PS3 - 22+ hours 27) Final Fantasy XV - PS4 - 263+ hours (including all DLCs) 28) Tales of Arise - PS4 - 111+ hours 29) Dark Souls: Remastered - PS4 - 121+ hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceVC Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 3 hours ago, Mamoulian War said: Another Shoigu’s lap dog has been arrested. https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/05/14/7455684/ Whats with all these recent arrests in Russia, I heard its something to do with corruption within the Russian arms industry and the state being overcharged and the economic impact on the fiscus? Shoigu's replacement is an economist? "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamoulian War Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 21 minutes ago, BruceVC said: Whats with all these recent arrests in Russia, I heard its something to do with corruption within the Russian arms industry and the state being overcharged and the economic impact on the fiscus? Shoigu's replacement is an economist? Whenever is someone in Russia charged by corruption, it means, that he had dared to steal from a booty of someone above him 1 Sent from my Stone Tablet, using Chisel-a-Talk 2000BC. My youtube channel: MamoulianFH Latest Let's Play Tales of Arise (completed) Latest Bossfight Compilation Dark Souls Remastered - New Game (completed) Let's Play/AAR Europa Universalis 1: Austria Grand Campaign (completed) Let's Play/AAR Europa Universalis 2: Xhosa Grand Campaign (completed) My PS Platinums and 100% - 29 games so far (my PSN profile) 1) God of War III - PS3 - 24+ hours 2) Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 130+ hours 3) White Knight Chronicles International Edition - PS3 - 525+ hours 4) Hyperdimension Neptunia - PS3 - 80+ hours 5) Final Fantasy XIII-2 - PS3 - 200+ hours 6) Tales of Xillia - PS3 - 135+ hours 7) Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 - PS3 - 152+ hours 8.) Grand Turismo 6 - PS3 - 81+ hours (including Senna Master DLC) 9) Demon's Souls - PS3 - 197+ hours 10) Tales of Graces f - PS3 - 337+ hours 11) Star Ocean: The Last Hope International - PS3 - 750+ hours 12) Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 127+ hours 13) Soulcalibur V - PS3 - 73+ hours 14) Gran Turismo 5 - PS3 - 600+ hours 15) Tales of Xillia 2 - PS3 - 302+ hours 16) Mortal Kombat XL - PS4 - 95+ hours 17) Project CARS Game of the Year Edition - PS4 - 120+ hours 18) Dark Souls - PS3 - 197+ hours 19) Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory - PS3 - 238+ hours 20) Final Fantasy Type-0 - PS4 - 58+ hours 21) Journey - PS4 - 9+ hours 22) Dark Souls II - PS3 - 210+ hours 23) Fairy Fencer F - PS3 - 215+ hours 24) Megadimension Neptunia VII - PS4 - 160 hours 25) Super Neptunia RPG - PS4 - 44+ hours 26) Journey - PS3 - 22+ hours 27) Final Fantasy XV - PS4 - 263+ hours (including all DLCs) 28) Tales of Arise - PS4 - 111+ hours 29) Dark Souls: Remastered - PS4 - 121+ hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmp10 Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 Interesting piece on Shoigu's replacement. Tweet of note from it: Looks like attrition war for years to come. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamoulian War Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 On 5/13/2024 at 4:19 PM, kanisatha said: Yes I do, unfortunately, because the Russian army is now actaully bigger in available combat units than it was in 2022, and those units are now experienced and battle-hardened. But most importantly, they have massive amounts of artillery available (which they have already used very effectively to clear out Ukrainian defenses in several border villages around Khar'kiv) whereas Ukraine's artillery capability, heavily outnumbered to begin with, is relatively nonconsequential because they've run out of munitions. Looks like we start to have first partially good news from Kharkiv front. Russian milbloggers are starting to complain about badly trained units on this front, who lack even basic knowledge of proper formations to have a chance to avoid drone strikes. So it looks like, all the experienced and battle-hardened units are at different fronts, or already dead https://t.me/philologist_zov/965 1 1 Sent from my Stone Tablet, using Chisel-a-Talk 2000BC. My youtube channel: MamoulianFH Latest Let's Play Tales of Arise (completed) Latest Bossfight Compilation Dark Souls Remastered - New Game (completed) Let's Play/AAR Europa Universalis 1: Austria Grand Campaign (completed) Let's Play/AAR Europa Universalis 2: Xhosa Grand Campaign (completed) My PS Platinums and 100% - 29 games so far (my PSN profile) 1) God of War III - PS3 - 24+ hours 2) Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 130+ hours 3) White Knight Chronicles International Edition - PS3 - 525+ hours 4) Hyperdimension Neptunia - PS3 - 80+ hours 5) Final Fantasy XIII-2 - PS3 - 200+ hours 6) Tales of Xillia - PS3 - 135+ hours 7) Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 - PS3 - 152+ hours 8.) Grand Turismo 6 - PS3 - 81+ hours (including Senna Master DLC) 9) Demon's Souls - PS3 - 197+ hours 10) Tales of Graces f - PS3 - 337+ hours 11) Star Ocean: The Last Hope International - PS3 - 750+ hours 12) Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 127+ hours 13) Soulcalibur V - PS3 - 73+ hours 14) Gran Turismo 5 - PS3 - 600+ hours 15) Tales of Xillia 2 - PS3 - 302+ hours 16) Mortal Kombat XL - PS4 - 95+ hours 17) Project CARS Game of the Year Edition - PS4 - 120+ hours 18) Dark Souls - PS3 - 197+ hours 19) Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory - PS3 - 238+ hours 20) Final Fantasy Type-0 - PS4 - 58+ hours 21) Journey - PS4 - 9+ hours 22) Dark Souls II - PS3 - 210+ hours 23) Fairy Fencer F - PS3 - 215+ hours 24) Megadimension Neptunia VII - PS4 - 160 hours 25) Super Neptunia RPG - PS4 - 44+ hours 26) Journey - PS3 - 22+ hours 27) Final Fantasy XV - PS4 - 263+ hours (including all DLCs) 28) Tales of Arise - PS4 - 111+ hours 29) Dark Souls: Remastered - PS4 - 121+ hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamoulian War Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 1 hour ago, pmp10 said: Interesting piece on Shoigu's replacement. Tweet of note from it: Looks like attrition war for years to come. Now that the information speculations have settled down a little bit and more details have been revealed, The most interesting thing in this Grand Reshuffle is the “Sacking” of above mentioned Patrushev. He was once considered as a successor to Putin, and now, he has been appointed as Putin’s aide. Shoigu, unlike his lapdogs (two more of them has been reportedly arrested), has been moved to similarily powerful position, but Patrushev’s new position is considered as a big demotion. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-appoints-patrushev-dyumin-kremlin-aides-2024-05-14/ 1 Sent from my Stone Tablet, using Chisel-a-Talk 2000BC. My youtube channel: MamoulianFH Latest Let's Play Tales of Arise (completed) Latest Bossfight Compilation Dark Souls Remastered - New Game (completed) Let's Play/AAR Europa Universalis 1: Austria Grand Campaign (completed) Let's Play/AAR Europa Universalis 2: Xhosa Grand Campaign (completed) My PS Platinums and 100% - 29 games so far (my PSN profile) 1) God of War III - PS3 - 24+ hours 2) Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 130+ hours 3) White Knight Chronicles International Edition - PS3 - 525+ hours 4) Hyperdimension Neptunia - PS3 - 80+ hours 5) Final Fantasy XIII-2 - PS3 - 200+ hours 6) Tales of Xillia - PS3 - 135+ hours 7) Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 - PS3 - 152+ hours 8.) Grand Turismo 6 - PS3 - 81+ hours (including Senna Master DLC) 9) Demon's Souls - PS3 - 197+ hours 10) Tales of Graces f - PS3 - 337+ hours 11) Star Ocean: The Last Hope International - PS3 - 750+ hours 12) Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 127+ hours 13) Soulcalibur V - PS3 - 73+ hours 14) Gran Turismo 5 - PS3 - 600+ hours 15) Tales of Xillia 2 - PS3 - 302+ hours 16) Mortal Kombat XL - PS4 - 95+ hours 17) Project CARS Game of the Year Edition - PS4 - 120+ hours 18) Dark Souls - PS3 - 197+ hours 19) Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory - PS3 - 238+ hours 20) Final Fantasy Type-0 - PS4 - 58+ hours 21) Journey - PS4 - 9+ hours 22) Dark Souls II - PS3 - 210+ hours 23) Fairy Fencer F - PS3 - 215+ hours 24) Megadimension Neptunia VII - PS4 - 160 hours 25) Super Neptunia RPG - PS4 - 44+ hours 26) Journey - PS3 - 22+ hours 27) Final Fantasy XV - PS4 - 263+ hours (including all DLCs) 28) Tales of Arise - PS4 - 111+ hours 29) Dark Souls: Remastered - PS4 - 121+ hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcador Posted May 15 Author Share Posted May 15 Clearly this is NATO's fault. Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceVC Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 4 hours ago, pmp10 said: Interesting piece on Shoigu's replacement. Tweet of note from it: Looks like attrition war for years to come. I read that article and I found it interesting. The frustrating reality is we just know what really motivates Russia or Putin around these decisions. There is lots of informed and accurate guesses but nothing that is ever really confirmed But if this is true its about economic attrition around production and not a decisive Russian military victory. And its not a bad strategy and it means the West will have to continue to support Ukraine with aid which really matters and is not necessarily guaranteed if you think about the delayed US aid So the US would be critical in " out lasting " Russia in this proposed economic attrition "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadySands Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 They just have to wait until Trump wins and the US will almost assuredly pull support. Free games updated 3/4/21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoraptor Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 Dunno about that, after all the US didn't actually start sending lethal aid to Ukraine under either Obama or Biden, it was the guy in the middle who did that. He'd have put pressure on Ukraine to have made a permanent settlement of some sort for sure, but he'd also have put pressure on Putin to accept it. Whether that would have been worse for the country than what it has now is an open question, but probably not. It would probably have been better for the US too in retrospect. 11 hours ago, Malcador said: Clearly this is NATO's fault. Nope, clearly Putin's fault, to whit "..no wonder Putin sought to weaponise corruption in Ukraine" -- Anthony Blinken. Pretty much sums up current US diplomacy that that's an actual factual quote rather than made up to make him look silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadySands Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 (edited) Maybe but it was well before the war* and he wanted something from Ukraine. The Republican party, especially at the fringes, is pushing back pretty hard on Ukrainian aid. *the full invasion, I mean. Not Crimea and all the stuff that was going on in the east. Edited May 16 by ShadySands Free games updated 3/4/21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorth Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 The Biden family is probably still miffed, that Russia ruined their lucrative extra income (the Biden family's 6.5 million dollars received from Ukrainian sources). You bet the Bidens will support Ukraine and by default Trump will support his own backer, Putin? Who needs Chinese meddling in the first place? Edit: Speaking of China and the Bidens... from house.gov oversight committee "The total amount from China, specifically with CEFC and their related entities, to the Biden family and their associates is over $8 million". No wonder he isn't interested in carrying on Trumps trade war with China edit2: link to above numbers https://oversight.house.gov/the-bidens-influence-peddling-timeline/ “He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoraptor Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 Eh, I'm no fan of Joe Biden but that is a bluntly partisan report. I don't think there's any doubt that Hunter Biden regularly trades his status as Joe Biden's son for money, but then it's also obvious Joe Biden cannot control Hunter's behaviour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoonDing Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 (edited) Of course Drump is also horrible, but it will still be satisfying to see that doormat lose in November. Edited May 16 by HoonDing The ending of the words is ALMSIVI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xzar_monty Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 3 hours ago, Zoraptor said: I don't think there's any doubt that Hunter Biden regularly trades his status as Joe Biden's son for money, but then it's also obvious Joe Biden cannot control Hunter's behaviour. Fathers and sons, indeed. And isn't there a famous Russian novel by that title, too... I worked for a few months on a project dealing with the history of the conflict, and the whole Biden family saga is complex, convoluted and ugly. Joe isn't the main culprit, though, at least as far as I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceVC Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 7 hours ago, ShadySands said: Maybe but it was well before the war* and he wanted something from Ukraine. The Republican party, especially at the fringes, is pushing back pretty hard on Ukrainian aid. *the full invasion, I mean. Not Crimea and all the stuff that was going on in the east. This is really what my point is, the US needs to continue to provide aid to Ukraine if its going to "out last " Russia The EU provides aid but its not enough. The US can afford the aid but thats not the issue, its the requirement that aid packages must be approved in both the House and Senate and thats where the potential problem comes with approval You can see from the last aid packages and how representatives from both parties voted The House : 311 votes to 112 for the aid (While all 210 Democrats voted in favour, more Republicans were against the legislation than in favour of it, 112 to 101) The Senate : The package, which passed on a 79-18 bipartisan vote (The funding passed with the support of 46 Democrats, 31 Republicans and 2 independents, following hours of speeches by senators. Two Democrats, 15 Republicans and one independent opposed it. Three GOP senators — Rand Paul of Kentucky, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama — didn’t vote) https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/23/politics/senate-vote-israel-ukraine-aid-dg/index.html#:~:text=The funding passed with the,Alabama — didn't vote. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68848277 So you right thats its a group of GOP members in the House that are basically opposed to Ukraine aid but its 55% of them and then the GOP in the Senate support aid so thats not an issue But going forward we dont know how this is going to change and we dont know what Trump is going to do if he wins the election. He has influence on the GOP and there votes could change based on what he tells them to do This is the greatest risk to Ukraine defending against the Russian invasion and " out lasting " Russia , its not that many people in Congress dont support Ukraine or that the US doesnt have the resources . They do but we dont know how future votes are going to go because it depends on the individual representatives in Congress and these votes get influenced by other things like the border crisis or aid to Israel "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorth Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 10 minutes ago, BruceVC said: The US can afford the aid but thats not the issue This is probably a topic for a different thread, but can the US really afford it? Not just aid to Ukraine, but the spending in general. That debt ceiling (holding up an asteroid sized debt) may turn all card house on the country. We would have to revise history and call the end of the cold war a delayed draw. 1 1 “He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now