Russian Invasion of Ukraine

[Sour Masher]

Maybe it is time that the Russian People stand arm in arm with the Ukranians and overturn Putin. Maybe the world will help with getting President Zelenskyy the weapons and supplies he needs.

That would not work, unless there was near universal conviction that Putin is wrong and must be stopped, which there is not, and even then, many would die in the fight. Putin's grasp on the country is tight, his control of the military is tight, his support from the oligarchs is strong. It is hard for people to fight against that, especially when most of the people in the country agree with Putin's actions, whether with full knowledge of what they really are, or in many cases, because they believe the lies he and the state-run media feed them.

There were a lot of people against the Iraq war here in the US, but do you think there was any way for that small, unorganized minority to overturn our government? It would be even harder in Russia where Putin enjoys widespread support. It is hard to know what his approval ratings really are, but lots of reports suggest they went up with his attack on Ukraine. There are some voices of dissent, but the majority of the country backs Putin, for one reason or another.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Putin threatens military conflict if Sweden and/or Finland attempt to join NATO. He also just put his Nuclear arsenal on high alert.

It seems as though Putin is trying to see exactly how far he can push it before military intervention by the West occurs. I might be wrong, but it sure seems that way.

[revo]

In the last couple of days, the Russian Ruble has crashed: from 70 RUB/USD to now almost 120 RUB/USD. Inflation is now at 70% in Russia.

[madducks]

In the last couple of days, the Russian Ruble has crashed: from 70 RUB/USD to now almost 120 RUB/USD. Inflation is now at 70% in Russia.

Wealthy people like Putin laugh at inflation.

[revo]

- Russia's Fed raised their key interest rate from 9.5% to 20% overnight
- They have suspended the stock market today, which was expected to plunge again
- UPS & FedEx have halted shipments into Russia
- the head of Russia's military was "fired"

[revo]

- FIFA is backtracking and will ban Russia from all tournaments, including the World Cup, for the foreseeable future
- Switzerland, long the center of pure neutrality, will freeze Russian assets in its banks

[Bene Futuis]

The GOP in one photo:

[BuckyBuckner]

- Russia's Fed raised their key interest rate from 9.5% to 20% overnight
- They have suspended the stock market today, which was expected to plunge again
- UPS & FedEx have halted shipments into Russia
- the head of Russia's military was "fired"

Is killed the word you were thinking of?

[revo]

Is killed the word you were thinking of?

More like "disappeared."

[Gregg]

The GOP in one photo:

This is the stupidest T shirt saying I have ever seen. And I have seen a lot of them. Even if it is meant to be funny it isn't and it is still stupid.


Just a general comment. I do not think that Democrats nor Republicans should judge the other side by their individual insane or evil individuals.

[TranaGreg]

... Just a general comment. I do not think that Democrats nor Republicans should judge the other side by their individual insane or evil individuals.

at some point tho (we have been having similar discussions up here with the trucker convoys) - the party has to be held accountable for allowing these insane or evil individuals to have a platform - and when they go from being tolerated to actually being encouraged, and becoming a significant voice of the party, then I think that it absolutely is legitimate to judge the party based on these people, even if they seem to be relatively few in number

[Bene Futuis]

at some point tho (we have been having similar discussions up here with the trucker convoys) - the party has to be held accountable for allowing these insane or evil individuals to have a platform - and when they go from being tolerated to actually being encouraged, and becoming a significant voice of the party, then I think that it absolutely is legitimate to judge the party based on these people, even if they seem to be relatively few in number

47% of Trump voters think Putin is doing a better job than Biden. (Edit: that number was 62% just one month ago) It's not just "individuals". After all these years of the psychotic crap the Republicans have foisted upon the people, surely we all realize it's not just some "individuals", don't we? Huge swaths of them support sedition and violence. Huge swaths of them support(ed) Russia simply because Dear Leader did, too. I guess fortunately there are fewer who will still stick with that viewpoint now that even the densest GOP sycophant must realize what a murderous autocrat Putin is. Edit: Republican support for Russia as "an ally of the US" more than doubled after the idiots elected the former guy.

[Ken]

at some point tho (we have been having similar discussions up here with the trucker convoys) - the party has to be held accountable for allowing these insane or evil individuals to have a platform - and when they go from being tolerated to actually being encouraged, and becoming a significant voice of the party, then I think that it absolutely is legitimate to judge the party based on these people, even if they seem to be relatively few in number

are they really few in number? What % of the party voted for Trump? What % still to this day believes the lie that the election was stolen?

I completely agree with not blaming the party for the small % of outliers. But if the radicalization is the majority? Then what?

[Bene Futuis]

47% of Trump voters think Putin is doing a better job than Biden. It's not just "individuals". After all these years of the psychotic crap the Republicans have foisted upon the people, surely we all realize it's not just some "individuals", don't we? Huge swaths of them support sedition and violence. Huge swaths of them support(ed) Russia simply because Dear Leader did, too. I guess fortunately there are fewer who will still stick with that viewpoint now that even the densest GOP sycophant must realize what a murderous autocrat Putin is.

And to TG's point, there are Republicans who just the other day spoke at a white nationalist / Nazi conference. Should we judge all Republicans because Marjorie Traitor Greene is a racist extremist? Probably not. Should we judge all Republicans because not one of them condemns her or Boebert or any of the other crazies who promote sedition and want to invade Canada and support Nazis and Putin? Yeah, we sure as hell should.

[madducks]

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has called for Russian vodka to be pulled from the shelves of the state-run liquor stores.