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phdhorn

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Everything posted by phdhorn

  1. Stephen Hawking versus Chris Reeves - The Ultimate Showdown! Went under the radar 10 years ago and quickly got into blockbusters inventory. (Too soon, brah?)
  2. Thread has at least temporarily meandered over to a little bit of a geopolitical discussion, although not a bad one; after reading the last page or two, two thoughts: 1) agree with most of NoNames posts... It's maddening to stand by and feel like your hands are tied as Ukraine suffers, but the line is pretty clear to me that at least for now going in and making offensive military moves in a non-NATO country is not warranted at least, and insanity at most -the line is clear on that. Meanwhile, aid and money is about the best we can do. 2) in no way, shape, or form should we acquiesce in any way to the present Iranian government. Whether we can stop their nukes is one thing, and I wouldn't assist Israel if they tried +as they often do). But to give nuclear concessions to radical islamists (and many of them are!) would be psychotic. I'm not talking about the population. Ten years ago Romney was pilloried for saying Russia is our biggest future threat when it seemed like that was just so off the radar it was silly. Now, 10 years later when the Islamic threat has at least temporarily greatly subsided, it would be equally idiotic to assume that we don't have to worry about that, either. There will always be an Islamic threat as long as radical Muslims have power somewhere. Maybe we don't need to keep both eyes on it right now, but certainly one.
  3. “Schabusiness stated the plan was for her to bring all of the body parts with her but she got lazy and only ended up putting the leg/foot in the van and she forgot the head,” Well duh! Minivans have lots of legroom but not that much headroom.
  4. Surprised no one has posted this yet:
  5. I got one, too. National Review article, no poltics whatsoever, one of the best medium-survey analyses I've seen so far. Very understandable. Worth the read. https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/why-the-russians-are-struggling/
  6. Obligatory. Drebbin will kick their asses!
  7. Good day on the market today. "Look daddy, teacher says every time a Russian soldier dies, Dow gains a point!"
  8. Yeah this is actually the official Russian impeachment process:
  9. "Whooaaa Nillie! That was one hum-ding-dang-er of a run" - Keith Jackson
  10. I think you raise a valid point. I have no idea if that poll is "In Russia Hundred Percent Gets You or You Go To Gulag" but I do know one thing from a good bit of interaction with Russians in Europe personally - they don't think like Americans or the West much at all. It's too deeply-ingrained. We might be shocked and pissed that Putin has a good bit of support (if that poll isn't bullshit), but that's part of the Rooskie psyche. I really don't know how the average Ivan Schmoe is taking all this, but I wouldn't be surprised if your point has more relevance than most people think. And it's possible that their military has developed at least some motivation - to not suck as absolutely terribly has they have the past week, pride and all that. I think the slog was going to be long anyway, but if one hopeful effect of the sanctions is that it'll cause the populace to turn on Putin, let's just say I wouldn't be too shocked if it had the opposite effect, hopefully not though. I don't think anyone can predict what the public over there will do or think next. Overall, I find Russians quite annoying.
  11. Fully agree with this. The "Maybe we can get Putin before he presses the button" tack would absolutely result in tactical nukes striking all over in the US & the world. Any success would have to be from the inside.
  12. Excellent! Next comes the Airing of Grievances.
  13. Countersigned by George Pickett
  14. However, it should also be noted that almost 3 out of 4 Russians own an Android vs. an iPhone. Too expensive for the average babushka.
  15. Erdogan and Xi should get a room. That's what you get when you're trying to please all the people all the time.
  16. Tell me this isn't freakin' awesome - Dee Snider supports the Ukrainian army using "We're Not Gonna Take It" as their battle cry song! https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/596237-twisted-sister-frontman-on-ukrainians-using-hit-song-as-battle?amp&fr=operanews
  17. I'm seriously thinking of starting a .gif thread of dominance for what a Ukrainian Nazi looks like. It would be epic.
  18. Good, my wife's division will have less work to do, which means she can make more time for me and sex. Oops haha never mind, forgot I was married.
  19. ... Till the time that you found her, holding Jim, loving him. Then Sue came along...
  20. Plus I think the existence of Taiwan, while a irritating thorn in the side of the ChiComs, isn't the obsession that Putin has about Ukraine. China is in no hurry, and prefers their more reasoned, longer goal - to become the #1 world economic, not military, power. They can wait.
  21. Plus, Mexico played it much like Russia is now - they executed terrible military strategy, despite hugely superior numbers, plus they pulled their best general by a galaxy out and moved their worst one in. Had the better guy stayed where he was needed (and was moved largely due to the jealousy of the shittier one), Mexico would have won and/or at least postponed the Americanization of Texas by a few decades.
  22. Interesting development... Turkey confirms they've "officially" closed off the Dardanelles Straits citing the Montreaux Agreement: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu both confirmed the closure of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles to warship from any country, citing provisions in the 1936 Montreaux Convention, in separate remarks this evening. Cavusoglu had indicated that a formal decision on this matter was imminent late yesterday, which came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had Tweeted out his thanks for Turkish authorities taking this step. “When Turkey is not a belligerent in the conflict, it has the authority to restrict the passage of the warring states’ warships across the straits,” Cavusoglu said. Yesterday, he stressed that the Turkish government’s position was that what has been happening in Ukraine is a “war” rather than a “conflict,” a difference in language that matters when it comes to the Montreaux Convention. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44497/turkey-blocks-warships-from-sailing-into-the-black-sea-over-war-in-ukraine However... that agreement also allows passage by countries that have ports on the Black Sea, and of course it's arguable that Russia has one in Sevastopol in Crimea. Most analytical hacks I've seen believe that Turkey won't do anything to physically block the Russian ships going in/out, citing that reason. But then why would Erdogan do it? Furthermore, it's well-known that Erodgan has cozied up to Putin quite a bit in recent years, so this would seem strange. And in fact, it probably won't change much - Russia will probably pass back/forth. So the only thing left is that Turkey finds itself precariously perched in the middle - despite being a NATO country, they have clearly allied with Russia on many fronts (including trade and purchasing military weapons0, and probably don't want to be kicked out of NATO. Possibly as well NATO's unified response has scared Erdogan a bit, so he made this "PSA". I have doubts though as to whether it'll change much... Russian ships generally have passed through it to exercise muscle in the Mediterranean to "keep NATO down." But since now that's gone, they wouldn't have much reason to cruise around. Still, you now have the prospect of a definitive military strategic move made by a NATO member, no matter how undependable, and Erdogan's use of "war" to invoke the Convention has to be a bit of a slap in Putin's face. My guess is that unless Russia tries to shell Istanbul, not much will happen here. But still...
  23. Well, not until tomorrow. You're getting it confused with today, which is International Pancake Day. Very similar though, I can understand the confusion.
  24. I hope it's the UN. We can use those T-Rexes!
  25. Ah, so then a Russian pilot...
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