"The 1980's are calling to ask for their foreign policy back."

Okay. Good point.

So aside from Russia, China, North Korea and their supporters would anyone be really upset with Poland (or the Baltics, Finland, S Korea, Japan, etc) having nukes?

I doubt that any of the rest of the non-NATO aligned world would be too thrilled either.

And that's considering only national governments, which is a curious way to look at things from the get-go.

You mean for sidewalk maintenance? It would make more sense on the bike trails. I'd pay a toll there, if and only if every fucking cent was spent ON the trails, and nothing else.

Not that I see the US caring what they think, maybe outside India.

I think that they should ask Iraq how having nuclear weapons worked out for them. Oh, yeah, right. Well, there's still North Korea, and... Oh, yeah.

Anyway, it's not like an aspect of colonialism is that the major powers say that they can have something that other nations can't. Oh. Well, anyways, there's surely something bad about allowing every nation to have a weapon system that no nation who's possessed such weapons has been subjected to a major invasion by another military power.

https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine...ces-use-chemical-weapons-to-storm-ocheretyne/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68893196

Aww, I was gonna use it to go around transing kids.

Bikes are for hippies.

From what I have observed, they are mostly for potbellied, fair weather douchebags to waste their money on lycra and spandex and pretend they're dime store Lance fucking Armstrong.

https://kyivindependent.com/the-us-weapons-making-their-way-to-ukraine-right-now/

Good listen

The Original America First Movement

Eliot and Eric welcome Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of The National Interest, non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, and author of America Last: The Right's Century Long Romance with Foreign Dictators. They discuss the origin story of "America First" during the First World War when critic and satirist H.L. Mencken and German-American propagandist (and paid agent) George Sylvester Viereck led the charge against American intervention in the Great War and how both played roles in the 30s and early 40s America First movement to prevent FDR from aiding the Allies. They discuss the hostility of America Firsters to the liberal tradition in America, its connection to anti-Semtism, William F. Buckley's role and evolution on anti-Semitism, Jeanne Kirkpatrick's views on authoritarianism and totalitarianism and the left's own tradition of admiration for tyrants as well as how these tendencies are reflected in today's MAGA movement.

America Last: The Right's Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators
https://a.co/d/91qv3YA

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

https://audioboom.com/posts/8499397-the-original-america-first-movement

Meanwhile at the Russian victory day parade for WWII, one of their most important cultural touchstones, they had only one single tank in the military parade.

And it was a T-34, a design that's over 80 years old.

I think we might be underestimating how close Russia is to breaking.

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blo...de-is-a-timely-reminder-russia-can-be-beaten/

Also of note, Netanyahu's speech said that the Soviets fought against the Nazis alone, while Europe worked for the Nazis to defeat Russia.

He might be misremembering that part where the Soviets teamed up with the Nazis to take over Poland, provided enormous resources to the Nazi war machine in 1939-40, and then applied to join the Axis.

We are at war with Eastasia. We've always been at war with Eastasia.

Most of the dudes I've seen on bikes, look like they just got released from a Soviet gulag.

Again? They did the parade last year with a single T-34/85 tank. My God, how the mighty have fallen.

Oh, and while the parade was happening, Ukraine flew a plane sized drone 1200 KM into Russian airspace and exploded at an oil refinery in the Kaluga region. Russian air defense seems non-existent for most of the country.

https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-updates-oil-facility-hit-1200-km-inside-russia/live-69033747

So, realistically here: How is Ukraine faring? It's hard to parse out truth from propaganda on this.
I'd like to believe they still have a chance.

On my way back from an assignment today I stopped by a bakery started by Ukrainian immigrant after she and part of her family (her husband was captured and imprisoned ) had to flee their homeland two years ago.

Whenever I walk into the place I loudly announce, "Slava Ukraini!"

I would like to believe so too but in reality it seems bleak. Not that you could tell from reading any of the takes around here.

The west appear to be adopting a policy of strategic ambiguity in order to pressure the Russians into backing down. It's extremely dangerous and could easily lead to escalation. And is perhaps also the only chance Ukraine has of avoiding a humiliating defeat.
There are hard choices to be made.

It's difficult to parse, especially with the maga lunatics in Congress obfuscating everything.

The Ukrainians are certainly better in the field, anf certainly have the emotional edge given the Russian dynamics, but Putin doesn't seem to mind slaughtering hundreds of thousands of his best citizens in this rather witless pursuit.

So far the result seems to be Russia slowly grinding away, while NATO adds two more countries to the mix. There's a lot of chatter about Russia making a "limited" incursion into some minor NATO territory just to see what the response might be.

We'll see how that pans out.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-69000698

Stay away from windows if you're above the 7th floor in any given building.

Also, he should avoid moving his bathtub as that seems to be the 2nd most common way to accidentally die in Russia. I am not sure why they move their bathtubs so much as I have never had to move one in any house I have lived in, but it is a thing in Russia and it is as deadly as accidentally falling out your window.

As Russia Advances, NATO Considers Sending Trainers Into Ukraine

It's complicated.

Ukraine has had its hands tied behind its back somewhat, Russia can mass forces for a breakthrough on their side of the border safe in the knowledge that Ukraine have limited strike options against them due the US' insistence that their donated weapons aren't used on Russian soil.

Yet, as we've seen, the Russians make advances and pay a hefty price in blood and steel, and then find themselves bogged down.

Same with Ukrainian advances, Russian defences are too settled in to easily remove.

Russia no longer has domination of the Black Sea, and Putin is now being less restrictive on the RuAF, which is why they're losing a few more planes.

Russia's economy is now also a war economy, and I'm not sure Putin can let it exit that - they tend to lead to post-war recessions, and whilst the US post WW2 was able to make it a short one, I doubt Russia could do that.

It's fairly clear that Washington has made the calculation to let Ukraine degrade Russian capabilities, not win the war, the consequence of which is a loose alliance between Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

The French are currently getting the pointy end of that alliance, and it is making inroads into the UK, but I doubt we'll be alone for much longer.

On the plus side, anyone wanting to write a modern Bond has a wealth of material.

I'd love a companion Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to that Bond. And both cross-reference the other but not in a mandatory Read/Watch Both way.