wolfriverjoe

I was thinking more along the lines of the much smaller amount needed to set up a VPN subscription. Not 'Billions" On a similar note, how about all the Russian porn producers? Can they get paid in Bitcoin or other crypto and continue to generate income? Carefully. That lines up pretty nicely with what a quick search found. Inspect all the other components, testing stuff like conventional explosives, detonators & such. Actually cut apart one of the 'pits' (the radioactive stuff) and inspect it. They can (and do) remanufacture the pit when deemed necessary. Interesting paper on the subject (I could almost understand it): https://rlg.fas.org/010216-aaas.htm

Honest question: Could Russians use Bitcoin or other crypto-currency to evade that?

I'd rather have the sun set after 8pm than come up before 4am in June.

Given the absolutely stellar performance of the Russian army in Ukraine, which is the first time they've gone up against a competent and prepared opponent in an long time, Russia may well be finished as a world power anyway. The possession of nukes is always the wild card, but the questions about the reliability of Russian nukes makes that less of an issue. One of the reasons the 'wannabe' nuclear powers do tests of the devices is to let the world know that they have functional weapons.

Well, keep in mind that, as incompetent as the dead generals were, they were the 'best of the best.' So anyone replacing them will most likely not be 'better'. Also, anyone replacing them will have previously been their subordinates. So those replacements will likely be of the same mindset and follow the same doctrine. This is not the same as the C-in-C firing and replacing them (think the North in the US Civil War). That is usually done to institute a change in doctrine. Having the general killed in action won't do that.

I'm not sure, but since it's an explosive, it needs to be detonated. A bit of quick reading seems to show that they are intended to foil shaped charge warheads and kinetic energy projectiles. Both of those have quite a lot of energy when they hit. The shaped charge warhead is an explosive (duh) and would be expected to detonate the explosive armor. The kinetic energy 'darts' likely hit hard enough, in a small enough spot, to detonate the armor. I doubt that small arms fire (rifle or machine gun) would be enough. And, to continue the oligarch discussion, I don't think Putin would be able to arrest their families. Most of the families are elsewhere. And those oligarchs aren't 'just billionaires'. Don't think of Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. Think Pablo Escobar. They're hardcore, vicious, ruthless, smart and tough. They've survived one of the harshest 'business' climates in recent history. They fighting (including actual combat) that went along with acquiring the assets they have now means that the ones that are still around are tough and smart. Some of them have their own private armies. They are as much 'mafia' as 'businessmen'. And don't forget about the actual Russian Mafia. They operate with Putin's approval, but again, if they gang up on him, Putin will have a hell of a fight on his hands. I don't think any one of them can stand up to Putin and win (the one who did, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, lost big time). But if all of them get together, I don't know if Putin can stop them.

The old Soviet Union (and Warsaw Pact) was pretty insular and self sufficient. The embargo was rather limited and not very effective. Today, Russia is a 'world player'. Cutting them off is going to have much greater effect. Last I heard, the Ruble is worth less than a penny (the joke posted the other day: What's the difference between a Ruble and a Dollar? A Dollar.) The Russian stock market tanked and hasn't been open for a couple days. Russian oil is priced INCREDIBLY low. I saw a story where it was around $22/barrel. And virtually nobody is buying it. The sanctions today are going to hurt a lot more than the ones back in 80. And they're being implemented by almost the entire free world. I can't see the oligarchs putting up with losing that much of their wealth for that long. Putin wants to rebuild an empire. The old Soviet Union. The oligarchs/kleptocrats built their wealth from the carcass of the old Soviet Union. They don't care about 'empires'. They just want to stay really rich & powerful. Putin has a lot of power. But not total power. I hope he falls from power. But I know that's far from a certainty.

Putin may not care, but he still has people to answer to. The billionaire/oligarchs/kleptocrats that run everything in the country. Energy, raw materials/resources, industrial production, everything. They're getting clobbered. And they aren't happy. While no single one of them has the power to stand up to Putin, collectively they have enough power to bring him down. They were probably on board with this whole endeavor at the beginning. Now that Biden has done a masterful job in organizing just about the entire world against Russia (he's been a long-time foreign policy guy), the 'behind the scenes' people are going to need a way out. I have no clue how that will happen, when or even 'if'. But it wouldn't surprise me to read in the news in the next few days that Putin had a 'heart attack' and will need a 'lengthy convalescence' to recover.

The funny part of that is that an engine run 'seldom' needs oil changed more often than one run regularly, unless the 'seldom' is 'long runs that get it fully up to temperature'. For a plug in Hybrid, where the engine doesn't run often and when it does run it doesn't run for very long (I think, anyway), the oil would need to be changed at far operatiing hours than any other application I can think of (changed on a time/calendar schedule, not miles).

Door #4) Cut Russia off from the rest of the world. Finances, resources (raw materials), finished goods, trade, everything. It's in progress. Boeing and Airbus are refusing to sell any more spare parts to Russia. Not unlike all the airplanes the US sold to Iran pre-79, they won't be any good if they break the wrong part with no replacement. There's a story going around that a Georgian replenishment ship refused to fuel a Russian tanker. It's made to sound like it was entirely out of anger at Russia for invading Ukraine, but there's also the simple fact that any payment from the Russian company (in Rubles) would be worthless. Did the captain want to support Ukraine or did he know he wouldn't get paid? In any case, telling the Russians to "row" is pretty cool (if it's true). While no one country or type of embargo will be enough, the cumulative effect of all of the world cutting Russia off is having a serious effect. I can't see Putin lasting more than a month or two like this. I don't know how long Ukraine can hold out, but it's now a 'who gives in first' situation.

The primary source of water in the oil is combustion. You should know this. HC (hydrocarbons - gas) + O2 = CO2 & H2O. If the motor is run to full temp, the water gets boiled out of the oil and it's fine. Lots of short trips, especially in colder weather, put a fair amount of water into the oil. Ever pulled the dipstick or the fill cap and seen 'chocolate mousse'? That's the condensation build up (or a major problem like a blown head gasket, but that has other, really obvious symptoms). Running the car for at least 30 minutes (and driving it, not just letting it sit and idle) will get it up to temp and take care of the water. That's why people who store cars over the winter shouldn't start the car up until they are ready to take it out on the road. Some folks think it should be started every couple of weeks and idled for a few minutes. That does more harm than good. I've got a couple cars and a motorcycle. The newer car runs synthetic oil. Published 10k mile interval. Since that car only sees about 5k miles per year, it gets changed every other year. The other cars run conventional oil (dino or dinosaur oil). They generally get the oil changed in the fall, right before they get put away for winter. Same with the motorcycle. They may or may not see enough miles to reach 'change interval, but that's ok. The oil (and filter) build up a decent amount of acids and other 'bad things' that I don't like to leave in the motor while it sits over winter.

Well, technically it's an APC (Armored Personnel Carrier), but that's funny as all hell. I'm guessing it's just out of fuel, and it would be handy for plowing the fields. Edit to add: I've seen (and, of course, can't find again) a meme about 'know your tank', with every armored vehicle (tracked or wheeled) called a 'tank', with the real name on the other side. Plus a Volvo.

He's been posted on there. Apparently he's known as "Fatty McFuckface" to his many detractors in Australia. Also, from that part of the world: There has been an influx of Covid patients in the hospitals in New Zealand. From the protests. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/462344/covid-19-protesters-show-up-as-patients-at-hospitals-across-new-zealand

Donut shop, General store, McD's, the good old "Barber Shop". At the shooting range I'm part of, we have what I call the "ROD Club". Retired Old Dudes. They'd come down, shoot the guns a bit, drink coffee & shoot the breeze a lot more. The main difference here is that it's a lot less homogenous. We have people of different backgrounds, different occupations, different educational levels, different political alignments*. That gives a much wider spectrum of views and opinions than you'd see at the donut shop. I find it both entertaining and educational. * - Many of the hardcore conservatives have disappeared since Trump rose to prominence. I don't know if its embarrassment at supporting that idiot, the relentless attacks on Trump his idiocy or simply an unwillingness to engage in honest debate with those who oppose it. In any case, I see the loss of differing views as a minus, not a plus. I don't agree with everyone on here, but I do like to see viewpoints other than my own.

At this point, it's looking better and better. The damage being done to the Russian economy is pretty serious. Don't forget that Putin isn't really in charge. He serves the oligarchs that really run the country (and have for a long time, even back before the Soviet Union fell). While it's true that Europe & the west need Russian energy, it's equally true that the Russians need the money from the sale of that energy. Cut off that income (and freeze the assets they have around the world) and the chances of Putin suffering a surprise 'heart attack' go WAAAAY up. He may or may not die, but he'll be 'too ill' to continue as leader. Which would be a shame.

Yes. The Arab-Israeli wars had some pretty significant tank losses. The First Gulf war saw some large losses by the Iraqis. However, this is huge. That big of a unit being that badly damaged is significant from a tactical standpoint (that's a lot of capability just gone) and from a morale standpoint (see below). There are consistent reports that the Russian attack is going a lot slower than planned. Putin didn't put enough supplies in place (or in transit) for a sustained fight. He needed to take Ukraine fast. And it's not happening. There's a video that's gone viral of an APC (not really a tank, but close enough for the media) out of fuel and being offered a 'tow back to Russia'. There are unconfirmed reports that some crew are deliberately dumping fuel, to 'run out' because they find out they are attacking Kiev, not 'protecting Russians in the independent regions.' They don't like the idea of attacking well equipped defenders. As imposing and threatening as they appear, tanks and other armored vehicles are pretty vulnerable to anti-tank missiles. You know, like the ones Germany sent. When the tanks get blown up, the crews don't usually survive. The reports from the big column that was attacked are saying a couple hundred dead.

Hi Jerry, This has come up quite a bit on the Herman Cain Awards site. These aren't my thoughts, and I'm paraphrasing the actual comments, but I think they summed it up well. It's partially that he simply wasn't capable of doing it. For the pandemic, he downplayed the seriousness of it, mainly to try to protect the economy and the stock market (which took serious hits) at the expense of the pandemic taking off. He also saw that it was affecting 'blue' areas more, and minimized it knowing it would hurt his opponents more (and it did at the beginning). Remember how he stated that aid would go to states where the governors were nice to him? He has no ability to care about anyone else, or anything that doesn't affect him directly. But that was only part of it. Don't forget his supporters. The ones who cheered when he called Mexicans rapists and Muslims terrorists. The ones who cheered when he mocked the disabled reporter. The ones who ate up all the 'mean tweets' If Trump had been able to do things like encourage people to take precautions, had tried to get aid and supplies to 'those people', had done anything the 'experts' said to do, his base would have gone bananas. Keep in mind that these are the same people who booed him when he said he was vaxed & boosted and told them they should be too (note that he hasn't told anyone to get vaxed since then). So in part, it would have been impossible for Trump to 'do the right thing' because he couldn't, but also because his base would have attacked him viciously if he had. And he knew it.

Yup. Look at history. The VP slot was often a 'reward' for competent past performances. It was often a 'bargaining chip' to bring in people who wouldn't have voted for the main candidate. It was sometimes even a 'parking spot' for troublesome politicians, putting them in a position that had prestige, but little duties or power (especially when the Senate wasn't closely divided). Look at Teddy Roosevelt for the last one. He had become something of a crusader, and was annoying the political machine in New York. So he was 'promoted' to VP to get rid of him, which worked great until McKinley got killed.

Oh please. It was obvious when Trump welcomed the Russian press into the Oval Office while simultaneously refusing to speak to the American press.

Well, Trump thinks Putin is a 'genius' for his moves. More evidence that Trump is simply Putin's bitch. https://www.npr.org/2022/02/22/1082478790/trump-praises-putin-as-savvy-amid-new-escalations-on-russia-ukraine-border

How many have we invaded and occupied? How many have we supported insurrectionists against the government? How many have we supported horribly oppressive governments of? This is mostly a rhetorical question, but the answer is either "lots of them" or "most of them."

Or until nobody responds to them.

Oh no. Its only February. There's plenty of opportunity to top that.

No, they aren't. They're a demographic of fools and morons who are simply looking for confirmation of whatever idiocy they want to believe. And it's those fools and idiots who are responsible for prolonging the pandemic.

Yup. I have an AAD in my rig. Mostly it's there in case something happens and I'm incapacitated and CAN'T pull. BUT... It's also there in case I REALLY screw up and Don't pull. One could argue that I 'don't deserve' a save after an incident that's my own fault. Or one could argue that my own shortcomings and faults are part of why it's there. (Note: In either case the AAD may or may not save me)