romad1

It’s a mix: Professional 1/3, conscripts 1/3 and PMCs (private military contractors). Ukraine has a lot of the latter as well. The militias in Ukraine are similar to the US Civil War when rich men would raise regiments for their own vainglory.

He's going to hammer Ukraine. Its going to be extremely bloody because there are plenty of Ukrainians who are also spoiling for a fight. The Russians are terrible at the beginning of wars because they are slovenly. I don't see an endgame that ends up well unless Putin is driven from power somehow.

Might just be good planning Lvov is going to be the defacto capital of wartime Ukraine unless the defenders of Kiev can hold out longer than Putin can afford the sanctions and other pain inflicted on him. .

Its crazy to think this...but Biden and Sullivan have played this pretty well. They have judiciously leaked intel that I won't tell you how dear that stuff is because of sources and methods. But,the intel is use or lose. They won't save Ultra by letting the Germans conquer Britain. Letting the Japanese conquer Australia wouldn't save the analogous US code breaking operation against Japan.

[chef's kiss]

After WWII, so the story goes there was some dinner party in England and some chinless wag lifts his glass and says "its so nice to finally get back to all the things we've been fighting for" and his companion looks at the table of upper class twits and asks "are they all poles?" Its a story i've seen in multiple forms. Ukraine has paid a packet since 1917. Just like Poland did.

Yeah, History...that cuts both ways.

If Vlad the Hammer destroys Kiev in order to save it he is going to kill some Americans.

I wonder if they will have embeds in with the Russian columns

Some discussion about how the media will broadcast this. During 2003 and 1991 attacks in Baghdad, the US networks had very shrewd workarounds. Vladdie doesn't want to show his mayhem on TV.

Erdogan is interested in all this because of the Turkish minorities in these territories. He could give a fig about Russian majorities.

I understand the Crimea is similar

Extraordinary to wake up to that.

Oh, I don't know...its likely done Russia and China a lot of good.

Apparently Macron's requirement not to be poisoned is being seized on by the nutters as evidence that when they take your PCR test "they" can do something nefarious with it.

Its a great tool for manipulating events though.

Hopefully this is a metaphor

This isn't sport to Manfred. Its premium entertainment.

Its not irrational if they always want the Yankees and Red Sox to be the best teams and there are a handful of similar big market teams and the rest are the chum. Manfred thinks the AL Central for example are all chum.

Good. Shame on anyone who does not shine a light on this horrible act of sedition.

The corruption of the process is astounding.

Manfred will manipulate the shit out of that lottery to deny picks to teams he doesn't approve of. JUST like he did with the juiced and non-juiced baseballs last season.

I remember the breathless friends of mine who would ask me if Jade Helm was really the government's preparations for martial law.

check yourself before you wreck yourself.

that would be interesting