Bitcoin has taken a tumble.

Cryptocurrencies and blockchains are nothing but gambling vehicles. Any intelligent country would ban them.

https://beff.substack.com/p/notes-on-eacc-principles-and-tenets
Notes on e/acc principles and tenets

modafinil

Is it ok to take modafinil if one doesn’t have a medical diagnosis for it? As in, is it more or less dangerous / risky than, let’s say, a Class B stimulant?

microdose mode

I wonder how that is determined, namely, what makes it micro and how do they know it is enough.

The one on the left looks like he’s on some high quality stimulant (the eyes, lol, and touching his nose) or maybe nootropics, and the one on the right is mellow and looks a bit buzzed (the eyes, lol). At least it’s good that he understands that “it’s not ok to sell to North Korea”. Responsible citizen.

I like his ideology (“Defending the West”).

It’s the founder of Oculus VR. He’s only 31.

Do you see how he got Straussian at 17:50… almost uttered “globohomo” lol.

It is important to grasp Trump’s popularity with swing voters: (1)

Poll: Donald Trump Leads Joe Biden Among Independents

The survey provided a demographic breakdown, which showed Trump boasting an advantage among independent voters. He leads Biden by nine points there — 37 percent to 28 percent.
…
When asked who they believe will be the winner of a presidential election between Biden and Trump, regardless of their personal preference, 44 percent, overall, said Trump, compared to 35 percent who said Biden. Independents are also more confident that Trump would win, 44 percent to Biden’s 25 percent.

It is hard to predict who Trump will choose as his VP. There is no sign that Tucker Carlson wants the job. That flash story reads more as a way to infuriate the Leftoids into over reach.

There was some thought that the GOP debates would yield a name. However, the only person who did well is Vivek, and he does not have enough of a track record. Fake Trump supporters will push warmongering RINOs like DeSantis or Nikki Haley.

PEACE 😇
___________

(1) https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/11/poll-donald-trump-leads-joe-biden-independents/

Answers to questions you never thought to ask. — Can you build an absurdly large sword based on carbon fiber?

PEACE 😇

Huberman’s lecture on stimulants is informative. Maybe go there. I remember modafinil is an expensive prescription drug. Also patients have very different effects from amphetamines. One ADHD patient may respond to 50 mg a day and a different patient with same age, sex, height, and weight may get no noticeable effect from 500 mg a day. I have previously heard him mention offhand that 2/3 Stanford students are on modafinil or adderall or ritalin but this tidbit is not in that presentation. All you have to do to get a prescription is tell an acceptable story to a physician. Maybe not any physician. But a large fraction of them.

I wonder how that is determined, namely, what makes it micro and how do they know it is enough.

If you want to trip the dose is (from users’ experience) 250-500 micrograms. If you want to microdose the number is 10-25 as I recall. Trip dosage is a reliable number. Erowid has the best data set. Self experimentation with these molecules is a lot more fun if you are 25 years old or younger.

The occulus machine gives users nausea. It has no practical application I have ever heard about but it was successful at attracting stupid investors. I seem to remember facebook buying his company for hundreds millions dollars.

Making machines for killing people destroys souls in those people who possess one.

A counter to Washington Week with The Atlantic and Fareed Zakaria GPS:

https://www.eurasiareview.com/12122023-ukraines-future-oped/

Thanks for the recommendation.

I have previously heard him mention offhand that 2/3 Stanford students are on modafinil or adderall or ritalin but this tidbit is not in that presentation. All you have to do to get a prescription is tell an acceptable story to a physician. Maybe not any physician. But a large fraction of them.

That’s pretty easy then. I don’t think it’s any physician, but probably many. Adderall seems common even outside of Stanford. I wonder if it’s the same kind of amphetamine that’s in the so called “speed” (how the heck do they go to sleep even, they must take it early in the morning).

The occulus machine gives users nausea.

Yes, I’ve heard this is a common complaint and that there’s an effort to build a better VR (haven’t used it so can’t judge).

I seem to remember facebook buying his company for hundreds millions dollars.

Yes, it’s part of Facebook / Meta now. It must have been bought during the tech bubble, so it’s interesting whether it paid off for Meta. His current company is also getting insane funding, with a valuation of almost $10B. I thought the time of crazy valuations was over since a couple of years ago. Spotify lost most of its valuation (it was truly insane).

Making machines for killing people destroys souls in those people who possess one.

It might be ok if it’s for self defense, although it doesn’t really matter on the metaphysical level.

What do you think about the end of this interview where he says he wants to sell his stuff to China and North Korea in the sense that he wants them to become like Japan and Germany? Isn’t that super ambitious? But, you see, he’s thinking in those terms. And that he’d be more proud of selling to (a defeated) Germany than to a (defeated) Russia. Wow.

There was some thought that the GOP debates would yield a name. However, the only person who did well is Vivek, and he does not have enough of a track record. Fake Trump supporters will push warmongering RINOs like DeSantis or Nikki Haley.

Elise Stefanik would be pretty good, no?

https://i.insider.com/628277779147a30018b48d39?width=1136&format=jpeg

“She’s sophisticated. She’s got class. Dangerous curves. And a whole lot of ass.”

From this song:

I wonder if Anatoly Karlin’s prediction of hundreds of thousands of dollars per Ethereum by the 2030s will actually come to pass. He said that it’s either that or bust. He also predicted the same for Urbit stars. Specifically, with each Urbit star being worth either hundreds of thousands of dollars by the 2030s or being worth absolutely nothing by that point in time.

BitChute’s stock could get a huge boost over time if it will become the official streaming channel of the network state Bitopia, which of course will be powered by Bitcoin.

An article about life in occupied Melitopol, in the Glorious Russian Reich:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/11/europe/ukraine-life-under-russian-occupation-melitopol-intl-cmd/index.html

Reminds me a bit of life in the Polish Corridor under Nazi German rule, for those who were both ethnic Poles and pre-1918 German citizens but politically loyal to Poland.

A private reply regarding –

https://www.eurasiareview.com/12122023-ukraines-future-oped/

“Spot on. The situation is even more dire for Ukraine’s criminal leadership, and even more tragic for the people for whom they have no regard.

In addition, there are many Ukrainian troops surrendering in spite of the fact that they have neo-Nazi Banderites and foreign mercenaries planted in each unit to shoot anyone that wants to surrender. I’ve seen enough videos of Ukrainian soldiers who survived complaining about this.

Many in Ukraine are no longer watching the state TV – as you know, all but regime-run stations have been banned – and they get their news from other sources, like Telegram, etc. Ukrainians (normal ones) like Uri Podolyaka and Michael Onufrienko have great programs, and broadcast mostly from Crimea.

Alexander Mercouris is another great resource – a Greek in Britain – with Russian friends who broadcasts in English…

The truth is coming out.”

Another indication of a very sick regime:

https://www.rt.com/russia/588886-ukraine-olympic-games-boycott/

I’ve got an alternate history question for AP: In the event that WWI does not break out in 1914 (Franz Ferdinand lives), would it be possible for Russia to attack the Ottoman Empire again sometime down the line? And, if so, could Germany and Austria-Hungary arm the Ottomans enough and build up the Ottoman military enough up to the point that the Ottoman military can do to Russia what Ukraine did to Russia in the Russo-Ukrainian War in real life? As in, ensure that Russia walks away with nothing other than some modest gains, but with the core of the Ottoman Empire remaining intact and with the Ottoman Empire itself remaining very strong.

(Note: During WWI in real life, the Ottoman Empire was not that strong. But if the Ottoman Empire will aggressively build up its military with the help of the Germanic powers over the next 10-15 years or more, then it could be in a much better position in a future hypothetical war against Russia. Russia would have also aggressively trounced Ukraine in 2014 in real life, after all. But by 2022, it couldn’t even conquer Kharkiv or Odessa or Mykolayiv or hold onto Kherson.)

Maybe one could argue that the Russian Empire would be more willing to spend huge amounts of money on a real war than Putin’s Russia would be, and that the coalition opposing it would not be quite as formidable as NATO would be, though still, it’s worth noting that Britain can side with Germany and Austria-Hungary in regards to helping the Ottoman Empire in this scenario if, without WWI breaking out by then, it will come to re-perceive Russia as a huge threat. Britain plus Germany plus Austria-Hungary would have quite a lot of economic power combined. Though the US won’t be aiding them. And France could possibly be aiding its ally Russia, though I suppose that France could also be doing what China is doing in the Russo-Ukrainian War in real life and limit its aid to Russia to relatively mundane things.

Why did it take so long for wine to displace beer in Egypt? (4th century AD)

And how do Egyptians track on genetic alcohol tolerance? Same as Greeks?

I wasted only 15 minutes. The US military technology, the guy with the soiled chin talking about, failed against medieval Taliban for 20! years and is failing in Ukraine. These immature dudes try to make money by selling video but who will buy it.

Would you enjoy hanging out with the murderers of your family members?

I thought you were on good terms with your Jewish neighbours?

They are certainly not an easy people to manage, one really needs to learn to handle them when living together.

Have you followed?

[MORE]

The Baltic States acting as sock puppets in Europe against China is probably the most pathetic display of political stupidity and flunkeyism I have ever seen. It’s not just smarter and more capable people would play off the Chinese against the Americans to extract concessions for their own benefit and vice versa.

Want a China bad statement? We could use a new football stadium. What’s really rather sad is the reality that their countries are facing eminent extinction within a single generation. Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, etc will cease to exist by mid century as the young and capable decamp for Germany/“The North East”(Costco is truly genius and very affordable annual membership is only $50, you quickly make that back in savings. I love those large frozen Alaskan salmon and cod packets) in droves and all that will be left is a retirement home masquerading as a country.

Spending your remaining political time calling Russia names is bad enough, but spending it calling China, a country you have zero history or interaction with at the behest of your superiors, while your country disappears year by year in front of your very eyes due to the neoliberal economic and political system you seek to uphold is something else.

Asiatics > Unhinged Bear-Slayer anti-East bullshit.

South Korea is one of the few deposits for this type of ammo in the world, and, yes, they do a good job supplying.

We truly live in a post-historical era. An objective lesson of the first and second world wars were that the petit nationalisms of Eastern Europe were dangerous volatile things capable of generating crisis and violence yet of marginal strategic utility and that the optimal policy was to avoid strategic entanglements of any kind for the major Western powers.

This has been completely abandoned in favor of kicking France and Germany out of Europe and making Poland and Latvia the new pillars of sound European decision making. The Eastern expansion of the EU and Nato will go down historically as to what doomed the grand vision of a peaceful and United Europe.

The old saying about Konraad Adenauer muttering about Asiatics every time his train crossed east past the Elbe carried with it more than a little truth and the observation of the conservative reactionaries about the East were more prescient than the Liberal eurocrats who put out policy white papers about how Kosovo is the most law abiding nation in the Balkans.

they need to post something negative about our people

Some Northern Euro women sometimes go south for that, so they can slut it up in a foreign place where nobody knows them. They would not marry you or even date you seriously

petit nationalisms of Eastern Europe

I wouldn’t say that any EU country fully has this – not even Hungary. Most have a parliamentary system which includes leftist liberal parties that typically fight displays of ethnic nationalism. Poland and the Baltics have a little bit of nationalism, but they are still “washed” in liberalism at the end of the day.

By the way, does anybody in either Korea feel any qualms about supplying weapons? After all that is meant to kill two closely related groups of Slavs. This is macabre.

This is a Brothers War in more than one sense. As an outsider you will never understand how truly macabre it is.

It took a much bigger tumble from 60k dollars two years ago, this time last year it was $16k. 40k now, so it would have been a nice Christmas present last year, and a bad one the year before.

ETH has halved in dollar terms since Christmas 2021 as well.

Political implications will be interesting, if Iran does send a man into space by 2029, as planned, even setting aside nuclear or other weapons potential.

Imagine being beaten by Iran.

Persia was once a mighty civilisation and empire, but that was a fair while ago.

I wonder why Wiki doesn’t call it the First Persian Empire, as it certainly would have been in older history books?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire

In the modern era, the Achaemenid Empire has been recognized for its imposition of a successful model of centralized, bureaucratic administration; its multicultural policy; building complex infrastructure, such as road systems and an organized postal system; the use of official languages across its territories; and the development of civil services, including its possession of a large, professional army. Its advancements inspired the implementation of similar styles of governance by a variety of later empires.

The military in both Koreas probably feel like they are next. If NATO were to be successful in Ukraine the USA might use South Korea to pressure North Korea and ultimately China and Russia. Besides, North Korea can use the money and South Korea is probably bored.

Shells like that are easy to make. The lack of ammo from the West is a sign of lack of will, not of ability. I wonder which country will buy the 155 ammo from Russia?

No. Is there a big commotion around e/acc in reddit Baltic sea?

My main interest in the e/acc is I have always been interested in Nick Land’s writing. My main interest in the video was rich guys on drugs which is always funny.

The Government is pissed at Assange and Snowden for exposing their Ted Bundy like alter-egos! Political opperative, rape crisis line worker, board member of Crime Prevention Task Force by day, Serial Killer and Serial Necropheliac by night! Face it Evil Trio – Government, Healthcare sector which includes Mental Healthcare and Big Pharma, and Orwellian Surveillance State! You all have Alter-Egos that are all Sadistic cold blooded monsters like Ted Bundy! You are guilty of crimes against humanity, Treason, Terrorism, Medical Fraud, Medical Torture, Munchausen Syndrome tactics which are pre-meditated mal-practice, and Seditious Conspiracy to Violate Constitutional Rights of the Established Authority which is We the People, the Sovereign Citizens, and Qualified Electors! It is totally impossible to peacefully co-exist with you! You have all waged a cowardly, undeclared war on We the People, because you want us to be unable to defend ourselves against your tyranny, treason, crimes against humanity, mass murder, organized crime sprees, and kleptocracy! Face it Evil Trio! You are prison material like Ted Bundy and the Manson Family! You are no better than Ted Bundy and the Manson Family Evil Trio! Face it Evil Trio! You belong in federal pennitentiaries for life like Ted Bundy and the Manson Family! I know that Leslie Van Houten was released from prison, but she should not have been because of the trauma to the murder victims family members that pleaded to the court not to release her.

A low-class descendant of one of my people and a total fake. She is reading scripts like an obedient squaw who wants to get that extra bowl off porridge.

Those curves are going to get a lot worse, I would pass…

Those curves are going to get a lot worse

Reminds me of an old Soviet-era joke.
A woman is about to yield to a guy, but before she undresses, she says:
– My dear, I have to warn you. Before I met you, I loved another guy very much and have tattooed his portrait on my right breast.
– OK.
– You know, I loved yet another guy very much and have tattooed his portrait on my left breast.
The guy starts guffawing.
– Why are you laughing?
– I just imagined what their faces will look like in 20 years.

From the onset of Covid-19 medical fraud since it was a fictious virus, every Triage worker i the Evil Trio just decided the hell with everyone else, just wanted to save themselves, even if it entailed medical fraud, pre-meditated mal-practice, mass murder, shutting down the entire country resulting in many destroyed small businesses, families, jobs, home owners, and even if it entailed destroying every child in the entire country. It was all worth it to them.

In the cowardly undeclared war waged against We the People by the Evil Trio, like Ted Bundy, they want us to be helpless to stop their sadistic crimes against us, like Ted Bundy, the Evil Trio Vampires have sucked the life right out of us in exchange for ever lasting life in the alternate universe of the surveillance state, all captives of Hotel California Silicon Valley. It is not what we asked for. It is not what we bargained for. It is not what we dreamed of. It is not what we hoped for. The exchange of the perfect American dream recreated as a chatbot created by a sick thief that stole our lives. Like Ted Bundy they want us to be unable to refuse them, unable to fight back, and unable to leave.

Zero for Zelensky: (1)

Zelensky Leaves Empty-Handed — McConnell Admits Ukraine Aid Talks Going Nowhere, Punts to January

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will come up empty in his latest swing through the U.S. Capitol.

Negotiations on additional American aid to Ukraine paired with a border security package are dead for 2023, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reportedly told his fellow Senate Republicans at their weekly lunch Tuesday.
…
Earlier Tuesday, Zelensky met individually with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Afterward, Johnson reiterated his position that the White House and Senate must get serious about securing the border before any additional aid to Ukraine can be considered, arguing that the Biden administration has failed to outline clear goals in further assisting Ukraine’s war against Russia.

“We need a clear articulation of the strategy,” he said.

Forever Wars can come back like Nosferatu, so I do not want to declare permanent victory. However, McConnell’s open capitulation is a huge step forward towards re-establishing America’s national prestige and honour.

PEACE 😇
__________

(1) https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/12/zelensky-leaves-empty-handed-mcconnell-admits-ukraine-aid-talks-going-nowhere-punts-to-january/

China, a country you have zero history or interaction

Not true, Chinese and Latvians fought together for the Reds (not a flattering depiction here though)

https://www.rbth.com/history/333135-how-chinese-soldiers-helped-bolsheviks

Both Chinese and Japanese also supported the Whites and Czech Legion

Well, Korea only became divided as a result of Soviet entry. Later it was Stalin who gave Kim the go-ahead and T-34s to invade ROK
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seishin_Operation

If you go back further, Russo-Japanese War was because Nicolaus wanted both Manchuria and Korea

Thanks! I’ve heard of that!

BTW, off-topic, but I’ve got an alternate history question for you: In the absence of the Bolsheviks coming to power in Russia (either no Bolshevik coup at all in 1917 or the Whites winning the Russian Civil War), do you ever see Japan waging a war against either Russia or the United States, or even against both of them, perhaps even simultaneously (or not)?

Imagine just how much more POWER Iran would have if it opened its doors wide open to Afghanistan’s, Iraq’s, and even Pakistan’s human capital!

Seems like the smart thing for Tsar Nicholas II to do would have been to try partitioning Korea with Japan without a war–or, failing that, to let Japan have Korea in exchange for Russia having Manchuria and then having Russia outright annex Manchuria in order to secure all of the ethnic Chinese human capital there. If Sakhalin Koreans can successfully become Russians, why not Manchurian Chinese as well? They were largely illiterate back in 1900, after all–were they not? So, plenty of potential to instill a Russian (well, more accurately, a fusion Russo-Chinese) national consciousness inside of them.

I recently re-watched the Sam Bankman Fried presentation on Bankless. It was four days before Coindesk spilled the beans on the FTX books and six days before CZ did the demolition job. I couldn’t get much past the 30 minute mark but it is perhaps one of the ten all time internet hits so far. Aye aye aye aye aye aye aye.

Tucker Carlson on the Jimmy Dore Show! Talking Jon Stewart, Alex Jones, Israel, COVID & More!

BTW, off-topic, but is it fair to say that the Crimean Corridor is Russia’s version of what the Polish Corridor was to Germany before 1945? Specifically, a non-ethnically Russian land connecting two ethnic Russian territories (Crimea and the core Russian heartland). Similar to how the Polish Corridor was Polish-majority but nevertheless connected ethnic German East Prussia and the core German heartland?

Languages in Prussia according to Census Data from 1905 and 1910.
byu/Pilum2211 inMapPorn

The populations of Crimea and East Prussia are roughly comparable as well. Both in the two million range. A small drop in the bucket relative to the populations of the core German and Russian territories.

I wonder if Russians view the Crimean Corridor similarly to how Germans viewed the Polish Corridor in the 1919-1945 time period. The Crimean Corridor is very useful insurance against the sabotage of the Crimean Bridge, after all.

Interesting that both the German National State (under both Weimar Germany and Nazism) and the Russian National State (under Putin) have made it a mission to reacquire these territorial corridors.

AP, does my analogy here seem spot on? And what do you think, Mr. Hack?

The Great Bifurcation in action:

The Russia-China-Iran Axis recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government, with the West and their allies still recognizing Afghanistan’s former government as legitimate. India appears to be the odd one out here, also recognizing the Taliban. I wonder why that is. Maybe because Modi admires strength?

Tajikistan supports the former Afghan government due to Tajik national solidarity (that crosses across national borders), I would presume? Afghanistan has a lot of Tajiks and their political position has likely significantly weakened in Afghanistan with the Taliban’s return to power there in 2021.

I don’t know what the German public thought of the Polish corridor, I suspect many wanted to take it, but the Russian public never cared much for Kherson or Zaporizhia.

It wasn’t zero, he got another $200 million worth of weapons and ammo which will be enough to tide Ukraine over until January in terms of US aid.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-announces-two-hundred-million-dollars-additional-military-aid-ukraine-zelenskyy-visit-white-house

AFAIK, a lot of Germans, even in Weimar times, were very upset over the Polish Corridor because it split Germany into two separate parts. I suspect that Prussians were by far the most upset of all because it was their own German state that was split into two parts. Bavarians, Saxons, et cetera had less of a stake in this. I think that what increased the level of offense was the fact that Germans could not easily travel by either road or rail between East Prussia and the German core territories:

https://archive.org/details/polishcorridorco00donauoft/page/80/mode/2up?q=rail

https://archive.org/details/polishcorridorco00donauoft/page/82/mode/2up?q=rail

https://archive.org/details/polishcorridorco00donauoft/page/n103/mode/2up?q=rail

IIRC, Hitler wanted to solve this problem in a way that was also satisfactory to Poland by building an elevated extraterritorial German road/highway across the Polish Corridor (which would remain Polish) and, of course, returning overwhelmingly German Danzig to Germany. AFAIK, Poland either said no or simply refused to consider Hitler’s offer, which along with various other things (refusing to join the Anti-Comintern Pact, allying with Britain, mistreating its Germans) caused Hitler to significantly sour on Poland.

but the Russian public never cared much for Kherson or Zaporizhia.

Just how much do Russians care about travelling to Crimea by land? Because the Crimean Corridor makes this considerably easier since the Crimean Bridge can always get targeted by Ukrainian missiles and/or blown up by Ukrainian bombs.

Kherson itself (as in, the city of Kherson) is not a part of the Crimean Corridor and thus not vital (it’s on the wrong side of the Dnieper River), but the parts of the Crimean Corridor that Russia currently controls do appear to be vital, at least for travelling to Crimea by land.

Also, as you can see here, the city of Zaporizhia (unlike the southern part of Zaporizhia Oblast) is not vital for land communication between the core Russian territories and Crimea:

…he got another $200 million worth of weapons and ammo which will be enough to tide Ukraine over until January

Maybe till New Year if the war takes a break over Christmas. But the Ukie request was for $60 billion – $200 million is 0.3% of that amount.

It is not sustainable. US has spent $110 billion so far on the Ukie aid, incl. paying salaries-pensions. The request for next year was 1/2 of that. To keep Ukraine afloat requires $100 billion annually from US-EU. That is an amount that dwarfs any previous aid to any country – e.g. total Argentinian IMF debt is $40 billion, plus another $40 billion to others – and they are about to go bankrupt in a peace time.

Kiev can start printing hrivnas to keep paying the salaries-pensions and for the war. But that has historically led to hyper-inflation. Both militarily and economically Kiev is cornered.

Have you started to organize the partisans yet? Zelko dresses like Che so it is appropriate that the war eventually goes the guerrilla route. I am pretty sure he won’t stick around….What a f..ing waste, it will be studied for years for the cosmic level of stupidity. The lesson is never to listen to a fat elderly lady like Nuland,

…he got another $200 million worth of weapons and ammo which will be enough to tide Ukraine over until January

Maybe till New Year if the war takes a break over Christmas

He got $175 million a few weeks ago.

There is $4.4 billion left that can still be given but has not been distributed yet.

It is not sustainable. US has spent $110 billion so far on the Ukie aid, incl. paying salaries-pensions.

Of course it has not spent $110 billion.

A lot of that amount is the inflated value of the equipment that Ukraine is getting, like those missiles that are at or near their expiration date, which would have to be safely destroyed at considerable cost to US taxpayers if they weren’t sent to Ukraine to be fired at Russian invaders. The vehicles and other equipment is valued at their price when they were new, and not at what they are currently worth. And regardless the value, it isn’t cash being sent.

A lot of that amount is the cost of ammo being made at US factories. This is good for American workers in the heartland, and good for the US defense industry. It, too, isn’t cash being sent to Ukraine.

And here the total that Ukraine has gotten in equipment + cash has been $75 billion:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/12/us/politics/ukraine-us-military-aid.html#:~:text=Since%20Russia’s%20February%202022%20invasion,and%20addressing%20its%20humanitarian%20needs.

Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration has sent more than $75 billion in cash and equipment to the country for its defense. Most of the aid has gone to Ukraine’s military operations, keeping its government running and addressing its humanitarian needs.

Looks like the cash amount has been $26.4 billion.

A little bit more than 10 Las Vegas spheres.

Or ten miles of New York subway:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-23/in-nyc-subway-a-case-study-in-runaway-transit-construction-costs

Not much, all things considered, for wrecking much of Russia’s military.

What a f..ing waste, this will be studied for decades for the cosmic level stupidity.

Russia did indeed do a stupid thing, for which both Russia and Ukraine are paying a steep price.

Not really that hard to build a solid rocket.

Persians and others were doing it 800 years ago, with gunpowder.

McConnell’s open capitulation is a huge step forward towards re-establishing America’s national prestige and honour.

Even more impressive is Lindsey Graham saying that he won’t support the Ukraine aid package without a compromise on the border. This is the guy who used to tour Ukrainian military bases even before the war had started and harangue soldiers fighting the pro-Russians saying that “your fight is our fight”.

I may not buy a used car from him but Gaetz is now one of my political heroes. His rebellion shook the party like nothing since Trump’s appearance.

I still think they will all cave in eventually and Ukraine will get a hefty package without anyone fixing anything of consequence on the border. But I wouldn’t have predicted this a few months ago.

It wasn’t zero, he got another $200 million worth of weapons and ammo which will be enough to tide Ukraine over until January in terms of US aid.

😆 ROTFLMAO 😁 — Kiev aggression burns over €1 Billion/week. At best, Zelensky received 2 days of funding. At worst, it is aging shelf stock that has no use other than resale on the black market.

January is when the TALKS will restart. The next OPPORTUNITY for non-trivial funding is February or March. Is it possible that some money may wind up in a bill? Yes. However, it would be a tiny fraction of what Kiev aggression wants. The Veggie-in-Chief’s team is focusing on U.S. elections, where Ukie extremism is a liability.

Please answer this question directly:

Will Germany & France pony up an ADDITIONAL €3-5 Billion/month?

Scholz is in the midst of an epic budget crisis. Macron had a catastrophic legislative failure and could face a no confidence vote. EU puppet masters are dangling their flailing Zelensky on visibly tangled strings.

PEACE 😇

Well, Korea only became divided as a result of Soviet entry.

That is quite horrible, a friend mine has a half-Korean friend whose family was apparently split up. 🙁

If you go back further, Russo-Japanese War was because Nicolaus wanted both Manchuria and Korea

That is a really cool picture of the Black Octopus. Indeed, already so large, and yet still so full of avarice.

I’d like to share this, too – a very beautiful South East Asian mandarin duck has appeared in Estonia, for some reason it has decided to spend the winter there. It really stands out.

https://news.err.ee/1609192444/colorful-mandarin-duck-becomes-star-after-deciding-to-spend-winter-in-tartu

I am not sure about Russia, but Ukraine is definitely paying a very steep price. They had the option of being rich, neutral, populous country, wealthy in resources, trading with both EU and Russia (yes, it can be done) and treating all its people equally.

Instead they chose to force a mono-Ukie-culture on all of Ukraine (“ban Russians!”), to join Nato and act as a forward base for Washington fanatics who constantly dream about dismantling or diminishing Russia. It had no chance of success – and now for the consequences.

regardless the value, it isn’t cash being sent.

Not true, Kiev has received at least $40 billion in cash from US and EU. That is a lot of cash…no wonder they are asking for C130 planes now, to take all that cash out to safe havens is a logistic nightmare. The Afghani guy 2 years ago put it in a few bags and flew to Dubai in his private jet. But he was a small player and Arabs don’t ask too many questions. Ukraine is different, how much of that cash do you think has been stolen? Try to be logical for once…

In retrospect the damned Yanuk had the most rational policy: internal equality of Ukies and Russians, and playing Moscow against Brussels to get something from each. He was pro-Ukrainian and not pro-EU or pro-Russia – he spent 3 years negotiating with EU against Russia’s wishes! He probably stole less than the people who came after him. Yanuk was removed because he was anti-Nato and extended Russia’s leases in Crimea. What could have been…but it is too late.

Everyone in government, healthcare, mental healthcare, big pharma, the media, academia, the scientific community, the surveillance state, the military, the financial sector, and the technology sector have all developed dissociative disorder and alter egos. How long is this sick evil, sadistic charade going to continue for? I am mad as hell about it! Who in the hell do they think they are?! They expect us to value their lives and families more than we value our own lives and families. Not only do they demand to get away with it, they demand to be treated with respect when they have acted in the most unrespectable possible way by perpetrating crimes against humanity, treason, terrorism, medical fraud, pre-meditated mal practice, organized crime, financial fraud, and mass murder and mass theft! No. I refuse to forgive them for their Ted Bundy Manson Family lifestyles! They are not worth sacrificing anything for, not worth suffering for, and are unworthy of being forgiven! It will only encourage them! They are using their families as human shields for their evil, illegal predatory lifestyles! They are using Marxist subversive tactics of terrorism, sabotage, and mass murder in their cowardly undeclared war on us. They are evil, narcissistic spoiled rotten brats that must be held legally accountable for their monstrouus crimes and reckless and careless disregard! Apparently it is their plan to keep terrorizing us. If we consent to it, they will just keep doing it. They believe that they are above the law, above criticism, and above accountability!

$200 million is Zelensky’s severance payment! He will say some strange and creepy things in the build up to the New Year and Orthodox Christmas and then will be gone.

Don’t forget he is a professional actor (liar). There are no residuals on this gig so he has to get everything up front.

He seems to have a lot of chutzpah so here is an alternative idea. Maybe he was offering his services to the Demonrats as a Biden replacement candidate. So what if he wasn’t born here, votes don’t count anyway…

In retrospect the damned Yanuk had the most rational policy: internal equality of Ukies and Russians, and playing Moscow against Brussels to get something from each. He was pro-Ukrainian and not pro-EU or pro-Russia – he spent 3 years negotiating with EU against Russia’s wishes! He probably stole less than the people who came after him. Yanuk was removed because he was anti-Nato and extended Russia’s leases in Crimea. What could have been…but it is too late.

Yanuk never securing a parliamentary majority fairly might have had something to do with why he was removed. But Yeah, look at Yanuk, he tried playing off both the EU and Russia against each other until he simply couldn’t do it any longer, after which point his hold on power became untenable.

Sending a man into space is much, much harder, no?

Nothing in politics is done fairly...so that is a complete non-sequitur.

…he tried playing off both the EU and Russia against each other until he simply couldn’t do it any longer

There is some truth to that – it got to the point that EU had to talk to Russia and they refused. If EU had actual brains (and independence) a three-way deal could had been negotiated and we would have avoided all the painful nonsense. But it looks like Brussels wanted a crisis, they wanted to put Kiev in a no-win dilemma and force them to cut all trade links to Russia.

Brussels (=Nato) hoped to bluff Russia. If Russia had stayed quiet it would have worked. Or alternatively Brussels wanted a war between Ukraine and Russia. Now they have the war and are losing it. As always EU has no idea what to do – the combination of complete subservience to Washington and the mid-wit stupidity can be fatal. They are only a few steps behind Ukraine. (But they got great truffles and damn reality…)

However, McConnell’s open capitulation is a huge step forward towards re-establishing America’s national prestige and honour.

What national prestige and honor? From propping up Ukraine and being its largest supporter to doing an abrupt about face and letting it flounder to the financial might of the greatest gas station in the world? The US is fast going to lose its prestige of being the leader of the free world, and will be looked upon as an unreliable partner by any future allies and friends left in the world. It will equally look like a cowardly nation not worth the ink that it signs in any future agreements, think Budapest Memorandum.

2-3 months of closer deliberations in the congress should result in a clearer path of Ukrainian support. It aint over till the fat lady sings!

The hull of a rocket is not unlike that of a grain silo or submarine. A solid fuel rocket has very few moving parts, maybe the gimbal. If one doesn’t attempt a spacewalk, no need for any really sophisticated engineering.

I am not sure about Russia, but Ukraine is definitely paying a very steep price.

Russia has lost about 100k+ dead and counting, lots of military equipment, and an economy that is a lot worse than would have been otherwise.

They had the option of being rich, neutral, populous country, wealthy in resources, trading with both EU and Russia

When Ukraine pursued a neutral policy it was the second poorest country in Europe only Moldova, another country pursuing a neutral policy – was poorer.

Ukraine was finally catching up after 2016, so Russia invaded.

regardless the value, it isn’t cash being sent.

Not true, Kiev has received at least $40 billion in cash from US and EU.

The snippet you cut out referred specifically to the value of the equipment Ukraine was getting.

This was the full paragraph that snippet came from:

“A lot of that amount [aid] is the inflated value of the equipment that Ukraine is getting, like those missiles that are at or near their expiration date, which would have to be safely destroyed at considerable cost to US taxpayers if they weren’t sent to Ukraine to be fired at Russian invaders. The vehicles and other equipment is valued at their price when they were new, and not at what they are currently worth. And regardless the value, it isn’t cash being sent.”

no wonder they are asking for C130 planes now, to take all that cash out to safe havens is a logistic nightmare. The Afghani guy 2 years ago put it in a few bags and flew to Dubai in his private jet. But he was a small player and Arabs don’t ask too many questions. Ukraine is different, how much of that cash do you think has been stolen?

Do you have significant evidence of cash being stolen and/or removed in airplanes?

In retrospect the damned Yanuk had the most rational policy: internal equality of Ukies and Russians, and playing Moscow against Brussels to get something from each.

The strategy that had led Ukraine to fall behind both Poland (which move Westward) and Belarus (which moved towards Russia).

It wasn’t zero, he got another $200 million worth of weapons and ammo which will be enough to tide Ukraine over until January in terms of US aid.

😆 ROTFLMAO 😁 —

You said he got zero.

Is $200 million zero?

Kiev aggression burns over €1 Billion/week.

With some creative accounting.

At worst, it is aging shelf stock that has no use other than resale on the black market.

That stuff is rather effective at killing Russian invaders though.

January is when the TALKS will restart

And in the meantime more will be taken from the remaining $4.4 billion set aside.

Please answer this question directly:

Will Germany & France pony up an ADDITIONAL €3-5 Billion/month?

Who knows? Hungary is holding up a $50 billion aid package. Hopefully it gets through eventually. They will simply have to bribe Orban.

I may not buy a used car from him but Gaetz is now one of my political heroes

Of course he is.

Among US senators, this guy is great:

https://www.rt.com/news/588949-zelensky-visit-us-disgraceful/

leader (USA) of the free world,

What free world? The one, where the US military bases are present? Those are not sovereign or free countries.

My sense is the visit to Washington was improvised, they are now making it up day-by-day. Nato knows that Ukies can’t hold militarily in the long run but they lack the B team to negotiate a face-saving climb down. (Where is the fat German Frau when you need her?)

Everyone is positioning for the coming blame game: not enough weapons, bad execution of the offensive, Israel-Gaza, US internal politics – the ghost of Trump, Euros lacking martial spirit and fickleness… Zelko wanted to see the capo di tutti capi in person: he knows there is the Western public posture and there is the reality – but what’s the timing…and are they really sending him to Argentina?

The problem is that Zelko and his entourage anywhere in the West after the war could be embarrassing: interviews, recriminations, where did all the money go…but Argentina looks so post-WW2 Nazi like…it is a mess…

…In retrospect the damned Yanuk had the most rational policy: internal equality of Ukies and Russians, and playing Moscow against Brussels to get something from each.

The strategy that had led Ukraine to fall behind both Poland (which move Westward) and Belarus (which moved towards Russia).

That shows that Ukies beat anyone, east or west, when it comes to stealing.

What does significant stealing mean to you? Kiev got $40 billion in pure cash – how much was stolen? Was it significant to you? Your tales about “over-valued” weapons change nothing; it is true, but it came out of a different aid bucket. $40 billion was in cash assistance – money sent over to “assist”…

If you believe that Russia lost “100k” soldiers, how many did Kiev lose? Or is it 10k as you once claimed? Well, then the Ukies must be real supermen…but that doesn’t explain how they ruined their country after 1991 and then lost the war they didn’t have to fight. Something here doesn’t add up…

A lot of the alt coins are worthless now, as they all are ultimately. Also have to remember that a lot of people have had their ‘coins’ stolen too.

Interesting question is who invented bitcoin, I would guess either the intelligence agencies, I think the hash things was patented by the NSA, or Paul Le Roux. Bitcoin has a purpose as such, Nikolai Mushegian was right, so I guess it will hang around.

Not really, Argentina looks more like present day Ukraine or 90s Russia, very much oligarch dominated. Hopefully Millei will do some good, can’t do any worse. Argentina has a lot of mineral wealth, they should exploit that and generate some wealth, as the more successful Latin American countries do.

Couple of hundred dead and several thousand wounded, a high proportion of which are seriously, Israel paying a heavy price for their attempted genocide.

And everyone of them would cry bloody murder if the US closed down any base and left. All bases are the source of business opportunities and jobs for the locals. Name even one of these host countries that wants the US to go?

Iraq. Syria.

The Anpo protests in Japan were pretty massive.

Let me help you out, there were some protests in Japan just a few years back. A couple of soldiers got drunk and “raped” a woman during their night out on the town, Although a despicable act, so what? A couple of protests over the last 75 years in over 600 bases, all related to drunk and misbehaving servicemen? Not exactly the image of a belligerent country that all host countries want to remove.

Zelensky Leaves Empty-Handed — McConnell Admits Ukraine Aid Talks Going Nowhere, Punts to January

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will come up empty in his latest swing through the U.S. Capitol.

Negotiations on additional American aid to Ukraine paired with a border security package are dead for 2023, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reportedly told his fellow Senate Republicans at their weekly lunch Tuesday.

You said he got zero.

Is $200 million zero?

What I said was that Zelensky received zero from CONGRESS in new appropriations. This meaning was obvious to those familiar with U.S. government. I referenced SENATOR McConnell by name, and his capitulation in the CONGRESSIONAL appropriations process.

I repeated the quote for you again, with the obvious points in bold so you do not miss painfully obvious facts about the objectively true & obvious facts again.

Stating that the executive branch released a dribble from a previous appropriation badly misses the actual and incredibly obvious factual point I made about CONGRESS and new funding.

Is zero in NEW congressional appropriation $200M?

PEACE 😇

The Slavs have tragically lost a lot of good men.

It may be too early to determine how the sanctions have changed Russia’s economy. The widespread import substitution could be the kick the economy needed. Also the SMO politics may have loosened the grip of some Russian oligarchs. On the other hand, these things may push Russia back to more of a centrally planned economy. In the short run (now to three years) they seem better off.

The strategy that had led Ukraine to fall behind both Poland (which move Westward) and Belarus (which moved towards Russia).

That shows that Ukies beat anyone, east or west, when it comes to stealing.

The Sovoks such as Kuchma, Yanukovich et al, sure.

What does significant stealing mean to you? Kiev got $40 billion in pure cash – how much was stolen? Was it significant to you

I asked you for evidence that a significant portion of the $40 billion in cash assistance was stolen.

You provided none.

You want a number? Well, 1% would be significant. Any evidence of $400 million having been stolen? Lots of people and organizations would be highly motivated to prove such theft, surely it would be easy to find evidence of that.

If you believe that Russia lost “100k” soldiers, how

How many do you think Russia has lost since the invasion started in February 2022?

Or is it 10k as you once claimed?

I never claimed Ukraine lost only 10k soldiers in this war (unless I mentioned such a number in early 2022, don’t recall).

but that doesn’t explain how they ruined their country after 1991

Ukraine did poorly after 1991 because it didn’t follow the Poles and the Balts westward right away but instead tried neutrality with both East and West. This was when the country fell behind. The reason for this was the Donbas electorate which held Ukraine back. Well, Putin has punished them severely for this. Despite what they had done, they didn’t deserve such cruelty but such is the nature of being next to Russia and being a Russian friend.

What I said was that Zelensky received zero from CONGRESS in new appropriations

Your words were “Zero for Zelensky.”

If you had stated what you state now, you would have been correct.

But you did not state that Zelensky received zero in new appropriations.

The excerpt from Foxnews contradicted your statement; the footnote did not match the claim.

Good that you have revised and clarified your statement to reflect what had actually occurred.

Zelensky did not get a deal for 2023 for anything, but did receive a $200 million tranche from the $4.6 billion (now $4.4 billion) still remaining.

I accept your apology.

Thank you for retracting your attempt to revise my original accurate statement. Your admission that my original intent was obvious, clear, and accurate is appreciated.

PEACE 😇

A couple of soldiers got drunk and “raped” a woman during their night out on the town

LMAO. Why are you putting it in quotation marks? IIRC there’s been a couple of incidents, including these two with corpuses delicti:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Okinawa_rape_incident
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42192571

But you’re being overly reductive. There are many reasons not to want US troops around beyond these incidents (including if you are American), and I don’t think it’s the main motivation for many.

Not exactly the image of a belligerent country that all host countries want to remove.

surely, a straw man. Many EEs probably want more US bases. Likely as do some of these these very small states, like Qatar or Djibouti.

The French gave them the boot and the Germans, Dutch, Norwegians, British, Italians, and Spaniards would give them the boot after 30 seconds of deliberation if the people had anything to say about it.

Are you drunk?

I’ve got an alternate history question for AP: In the event that WWI does not break out in 1914 (Franz Ferdinand lives), would it be possible for Russia to attack the Ottoman Empire again sometime down the line

I think there’s something to be said for historical records, and Russia had a good record of beating the Ottomans. Since 1768 it beat them in every war other than the Crimean War in which the Ottomans themselves were beaten by the Russians, but the Russians were defeated by the Ottomans’ British and French allies. So it would likely have won in another war with them.

You misstated your point originally (your statement that Zelensky got zero was incorrect, and wasn’t supported by the information in the footnote), but then provided an accurate correction. Good for you for not doubling down. I give credit where credit is due.

I think this is Fake News, but I’m interested in your opinion.

Thank you for admitting that I successfully corrected your misinterpretation. You took my original point out of context. It should have been obvious that it was tied to a story about the SENATOR McConnell. And thus, was exclusively about about new CONGRESSIONAL appropriation.

Good for you with admitting your error & not doubling down. I give credit where credit is due.

PEACE 😇

https://www.rt.com/russia/588976-zelensky-no-village-lost/

You can judge the story’s credibility based on these points from the article:

All three individuals, like others in this story, were granted anonymity to speak freely about the president’s thinking.
…

The Trump campaign denies that he has changed his stance toward North Korea in any way. “These ‘sources’ have no idea what they are talking about and do not speak for President Trump or his campaign,” said spokesperson Steven Cheung.

It is probably outright fake news, but there is a slim chance it was a trial balloon that did not lift. There is no way to know for sure.

PEACE 😇

I’m thinking about browsing tinder THOTs. I’m thinking about buying a television set and a cable contract.

Twitter is garbage. I’m not even thinking about signing up for a TwitterX account. That was a great tweet a couple of weeks ago though with the six Israel school children singing the song about annihilating Gaza.

Thanks dear, a lot of Koreans were actually pro-Russia, just like a lot of EEs were pro-Japan. This was the German polyglot who proposed the Korean king to enter in a secret treaty with Russia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Georg_von_Möllendorff

Here’s a story about how Japan supported Latvian (and Finnish) revolutionaries

Ray McGovern: What Happens When Government Lies Are Exposed.

I highly recommend the book Tennozan by George Fiefer, about the battle of Okinawa and the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan. Incredible stuff, it includes a funny story of a Kamikaze pilot who, after the sacramental saki and everything, took to the skies on his mission, but doubled back and strafed his celebratory comrades before actually heading out.

This past year, I have found some amusing clips on YouTube of people petting different animals, such as wild skunks and Canada geese. But I think the culmination is these people petting porcupines.

Hopefully Millei will do some good, can’t do any worse.

Russian joke:
The pessimist says:
– Everything is so bad, it cannot get any worse.
The optimist replies:
– But surely it can!

From my ISP the first big headline after Millei’s election was him pledging allegiance to Israel.

The Japanese were engaged in a very nasty imperialism. It was that imperialism that brought them into conflict with the Chinese and then the Americans, nothing else. Don’t do it, no conflict.

The one point to be made in defense of Germany and Japan in the 20th century wars was that they were rising in a world where market access had already been divied up by British and French and to a much lesser extent American, Dutch, Belgian … imperialism. It was not ridiculous for Germany and Japan to find the existing order to be offensive and want to remake it. And if they had openly pushed for decolonization and open trade the eventual post WW2 system they would have had allies in the project like America and China.

But the Japanese had first grabbed Korea as a colony, then created their Manchukuo sock puppet state, then started the War by invading China a place that the Western powers had not colonized as it was so large and important that there was a general agreement that no one power should be allowed to dominate it (or perhaps could dominate it).

Prior to it’s naked imperialism, Meiji Japan had a pretty good reputation in the world. It was seen as a modern, Westernizing, can do kind of place. A shining light amongst Asian backwardness.

The reputation of the Japanese in Asia after the WW2 pretty much tells you all you need to know about Japan’s imperialism and aggression. In no way shape or form was it self defense.

the first big headline after Millei’s election was him pledging allegiance to Israel.

Israel is busily digging its grave. What’s more, Israeli crimes in Gaza damaged the US even more than Israel itself (nobody expected anything good from Israel, anyway). So, if that certifiable mental case wants Argentina to go down with Israel, good luck to him. Except for vulture funds, Argentina is no more important for the world than Kabo Verde or Tuvalu.

Fair point about historical records, but it’s worth noting that the Ottomans might have been fighting more passionately to defend their historical homeland (Anatolia) than they would have been in fighting to defend some peripheral areas. (The Turks were able to reverse and undo the Treaty of Sevres after WWI in real life, though it probably helped that Russia was Communist and thus uninterested in further imperialism in Anatolia.) And would close ties with the Germanic powers have meant nothing for the Ottoman Empire? No opportunities at all for the Germanic powers to significantly help the Ottomans improve their military, similar to how the West helped Ukraine significantly improve its own military between 2014 and 2022 in real life? I can’t be certain of this, but I would think that the Germanic countries had more modern militaries relative to Russia; at least, I would suspect that this would be true of pre-WWI Germany since it was a much bigger scientific and technological hub relative to Russia. Germany could have sold or even given some of its military technology to the Ottomans, including the advanced stuff, just so long as the Ottomans knew how to properly use them. (Turks are duller on average than Germans are, but still smarter on average than Arabs and Kurds are. The Ottoman troops fighting the Russians would very likely in large part be Turks due to reasons of geography and logistics.)

a lot of Koreans were actually pro-Russia

An interesting tid-bit, before Korea was annexed by Japan the country was spelt Corea. After its annexation and subjugation by Japan, the Japanese were so petty they didn’t want Corea to be listed alphabetically in front of Japan so its spelling was forcibly changed by Japan from Corea to Korea.

As a side note, if there is no WWI in 1914 and it looks like Russia is on the verge of winning another war against the Ottoman Empire and thus in dismembering the Ottoman Empire in the 1920s or 1930s or beyond, I think that the question of whether Germany and Austria-Hungary would directly militarily intervene in the war might depend a lot on what Britain does. Britain was friendly with Russia in 1914, but without WWI, there’s a very real risk that there could be a growing British fear of growing Russian military power over time. If so, and if Britain indicates that it is willing to fight to preserve the Ottoman Empire, then likely so would Germany and Austria-Hungary, in which case France would have to decide whether to remain neutral or to honor its alliance with Russia (which, TBF, might not apply in this case since AFAIK, the Franco-Russian alliance was officially defensive, and Germany won’t be attacking France without a French DOW here since the Schlieffen Plan would already become long outdated due to growing Russian military power).

If Britain indicates that it is not willing to fight on behalf of the Ottoman Empire, however, then we might very well see an outright partition of the Ottoman Empire between the various Great Powers in this scenario, unless of course Russia indicates that it would merely be content with Ottoman Armenia while allowing the Ottomans to keep the rest of their empire, including Constantinople, intact. I don’t think that the Ottoman Empire can survive a loss of Constantinople, however. Too big and too vital/crucial.

The Sovoks such as Kuchma, Yanukovich et al, sure.

Was Kravchuk not a Sovok as well?

Ukraine did poorly after 1991 because it didn’t follow the Poles and the Balts westward right away but instead tried neutrality with both East and West. This was when the country fell behind. The reason for this was the Donbas electorate which held Ukraine back. Well, Putin has punished them severely for this. Despite what they had done, they didn’t deserve such cruelty but such is the nature of being next to Russia and being a Russian friend.

To be fair, virtually all of Ukraine outside of the far west voted for Kravchuk in 1991. They should have voted for Chornovil if they wanted the post-Communist transition to be led by someone who wasn’t a Sovok.

I think that this is the central issue here: That a lot of Ukrainians wanted independence in 1991 in the hope of a much better quality of life for themselves but were still determined to vote for Sovoks for a while. Central Ukraine stopped voting for Sovoks first (early 2000s), of course.

Should hostilities once break out between Japan and the United States, it would not be enough that we take Guam and the Philippines, nor even Hawaii and San Francisco. To make victory certain, we would have to march into Washington and dictate the terms of peace in the White House. I wonder if our politicians [who speak so lightly of a Japanese-American war] have confidence as to the final outcome and are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices.

Yamamoto

Thanks, interesting links.

a lot of Koreans were actually pro-Russia

It’s understandable, but they weren’t as pro-Russia as to actually want to be part of the Empire, were they?

This was the German polyglot who proposed the Korean king to enter in a secret treaty with Russia

Great photo, you can tell the guy was totally into languages and “going native”. He’s German Prussian, btw, so practically Baltic German, one can say.

“Möllendorff also advocated that Korea enter into an alliance with the Russian Empire to counterbalance Chinese and Japanese influences on the Korean peninsula.” (Wiki)

Alliance is different than being completely swamped. Hard to say what is more useful here, doing translations or political advisory.

Another thing I wanted to share: here is a Lithuanian travel blogger who went to both North and South Korea and compared the two (he delves into the history a little, but just on the surface).

He spent 7 days in North Korea (that’s all a foreign tourist is allowed to spend there) and that travelogue is somewhat positive (and non-ideological), however, later he posts another video where he discourages visiting N.Korea (because of the heavy toll that the stringent social and political regulations exact on the individual human being in North Korea and how the freedoms are impacted).

And Seoul is truly amazing. He found a friend who had apparently escaped North Korea to South Korea. Not sure how objective this blogger is, there are good bits about both countries.

The Japanese gardens on the West Coast are simply incredible. The one in Seattle is stunning. Everything is planted and maintained with such care and showing in complete splendor during the fall season. And the red maple is one of the most beautiful trees on the planet.

Stunning and maintained with such care and showing complete splendor.

Have you had a chance to visit and show your gratitude?

I have heard that everybody in Beverly Hills employs a Japanese gardener. I wonder if the new rich in Woodside have caught up. Judging by their outfits I am betting on 98% Mexicans.

It sounds OK to me since the USA doesn’t have much say in what happens in North Korea. I don’t remember what Trump’s prior position is toward the DPRK.

I assume North and South Korea will naturally reunite at some point. I suspect Trump would be for this if the cost is otherwise low. He might want to take some credit for peacemaking.

As the SMO winds down Russia may naturally begin to support the DPRK much more strongly the way the Soviets did. Previously Russia was concerned about sanctions and now they no longer have to worry about this. A renewed strong bond between Russia and North Korea may gradually pressure South Korea and Japan to become more moderate with respect to Russia.

I think Russia has a shared interest with reunited Korea and Japan being independent and strong and the three states mutually operating as a counter balance to China. For the moment Russia may actually approve of the Western heckling of China since it keeps her somewhat in check.

Probably the best case scenario is that Russia helps North Korea build back up economically. The both can become more prosperous while retaining some “old school values” which the West has lost, including the rapidly declining South Korea. Once North Korea looks a bit stronger and a bit nicer reunification might be straightforward.

If you read all the way to the end they have what Genocide Joe told his Bobo.

It isn’t personal. &
It’s where we are on the time line. &
It is what it is. &
We are trying to run a business.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/12/politics/russia-troop-losses-us-intelligence-assessment/index.html

Russia has lost 87% of troops it had prior to start of Ukraine war, according to US intelligence assessment

Actually I did not read all the way to the end. : )

I have heard that everybody in Beverly Hills employs a Japanese gardener.

I don’t blame them. 🙂 Beverly Hills is in the south, but the Japanese are actually more “native” further north, they have lived there for a long time (logs from Japanese boats washed up on America’s shores in ancient times) and their homes there are very distinct (it is not just the Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), a very decorative tree on its own, but also intricately cut small Japanese pines that have been planted near their homes). Those are their signature trees, absolutely gorgeous and very exotic looking.

I’m not sure there are such original, older Japanese homes in Beverly Hills, however, I’m sure a Japanese gardener would do a great job landscaping a newly built property.

Judging by their outfits I am betting on 98% Mexicans.

Surely, Mexicans could try to learn to landscape like this and maybe even be partly successful sans the refinement which is in fact crucial (Balts would have a field day, since they are obsessed with horticulture yet they don’t have the luxury of a mild Pacific climate – they could come close to imitating that, but not fully). Nothing beats the original touch.

Have you had a chance to visit and show your gratitude?

Oh, yea? Gratitude for providing the train cars for the deportation of my people? Including children.

I choose myself who to show gratitude to and who to pay homage to. Nevertheless, I recognize that all humans have struggled. There is no justice in this cold and brutal world (and very little mercy).

I wasn’t sure what exactly the charges were and if they were indeed proven. I was going on my recollections, and didn’t have any time to research the issue. “Straw man” how so?

Yea, the Americans are your people, you ungrateful sod.

https://www.unz.com/isteve/ohtani-signs-with-dodgers-for-700-million-for-10-years/#comment-6311875

Well, goes to show you that the US does not force countries to accept their bases, although I’m sure pressure and some dealing goes on behind the scenes, with those that acquiesce. I’m not aware of the situation in Spain…have their been demonstrations against the base there by the local population?

Russia has to understand that the Ukraine war isn’t going to end, as-long as the West can drip feed the Ukrainian resistance they will do so rather than admit defeat.

The U.S has changed tactics and Russia has to do the same. The U.S now look on Ukraine has a holding force…holding large numbers of Russian soldiers and equipment on a large front, now the U.S can concentrate on the middle-east and Iran.

Russia has to push Ukraine back over the Dnipro river as quick as possible and set up a patrolled buffer zone, this will free up troops that can be kept in reserve for geo-strategic matters.

War is a fluid concept, and this fluidity is about draining and exhausting your enemy, the U.S has not really entered the theater yet, and don’t believe the U.S don’t have a strong army…they can find plenty of good soldiers in 350 million people.

train cars for the deportation of my people? Including children.

Bullshit, the Americans never did this, you talk alot of shit.

Show some evidence! You can’t because it only exist in your unhinged imagination!

Yea, the Americans are your people,

No, they’re not.

Wait, aren’t you an ethnic Chinese parked somewhere in the US? Or even born there? Yet trashing the West all the time.

Why so agitated? Happiness is hard to find?

And, yea, some of the train cars they gave to Stalin, he used in his countless deportations. The Soviet Russians always had lousy infrastructure and even despite the brutal modernization, they did not have enough equipment. This is all well known.

I would be much more grateful to the Americans that they provided food assistance during the Independence War, but that was much earlier (even though we should’ve been able to provide our own).

Rural Russians are the biggest saps:

This is exactly what happened with Stalin.

The people assumed the complaints weren’t getting to him. If only Stalin knew!!!!

Your Tsar knows and he doesn’t care. DERRRRR

Why do you insist I live in America? Just because you live there?

So I must too?

You really are unhinged.

The reason for this was the Donbas electorate which held Ukraine back. Well, Putin has punished them severely for this. Despite what they had done, they didn’t deserve such cruelty but such is the nature of being next to Russia and being a Russian friend.

“Russia never forgives friendship with her,” says Ayder Muzhdabayev (a Crimean (Krimchak) critic of the Kremlin).

Russia has lost 87% of troops it had prior to start of Ukraine war, according to US intelligence assessment

I like that number. It gives the game away. It is certainly as credible as the US intelligence claim before Iraq war that Saddam has WMDs.

Apparently, the dead are now fighting and beating Ukrainian troops to pulp, like in the “The return of the king”.

The best thing about current US powers-that-be is that they do not need anyone to deceive them, they effectively deceive themselves. Perfect self-service.

The one at the Chicago Botanical Garden is impressive

No, they’re not.

If you tell me how many decades ago you moved to America.

I’ll tell you what year I moved to Singapore. Here’s a hint it was a long time ago and not from America.

Is that a deal?

And you can cut the any bullshit about me not being a “Native Singaporean”, are you a “Native American”?

Why are Koreans so obsessed with these boy bands and girl bands? K-Pop is sickeningly cheesy, ultra commercialised crap and the singers are completely owned and controlled by the management companies, there isn’t even a pretense of artistic individuality.

Western music is bad enough, but I just can’t even begin to understand the mentality of a people and culture who lap that K-Pop garbage up

K-Pop strikes me as being “culture” for people who absolutely despise individuality and anything even vaguely “grass roots” and want to crush it.

The Russian military knows the West will drip feed the AFU and most likely they don’t care. Russia is probably focussed on the post-SMO situation now.

It would interesting to know what Russia is doing with newly produced armaments. Let’s say they build 500 high performance tactical missiles next month. How many go to the SMO and how many to the rest of the Russian forces across the country? Of the ones for the SMO, how many are used right away and how many are kept for future combat?

Ukie backers would say 100% go to the SMO where 90% are immediately shot down. I would guess 60% go to the SMO and 40% to stockpiles in the rest of Russia. Of the 60% maybe half are used as soon as possible. In other words the stockpile for SMO work may be increasing over time even while Russia is regularly launching strikes.

So my guess is:

30% are used right away of which 75% get through Ukrainian air defenses
30% are stockpiled for the SMO
40% are stockpiled in the rest of the Russian Federation.

Why does Russia need to go fast in Ukraine? If they keep going at a medium level through the winter, Ukrainian morale will begin to slip faster. If the Ukrainians have already press-ganged men and boys on the streets and accepted female combat troops how much longer can they really go on? On the other hand Russia gets more seasoned combat vets with hard winter experience. They can use this this now that Finland has joined NATO and other Northern countries have become more polarized against Russia.

To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.
Henry Kissinger

He knew what he was talking about.

https://www.unz.com/akarlin/open-thread-237/#comment-6311925

LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE.

https://www.unz.com/akarlin/open-thread-226/#comment-6118914

These are not their real names.

I can spar, if I have to, and if I feel like it’s fun,

I don’t have a problem with you inserting yourself into discussion Bromance and I are having. It adds spice.

You’ve got bigger balls than he has. (Jk.)

If you want to learn what real cruelty and depravity is read up on what his people did to mine, your people had it easier in comparison.

Such beauty and such great combinations of colors and shapes. But it looks almost too tidy, too perfect, almost like divine creation or something crafted by timeless evolution, while it is just a caring human hand, almost as if caressing the landscape. One can see though, with the trees in the background, that it is a different climate than the Pacific, one can see those trees are from much colder climes. It is a bit more rugged.

Why does Russia need to go fast in Ukraine? If they keep going at a medium level through the winter, Ukrainian morale will begin to slip faster.

I guess you haven’t been reading the news.

They have been throwing waves of men and armor at Avdiivka.

Putin is most likely trying to get a symbolic victory before the winter sets in.

Which means he isn’t on your imagined timeline. A Russian will explain the situation to you:

It’s a great day to die for an angry dwarf who most likely has a micropenis.

I thought you mentioned once that you had had an encounter with some Western woman at your work, years ago,

Please clarify for the audience what you mean by this.

Many people will get the wrong idea.

She was not a Westerner nor was she Chinese.

The Western news says the opposite of other international news sources. Which sources are more accurate, if any? We will probably find out some of the truth eventually. In the mean time I speculate based on reasonably well accepted facts about Russian military and industry.

Your obsession with Putin seems to be getting worse.

As therapy, you may want to try the following. There are a couple of big winners in here (0:30, 1:47, 4:30) mixed in with some meh.

I thought he was a Japanophile Chinese, not Japanese.

Yeah and your one of the Russophobe Vecticībnieki. 😄

The Western news says the opposite of other international news sources. Which sources are more accurate, if any?

I don’t see any contradictory information. International media sources have reported that Russia has been throwing armored columns at Adiivka. Videos from Russians appear to confirm heavy losses and meat wave type attacks. There are drone videos from Ukraine showing graveyards of APCs.

In the mean time I speculate based on reasonably well accepted facts about Russian military and industry.

Are you suggesting that they are not trying to take Avdiivka?

Your obsession with Putin seems to be getting worse.

I don’t see how. I’ve always assumed he has a very small penis.

It takes a very special level of insecurity to be the world’s richest man and in charge of the world’s largest country and yet engage in ego fulfilling behavior where other people have to die.

As for your video I didn’t find it funny at all. Kind of reminded me of 21 jumpstreet with the corny and denigrating take on police work but without the occasional laugh. On an interesting side note that was the movie that made Kanye like Jews again. Poor Anglin had a magic negro crush on Kanye for ranting about the Jews but that movie put an end to it.

Kanye decides that he likes Jews again after watching 21 Jumpstreet:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kanye-west-jonah-hill-21-jump-street-jewish-people-1234703761/

Ukraine was never going to win – US senator
https://www.rt.com/news/588986-ukraine-never-win-senator/

Tommy Tuberville has also dismissed the notion that Russia could invade EU states as just a “selling point”

—————————–

Zelensky Presses the Flesh for $ in DC, Lloyd Austin Threatens to Send Families of Republican Congressmen & Senators to Fight Russia, Trump Doesn’t Like Ukraine, US Semiconductor Sanctions Fail, more.
https://marksleboda.substack.com/p/zelensky-presses-the-flesh-for-in?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

…they do not need anyone to deceive them, they effectively deceive themselves.

It is even worse: they believe that wars are won by PR deceptions. Thy think that if they win in the media (Western house media) that’s all that matters. It is a meta-war: a “war about the war” in front of the public – and themselves. It is closer to self-therapy than to geo-politics.

The claim of 87% is of course intentionally stupid – not meant to be believed, it is a spit at the enemy as the war is being lost. Germans did very much the same thing in the last year of the war. The actual number of casualties given that Russia had in early 2022 700k active troops – plus the Donbas and other militias like Chechens – would by over 600k….riiiiight, that had to be quite a meeting as they settled on the “number”…I see a few elderly women staring at PowerPoint slides…

This is very sad, even tragic, but let’s also appreciate the entertainment value that is just precious, it cut sthrough the brain-dead Western culture like a lightning…I am hoping they grab it and make something out of it. But probably not…

The US is fast going to lose its prestige of being the leader of the free world, and will be looked upon as an unreliable partner by any future allies and friends left in the world.

All things considered, I consider the US to be the greatest country in the world but other than Israel and perhaps South Korea, I don’t know who else may consider it today to be a very reliable ally.

If your independence depends on the US continuing to support you indefinitely, you can’t really say that you are an independent country. Apart from the possibility of American internal politics leading to the US doing a Kabul or a Saigon on you, your own internal politics are going to be scrutinized so that you comply with US norms that may not be part of your culture at all. I would certainly hate my country to be a Russian puppet. Just look at repressive and impoverished Belarus. But I don’t think the Russians care about shoving any particular ideology down anybody’s throat these days as much as the American Establishment does. Being such a great country inevitably led the US to become a superpower but sadly, that meant abandoning the non-interventionist spirit of earlier times.

If I was a Ukrainian military leader I would have serious contingency plans for the possibility of having to face Russia with no military help from the US. Regardless of my thoughts about the tragedy that started in 2014, the Ukrainian military has shown a great deal of competence while the Russians have proven to be weaker and less competent than anybody thought. However, at the end of the day Russia continues to be a huge country with vast human and material resources and capable of fielding many advanced lethal weapons. Everybody should have done much more to avoid this tragic war. Starting by not killing so many of their civilian co-ethnics, as I’ll never tire to repeat.

Re: https://www.eurasiareview.com/12122023-ukraines-future-oped/

From a gentle Jewish socialist –

As for answering your question, which I think is at least a bit rhetorical,
what else could Putin have done?
Just about anything except starting an invasion,
just as Hamas could have done other things besides a pogrom.
Both those actions must not go unanswered.

My reply –

Just as Israel could’ve done other things besides a bigger pogrom than what Hamas did? There’s also the history prior to this past 10/7. As for claims of double standards, Russia has been the party being held to the greater double standard. The banning of the Russian flag and anthem from the upcoming Olympics (being done presently in numerous sports) is sheer bigotry.

Russia gave peace a seven years chance (regarding the Minsk Accords) as the Kiev regime revamped its arsenal and increased attacks on Donbass.

If I was a Ukrainian military leader I would have serious contingency plans for the possibility of having to face Russia with no military help from the US.

What makes you think they don’t?

The latest Fink-Dersh debate:

“Straw man” how so?

I accept your apology.

I also accept AP’s apology to you. One needs to be magnanimous always.

However, you may have been too quick to accept AP’s idea that the US is not really spending so much on Ukraine after all. This is a line that he’s kept repeating for months now so there is no hope that he’ll abandon it. He’d rather spend sleepless nights defending it post after post with a hundred graphs. But it doesn’t make any sense. On the one hand, it implies that the Biden Administration could send much lower appropriations requests to Congress by just using a more accurate accounting method with all those depreciated stocks but for some strange reason prefers to inflate the numbers and make the requests even more unlikely to succeed. Impossible to believe.

On the other hand, it doesn’t even matter. Once Congress approves an appropriations bill it adds to the existing deficit that needs to be compensated either through increased taxes or through increased debt (as long as demand for the gargantuan US debt continues to exist), the interests of which we also have to pay with our taxes. In other words, some 1% of Americans working in the defense sector get richer with a part of those huge aid packages by virtue of Biden taking money out of the pockets of most of us here in this blog but we should feel grateful about it lol.

…Everybody should have done much more to avoid this tragic war.

Nice sentiment, but it assumes that there were not people who wanted the war – not everybody wanted to avoid it. There were Ukies who out of stupidity or because they are fanatics thought that they can only achieve their objectives by a war – Zelko&Co. at least initially were not among them, but now they are.

The destroy-Russia Nato-uber-alles neo-cons also wanted a war – there was no other way to get what they want: Crimea and to surround Russia militarily so they can try to dismantle it next time it goes through an internal crisis. And Russian security-types who thought that a war now is preferable to waiting until Nato-Ukraine are fully settled.

The three forces now have a war. As always most of them are not suffering from it at all, they are safely in the back cheering it on…but this was a wanted war and a very much anticipated war.

What makes you think they don’t?

I’m pretty sure they do now. But I’m not sure what the thinking was a year and a half ago. Arestovich’s revelations suggest that at least the political leadership felt too secure about the West’s commitment and many thousands died and will continue to die for no larger gains than could have been achieved through negotiations then.

Arestovich’s revelations

He’s not entirely wrong, but in his recent statements he is going a bit too far (there have been a few exaggerations which suggests that he isn’t entirely objective).

the West’s commitment

The West doesn’t consist only of the US (and it is not even fully clear if the US will bail just yet).

I don’t keep up with the details of the combat such as Avdiivka. The last “map” video I clicked on showed serious Russian losses and massive Ukrainian losses. Then we have a ridiculous report from Uncle Sammy on the overall Russian losses. I would like to check the wording to see if the misrepresentation is bad as it seems.

The best line in the video is where he has to rip through all the dishonest woke language and say “…do they have a hole or a pole”? That is funny because it shows the primitive level that society is being dragged down to by the dishonest woke madness. It is deadly serious but is made funny to hopefully slip through some people’s ideological blinders on this topic. The bit with “We’ve zapped three of them today, they’re everywhere this morning” is tragicomedy. This is tragedy because the destruction of reasonable polite society is what makes tyranny more likely. It is comedy in the “it is better to laugh that to cry” category. The stupid cops are foils that could be good or bad depending on the situation, but will always use force. The video has other stupid stuff and f-bombs I didn’t like, but the sections I listed are great.

Is there video of Austin making the threatening comments, even if couched in political rhetoric? Sounds like potential grounds for immediate firing. When is this mentioned in the interview?

https://flowofwisdom.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/mindwar-mindwar_co_authored_by_michael-aquino.pdf

This is obsolete and replaced by his book.

They are not only making war on the Russians. They are making war on everybody. No way can it continue forever but it has been going on for a very long time if you ask me. The book is excellent. He leaves out a lot, but what is in there is pretty reliable. I heard an interview with him shortly before he died which might have been his last public interview. He said nine eleven was a controlled demolition job which was obvious to all on the day it happened.

The US deep state could still escalate in Ukraine, not really to save Ukraine or defeat Russia but mostly as a smokescreen to cover their tracks. The dollar-debt system system has the same stresses and built-in self-destruct mechanism as always and many people have always predicted that a major war would be associated with the transition away from the dollar. The Nulands and other criminals who promoted this conflict are sociopaths who would burn things down just to avoid accountability. Finally, there are a lot of confused and bloodthirsty warriors looking for blood, probably on all sides. Maybe the Ukies were right after all and humanity simply needs a stupid, brutal cleansing war every century to keep ourselves centered. Last time the body count was millions and this time it may be billions.

Historically both parties have a hard time resisting any type of defense spending. It’s one of the few areas where they usually agree.

Biden and the Democrats know that our asylum policy is a joke. They can’t defend it on a rational level which makes a deal more likely.

Odds thus favor a last minute deal but I wouldn’t put it past 60-70%. They could bicker like schoolchildren as usual and then break for their extended vacation. A deal could be reached upon their return if Biden actually holds out over the border and basically loses a game of chicken.

Biden is highballing with his 75 billion figure which shows he expects a deal. I’m gonna laugh if the GOP compromises on 50 or even 30 billion. That would be snookered by Mr. Magoo.

20 billion is plenty for another year. The tanks on both sides are getting fouled up by minefields. The F16s are one the way which means they really need more artillery and HIMARs. Maybe some more Bradleys that have been mothballed. The 75 billion is really just a starting point.

The Hispanic left is against any type of deal:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/progressives-warn-biden-against-trading-border-reforms-for-ukraine-aid/ar-AA1lsHX8

Weirdly the MAGA right and Hispanic left are on the same side. Trump dorks that think Russia is conservative Christian and Hispanics that want Brazil North. Both however are minorities within their parties.

Even weirder is that the MAGA right wants to give Israel aid and without anything in return. Israel has a budget surplus and the MAGA loonies want to write them a check. These MAGA Republicans seem to be highly motivated by Christian fatalism. They think Trump is going to beat these felonies cause God is American. Maybe Trump needs to catch some felonies so these loonies re-think things.

It is obvious to all here at Unz that 911 was a controlled demolition job, yes?

All here at unz includes complete whackos. I am pretty sure it is not obvious to all here at Unz that 911 was a controlled demolition. P~.9. There is an epidemic of post traumatic stress disorder on planet earth, all of planet earth. That is a reality distortion field of awesome power. None of us is immune. Looking at JFK’s head splattered and thousands of people squashed by the towers over and over again is trauma.

In r/military a couple of days ago they had a video of the remains of a Russian column wiped out by a HIMARS with a cluster munitions warhead of 200 000 tungsten beads which is designed to kill every living creature within a 300 m radius.

I don’t keep up with the details of the combat such as Avdiivka. The last “map” video I clicked on showed serious Russian losses and massive Ukrainian losses

Do you have a link for your map video?

I haven’t seen anything suggesting that Ukraine has taken worse losses in Avdiivka. It appears that once again the fighting favors the defensive and the Russians are sending meat waves.

Russia is clearly trying to take Avdiivka which shows that Putin is not merely trying to play a long game. He is most likely telling his Generals to “send em anyways” even if they warn of losses. Very similar to Hitler demanding offensives for morale when the war strategy after Stalingrad favored the defense. Putin wants at least a short term political win and is willing to throw untrained and poorly equipped men at the front. Perhaps he can absorb the losses but he is risking a short term political loss if Ukraine can manage to hold on.

That is funny because it shows the primitive level that society is being dragged down to by the dishonest woke madness. It is deadly serious but is made funny to hopefully slip through some people’s ideological blinders on this topic.

I only recognize 2 of 16 genders and I didn’t find it funny. A bit amateurish but maybe it appeals more to people that feel controlled by woke ideology. I’m not a fan of the Wokester crowd but it is much worse in the cities. The cities are magnets for the identity confused. The libs here normally leave when they turn 18.

The strategy that had led Ukraine to fall behind both Poland (which move Westward) and Belarus (which moved towards Russia).

Those Ukrainians who wanted to move towards Russia would have been better off not voting for Ukrainian independence back in 1991. Much less suffering that way. The raison d’etre of Ukrainian independence was to eventually join the European Union, which ultimately is much more impressive than the Soviet Union was anyway (many more people of higher average quality).

It is obvious to all here at Unz that 911 was a controlled demolition job, yes?

A demolition job after the planes hit? Is that what you are saying?

Or just building 7?

However, you may have been too quick to accept AP’s idea that the US is not really spending so much on Ukraine after all

Is much of the $75 billion or whatever in the form of equipment rather than cash? Yes or no?

And if so, is it incorrect to state that we are sending $75 billion or whatever to Ukraine that could have been spent here?

Try to be to honest, it’s hard for you in an argument, but do your best.

And since a lot of the equipment consists of decades-old vehicles that were already paid for when they were made, the value of the equipment sent to Ukraine is not being paid by taxpayers.

If Ukraine gets old Bradleys that have been sitting in a warehouse, that the government paid $200 million dollars for when they were made decades ago, no-one is paying that now. We are only paying for transport, but that cost is balanced by us no longer paying for storage and maintenance. But it’s counted as Ukraine getting $200 million dollars worth of Bradleys. And some dishonest guy like your beloved Matt Gaetz will count that as $200 million dollars cash sent to Ukraine that could have fed impoverished Americans, in order to attack the Biden administration and smart centrist Republicans who see this as good policy.

On the one hand, it implies that the Biden Administration could send much lower appropriations requests to Congress by just using a more accurate accounting method with all those depreciated stocks

That seems to just be the standard way of accounting. It reflects how much the equipment cost when it was made, which they have purchase orders and receipts for. It’s inflated relative to how much it is worth now, but not relative to how much it cost when the Pentagon originally bought it (I am not sure if they use inflation adjustments). Like donating an old unused TV that someone paid $500 for 10 years ago, and having the receipt for that amount. When in reality such a TV would probably be worth $100 if someone tried to sell it today on eBay.

but for some strange reason prefers to inflate the numbers and make the requests even more unlikely to succeed

Back when there was bipartisan support (in part because the people involved probably understand what I am saying) a high number didn’t matter because everyone was in favor. Perhaps it even was good because it demonstrated a high level of commitment to the world and made it look like the USA was far more supportive than others. It later became a liability when bad actors chose to dishonestly present those numbers as taxpayer dollars being sent abroad.

It would be funny if the standard accounting practice is abandoned and lower figures are used in the future, without changing the amount of equipment actually being sent to Ukraine. And this would then be successfully sold as “cutting costs.” The higher figures used before will have thus enabled more flexibility later.

On the other hand, it doesn’t even matter. Once Congress approves an appropriations bill it adds to the existing deficit that needs to be compensated either through increased taxes or through increased debt

How does exaggerating the current value of equipment that has already been paid for long ago, add to the deficit? Nobody is buying the equipment at the exaggerated price.

Of course that is not the only things that we are sending to Ukraine. Ukraine is also getting a lot of ammo, which indeed is being produced and paid for now:

In other words, some 1% of Americans working in the defense sector get richer with a part of those huge aid packages by virtue of Biden taking money out of the pockets of most of us here in this blog

This pertains not to sending old equipment, but to sending Ukraine modern ammo such as artillery shells.

1. Paying American workers in the defence sector is not a bad use of money. Certainly better than welfare, left-wing NPR propagandists, etc. It helps keep this sector alive, which could be vitally important down the road. We are increasing shell production capacity, which is also a good thing. We are economically helping parts of the country outside the coasts.

2. In some cases we are sending equipment to Ukraine and then replacing it with newer and better equipment. It’s a process of modernising and improving America’s military. Also a good thing.

You can argue that we shouldn’t do such things – maybe you feel that America should have a small and weak military, so as not to be tempted to ever go beyond the borders – but don’t pretend that America can’t benefit from it.

It’s understandable, but they weren’t as pro-Russia as to actually want to be part of the Empire, were they?

On a related note, why did the Soviet Union not annex North Korea after WWII? Was it for similar reasons as to why it did not annex Mongolia during the decades of the Cold War? Or would annexing North Korea have simply not been accepted by the North Korean population, even by their Communists, due to it looking like a predatory imperialist act?

Korea as a part of the Russian Empire or, alternatively, as a part of a reformed liberal non-Bolshevik-ruled post-Tsarist Russia would certainly be very interesting. I’m just not sure that it’s actually realistic, unfortunately.

Ukies are stretched thin.

Ukies are stretched thin in areas where combat is minimal or non-existent and adequate in the hot spots. The concept of using “meat waives” is foreign to the Ukrainian’s side and seems a preferred method for the Russian side. Basically, the Ukrainian side seems much more intelligent and focused in using its resources in conducting this war, with very few exceptions.

Meat Waves?

Is that on the memo?

I don’t know about “memo”, but it’s certainly to be seen in Adviivka. Why don’t you take your sword out of mothballs and enlist in Putler’s army and you can see for yourself first hand? I hear that that they’re offering a 5k bonus right now for new conscripts.
A fine example of Putler’s savvy marketing department, designed to attract patriots like you and Professor Janissary to join and help the cause…soldiers of fortune like kremlinstoogeA123 are welcome too.