iNow

Beds take up more space than seats do. Fewer fit

Madman strategy. From wiki: In his 1962 book, Thinking About the Unthinkable, futurist Herman Kahn argued that to "look a little crazy" might be an effective way to induce an adversary to stand down.

Of course it's possible, but then the airlines (who run at razer thin margins already) would pull in far less revenue per flight. They could, but won't because the cost/benefit on this is not in the favor of their bottom line... If they could, they'd replace the 3-seats on each side stack with benches in hopes of cramming a 4th or 5th person into them on each side of the craft. They're not incentivized to make our own experience as travelers better by purchasing aircraft from Boeing and Airbus that allow fewer passengers

Yes. He's an autocrat and he has near total control of everything that happens in his country.

Map from a Belarusian journalist of already confirmed strikes from Russia against Ukraine. This is no small "incursion." Invasion seems more apropos

And that's fine, but I don't, and I'm the OP. Cheers, mate

It was a reference to a show TheVat had referenced. This was the next line from Cutty. It was serendipitous bc I had just watched it. Inside jokes on text based media are hard for those outside.

If I may, we had a good run for about 5 years where Trump infected every political thread ever created. Perhaps we can enjoy this brief hiatus until primary season begins later this year when he re-enters public discussion during his fights with new enemies, both invented and real. For now, Biden is president of the US amd this thread was created to discuss the US response. Let’s please remain focused there. Within that US response, the GOP is fracturing over this between legacy republicans who want a strong US international presence and QAnon republicans who want the US to be walled off island disconnected from the modern world. That will force some interesting alliances with Democrats in the US Senate.

They already have. Either way, this reads more like a screed or a blog, not a discussion starter… and we really don’t need 2 separate threads on the Russia Ukraine situation even if it didn’t. Stop trolling

Guess we’d better start praying for a 12 car pileup on the turnpike because we’re not exactly swimming in livers over here.

Well, these comments clearly didn't age well: Of course. I was making a point, but it's directionally correct for sure. Either way, we can speculate anything we want. He's not president right now and it doesn't matter.

Same here, especially given how much more capable tanks (and helicopters and airplanes, etc.) are today vs during the times of Napoleon. Nah, Trump would be sending US troops to help Putin and would tell Ukraine they will get nothing and like it bc they refused to launch a false investigation into Biden's son.

I tend to agree, and the "at this time" phrase at the end there being the operative term. This won't stop with Ukraine. He's just boiling the frog slowly. He wants to reconstitute the USSR, or at least something extremely similar. This comment from about 3 weeks ago seems to have been prescient and correct. Within 24 hours of the closing ceremonies, Putin made his move

Simply repeating an invalid claim doesn’t magically render it true. This point persists even if you capitalize it and put a bunch of exclamation points. False dichotomy. I’d do neither. I’d instead engage in a discussion with my child to understand what’s bringing them pain in this world and I’d explore with them ways to alleviate it that don’t involve self-inflicted death.

If his troops take Kiev, which they absolutely can do probably within less than a day or 2 given their size and capabilities and backend support from cyber teams, then Ukraine for all intents and purposes will be absorbed as part of Russia effective immediately.

If you hate it here so much, why not leave and open your own forum where you can enforce any rules you want, or leave it as an unmoderated cesspool like YouTube comments sections?

FFS… you’re not Galileo.

And Bugs Bunny says what’s up doc. Until you move your fiction into the realm of evidence backed nonfiction, nobody here cares.

Abso-effing-lutely not Actually, you’re on a private global discussion forum with clearly stated membership rules to which you agreed when joining. You are here voluntarily and can voluntarily leave any time you feel the culture here does not align with your personal preferences and desires, but if you break any rules you will leave involuntarily. Again, is someone forcing you to participate here against your will? Blink twice if there’s a gun to your head while reading this. We’ll send help!

Well, even former GWBush Sec.State Condie Rice applauded the Biden team for how expertly they’ve been playing this bad hand they’ve been dealt. Delay on O&G sanctions is almost certainly so they don’t blow their entire wad when Putin still remains not fully committed. One of those “don’t shoot til you can see the whites of their eyes” situations.

From Axios: In a likely prelude to war, Vladimir Putin announced at the end of a combative, hourlong address that he will recognize two breakaway "republics" in eastern Ukraine as independent. Why it matters: The separatists don't hold all the territory they claim. So recognition could be a de facto declaration of war by Putin, Axios World author Dave Lawler writes. The White House immediately announced new sanctions on the Russian-backed republics. The separatists declared independence in 2014 and have waged a low-scale war against Ukrainian forces since then, with military backing from Moscow. Recognizing the two breakaway regions "would be a sort of attack without weapons," France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a parliamentary hearing earlier Monday. What we're watching: Analysts expect Russian recognition of the separatist republics to be followed by deployment of "peacekeeper" forces. Between the lines: Putin's move could be a sign that his immediate military focus is on the eastern Donbas region — not the capital, Kyiv. Michael Kofman, a CNA expert on the Russian military, contends it's more likely the first step in a broader military operation. Secretary of State Tony Blinken has said such recognition would "call into further question Russia’s stated commitment to ... diplomacy."

The ones which work better, of course. You'll need to be more specific here and give some clarity on where you're struggling and what you've already done trying to answer this on your own.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00104-8

If I did this, I’d never have good cheese, sauerkraut, Kim chi, chili mash, kefir, kombuchas, tempeh, or any of the other foods we intentionally spoil to make them preserved and amazing tasting.