Russia/Ukraine from Another Perspective (Relaunch Part Deux)

526,226 Views | 9433 Replies | Last: 1 day ago by PlaneCrashGuy
fka ftc
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I think its clear that when it comes to fighting Russians, nothing else matters.
Teslag
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AG

Quote:

Have you ever been to Houston? There is a lot of industry permanently based there including refineries, manufacturing, and the Port of Houston to name a few. Guess we should pack it all up and move it to,,, where? Coast is out. Rivers flood. Ground shakes. Wind blows.

Let the market decide. There is not constitutional power given to the Feds to reimburse people for disaster losses.
Teslag
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fka ftc said:

I think its clear that when it comes to fighting Russians, nothing else matters.

Ridiculous assertion. We have plenty of existing weapons to kill Russians, especially when that's literally what they were manufactured to do.
fka ftc
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Teslag said:

fka ftc said:

I think its clear that when it comes to fighting Russians, nothing else matters.

Ridiculous assertion. We have plenty of existing weapons to kill Russians, especially when that's literally what they were manufactured to do.
By you own calculations you said $100 billion in "existing weapons to kill Russians" and $20 billion in financial aid.

So nice try, but your own words have tied you up here. Just own it. You would rather see actual $$$ spent to kill Russians versus helping out the neediest in Texas and in our Country.

https://texags.com/forums/16/topics/3365034/replies/65368986

Quote:

There are 123 million households in the United States. So 900 x 123,000,000 = $110 Billion. That's the total amount of aid we have given, which is mostly the book value of existing weapons and training/support for those weapons. Only about 20 or so billion of that is direct financial assistance in the form of grants and loans.



So basically it's just another lazy gotcha headline that lacks any real effort at objective clarity. Carry on.
fka ftc
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Teslag said:


Quote:

Have you ever been to Houston? There is a lot of industry permanently based there including refineries, manufacturing, and the Port of Houston to name a few. Guess we should pack it all up and move it to,,, where? Coast is out. Rivers flood. Ground shakes. Wind blows.

Let the market decide. There is not constitutional power given to the Feds to reimburse people for disaster losses.
Market? CCare to clarify?

Regarding the bolded part, you are so off base its almost embarrassing to point it out.

Article I, Section 9. Clause 7 gives congress specifically that authority.

Again, happy to have a serious discussion but now you are just throwing out laughably false information and obtuse commentary like "let the market decide".
Teslag
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I'm not going to derail the thread with details as to why I believe we shouldn't be subsidizing coastal living. But it's my belief. If you want to have that debate then start another thread.

The entire thing was a red herring on your part. We have the money kill Russians so kill them we shall.
PlaneCrashGuy
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fka ftc
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Teslag said:

I'm not going to derail the thread with details as to why I believe we shouldn't be subsidizing coastal living. But it's my belief. If you want to have that debate then start another thread.

The entire thing was a red herring on your part. We have the money kill Russians so kill them we shall.
Its absolutely relevant as it is a prime example of where that money could otherwise be used. Its real, its right here for most of us in Texas, and many posters know someone or were affected by hurricanes, including Ike and Harvey in the last 15 years.

Money to kill Russians. Sounds pleasant. I notice we again did not differentiate soldiers v civilians.

Question for you... what specific oversight and controls are in place, will be in place, and where can I find current reporting on when, how and to with whom the money was spent?

Do you care if 50% was wasted paying off Z and his friends?

Couple honest questions for you. Specific answers not a simple yes.
Teslag
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50% would be excessive. But there will always be payoffs, bribes, corruption in warfare. That's been true for thousands of years and it's true now. It's naive to believe otherwise. So it comes with the game and I have accept a certain level of it.
fka ftc
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Teslag said:

50% would be excessive. But there will always be payoffs, bribes, corruption in warfare. That's been true for thousands of years and it's true now. It's naive to believe otherwise. So it comes with the game and I have accept a certain level of it.
Just to be clear, you have no thoughts on accountability for those dollars or auditing / control over those dollars? Your response leaves it unclear.
nortex97
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I think this is significant.
Teslag
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fka ftc said:

Teslag said:

50% would be excessive. But there will always be payoffs, bribes, corruption in warfare. That's been true for thousands of years and it's true now. It's naive to believe otherwise. So it comes with the game and I have accept a certain level of it.
Just to be clear, you have no thoughts on accountability for those dollars or auditing / control over those dollars? Your response leaves it unclear.


Of course. And if you look back on this thread it wasn't my side that threw a wall eyed fit when we had "advisors" doing just that. It was ranting and raving about "boots on ground" and "escalation".
GAC06
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It was "proof" that we had people in direct combat. Good times.
fka ftc
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Teslag said:

fka ftc said:

Teslag said:

50% would be excessive. But there will always be payoffs, bribes, corruption in warfare. That's been true for thousands of years and it's true now. It's naive to believe otherwise. So it comes with the game and I have accept a certain level of it.
Just to be clear, you have no thoughts on accountability for those dollars or auditing / control over those dollars? Your response leaves it unclear.


Of course. And if you look back on this thread it wasn't my side that threw a wall eyed fit when we had "advisors" doing just that. It was ranting and raving about "boots on ground" and "escalation".
Can you point me to any reporting about what those guys are doing? I mean, I can send you reporting and metrics on how funds for the program I linked are spent.

What makes you comfortable the accountability is there? And what were those "advisors" actually doing if not reporting on how the money is spent, assuming there are no reports.
Teslag
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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna54891

Quote:

American military personnel are now in Ukraine to help keep track of the billions of dollars' worth of weapons and equipment the United States has sent since the start of the Russian invasion, a senior U.S. defense official and senior U.S. military official said.
Teslag
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[Stay on topic and stop showboating. Continue and draw a ban -- Staff]

GAC06
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I was thinking of the iceman thread based on the leaked slides but those are good too. Honestly it's tough to keep track of how many times WWIII has kicked off according to the chicken littles on here
nortex97
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He's back on my ignore list. Anyway…

Documents show Khan ousted by US over refusal to side against Russia/pro-Ukraine.



Z considering firing/getting a new defense minister.







Even the propaganda press has turned substantially on the war cheerleading:





LOL…Ukes are not that popular in Europe any longer I guess…



The big German auto's coming back to Russia is a pretty big deal, imho.
Not a Bot
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If you can get past the first very opinionated paragraph of this tweet, it goes into pretty deep analysis of what's going on with the ruble and how it is affecting the Russian economy.

PlaneCrashGuy
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I'll be interested to see if this Russian offensive captures more land or if Uke can successfully hold them off. I don't think Uke is "gaining ground everyday" anymore. I'm hard pressed to think Russia can mount an offensive from their heels.
I'm not sure if people genuinely believe someone is going to say, "Wow, if some people say I'm a moron for not believing this, it clearly must be true."

It's not much a persuasive argument. It really just sounds like a bunch of miniature dachshunds barking because the first one one barked when it thought it heard something.
fka ftc
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Not a Bot said:

If you can get past the first very opinionated paragraph of this tweet, it goes into pretty deep analysis of what's going on with the ruble and how it is affecting the Russian economy.




Interesting, but a bit hard to follow. Russian economy overall is slowing a bit but they are actually seeing that as a positive as their economy was growing a bit too fast. It is correct that the stronger dollar is hurting them but sort of skips over the global economic shutdown as part of the drag on their economy and trade.
fka ftc
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PlaneCrashGuy said:

I'll be interested to see if this Russian offensive captures more land or if Uke can successfully hold them off. I don't think Uke is "gaining ground everyday" anymore. I'm hard pressed to think Russia can mount an offensive from their heels.


If I were Putin (I am not, despite allegations), I would fortify current positions, attack main infrastructure in western Ukraine, then sit and wait for winter to set in and turn off the power, water and gas. Good ol' fashioned seige.

Ukraine is about to find out who their friends are and are not.
Teslag
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Probably not a good strategy as Ukraines German friends are now planning to supply them with 300 mile range cruise missiles. Ukraine is showing more and more ability to attack targets inside Russia with tacit approval from the west.

https://amp.dw.com/en/germany-in-talks-to-send-taurus-missiles-to-ukraine-reports/a-66500574
nortex97
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My suspicion is they won't try to move north/farther much toward the west. I think they want to just maintain their lines in the south which they've worked to fortify/mine so much (plus have a 'regular' system for artillery to drive up, shoot, and fall back at this point).

I do think the ruble/currency stuff could be real, and read China is facing deflation now too, but all that global currency stuff is over my head. Everyone seems to have an analyst prognosticating the dollar, euro, ruble, yuan, yen, pretty much every major currency is about to collapse, and most of them are convincing to listen to, but I don't understand how they can all be right.





Changing the defense minister and firing all of the heads of 'recruitment' (conscription) operations seems very desperate to me, and unlikely to lead to a sharp uptick in draft signees/quality new soldiers. It seems that there has to be some other reason, and it's not driven by 'anti-corruption' motives of course.
GAC06
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Ukraine has been under attack for 18 months, and has a significant air defense capability compared to before. I suspect the civilian political reaction will be a lot worse in Russia if a few power plants get blown up than in Ukraine. Plus oil infrastructure of course.
Teslag
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Quote:

My suspicion is they won't try to move north/farther much toward the west. I think they want to just maintain their lines in the south


They could probably accomplish this with a realistic peace deal now but they won't.
Teslag
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GAC06 said:

Ukraine has been under attack for 18 months, and has a significant air defense capability compared to before. I suspect the civilian political reaction will be a lot worse in Russia if a few power plants get blown up than in Ukraine. Plus oil infrastructure of course.


Agreed. Nothing changes the face of war like having it brought to your doorstep.
YouBet
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Will note that is now $124B to Ukraine with this request. I will also note that they've bundled it with a bunch of other stuff and Schumer is already playing the government shutdown card over this.

Did we not just have that crisis like two months ago? It's never f'ing ending now and that, alone, should tell everyone we have a spending problem.
YouBet
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Teslag said:

Quote:

My suspicion is they won't try to move north/farther much toward the west. I think they want to just maintain their lines in the south


They could probably accomplish this with a realistic peace deal now but they won't.


Well, Ukraine won't currently agree to a realistic peace deal while they are funded by the west. The realistic deal being what we've both said is the most likely outcome by the time this is over - borders essentially drawn where they are now with a few zigs and zags here and there.
Teslag
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Ukraine will want, and should be allowed, to join NATO with any peace deal. It's the only way to assure any peace is permanent. Russia knows this too. Russia would be fine agreeing to a peace now, and them come back for another bite at the apple years later. Ukraine in NATO completely takes that off the table.
nortex97
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Yes and that is just for the first fiscal quarter (October thru December), plus they've said they won't be shy about coming to ask for more during that period.

I know there is a miss lindsey group that gets more excited about war than any poster that's visited this site, but wow, that should be a non-starter for sane GOP congress critters.

Quote:

Administration officials said the proposal aims to address Ukraine's needs for the first quarter of the new fiscal year that begins in October, adding that existing funding will suffice until then.

"We won't be bashful about going back to Congress beyond the first quarter of next year if we feel like we need to do that," a senior administration official told reporters. "It's really ... the best estimate we can come up with for what we think we're going to need to support Ukraine, at least for those first three months of the year."

There is currently about $6.2 billion left in a Pentagon account to send existing equipment from U.S. stockpiles to Ukraine, and another $2.2 billion to put weapons and equipment on contract for later deliveries. That money will likely last until early fall, given current U.S. spending rates, meaning a new package will need to be in place soon to allow Ukraine to plan for operations through the winter, which is expected to continue to see heavy fighting as Ukrainian forces continue their push toward Russian-occupied Crimea.
Delusional propaganda, at best.
Teslag
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Our defense budget is around $800 billion a year, of which a significant portion is literally spent to prepare for a fight against Russia. We are now doing that for a fraction of that amount with zero american lives.
GAC06
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Including a lot of crap that was just surplus like MRAP's, M1117's, M113's, Stryker MGS, etc

But I guess someone figured out how to skim money off the book values of surplus equipment.
fka ftc
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nortex97 said:

Yes and that is just for the first fiscal quarter (October thru December), plus they've said they won't be shy about coming to ask for more during that period.

I know there is a miss lindsey group that gets more excited about war than any poster that's visited this site, but wow, that should be a non-starter for sane GOP congress critters.

Quote:

Administration officials said the proposal aims to address Ukraine's needs for the first quarter of the new fiscal year that begins in October, adding that existing funding will suffice until then.

"We won't be bashful about going back to Congress beyond the first quarter of next year if we feel like we need to do that," a senior administration official told reporters. "It's really ... the best estimate we can come up with for what we think we're going to need to support Ukraine, at least for those first three months of the year."

There is currently about $6.2 billion left in a Pentagon account to send existing equipment from U.S. stockpiles to Ukraine, and another $2.2 billion to put weapons and equipment on contract for later deliveries. That money will likely last until early fall, given current U.S. spending rates, meaning a new package will need to be in place soon to allow Ukraine to plan for operations through the winter, which is expected to continue to see heavy fighting as Ukrainian forces continue their push toward Russian-occupied Crimea.
Delusional propaganda, at best.
It really is. People also tend to believe the propaganda that we are just sending unused equipment sitting around as if that has a zero cost to it. In theory, but really in reality, we could have sold that equipment to any number of allies near and far.

Plus dollars to donuts we spend considerable money ensuring this existing, 'surplus' equipment is in tip-top shape, is transported in pristine condition and we probably give the Ukes a 100%, money back guarantee. If it breaks, we will buy it back for original price plus 50%.

Just to stack Russian bodies for a sense of 1980's US propaganda pride.
TheBonifaceOption
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Teslag said:

Ukraine will want, and should be allowed, to join NATO with any peace deal. It's the only way to assure any peace is permanent. Russia knows this too. Russia would be fine agreeing to a peace now, and them come back for another bite at the apple years later. Ukraine in NATO completely takes that off the table.

Ah yes...more NATO violating it's word with Moscow.

https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early

Crazy how we swear and swear up and down to keep former soviet states neutral, but once the Union is gone who is gonna oppose NATO moving east?

Now we got jack wagons on this thread reveling in the lack of integrity.
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