re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict.

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Trump towering over the midget.

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Likely tiny hands and a tiny pee pee too

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The first year they would scare everytime nukes were hinted at. Since then, they know it's a bullcrap bluff for the panty waisted

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I would argue that they've known its a bullcrap bluff the entire time, and they've used the Russian "threat" on them to advance political initiatives.

We are involved with the world. We are the super power. We are a great nation, and we aren’t going to stay out of things.

That is obvious.

In the case of Ukraine, every administration since it became sovereign after the fall of the USSR has been involved.

I don’t see that changing.

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We are involved with the world. We are the super power. We are a great nation, and we aren’t going to stay out of things.

That is obvious.

In the case of Ukraine, every administration since it became sovereign after the fall of the USSR has been involved.

I don’t see that changing.

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Thats not really addressing anything I said, you're just wishcasting your worldview

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Thats not really addressing anything I said, you're just wishcasting your worldview

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It’s the exact opposite.

My view of the world is reality, your view of the world is wishcadting.

There is no debate now. Trump has made it clear that we will stay involved in Ukraine. You might not like that, but that’s what is happening.

Hopefully he will lead the two countries to a peace deal. That would be a great thing.

Additionally, BASF started moving operations to the US 15 years ago from Germany.

I don't count the Marines who are embassy guards as an actual military base, like Ron Paul and his cult following have.

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My view of the world is reality, your view of the world is wishcadting.

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You don't even know my worldview, you know how I feel about Ukraine

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Sechin is extremely interesting to me in that he seems to be the biggest Wild Card among the oligarchs.

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Absolutely. Sechin is not really a wild card, he's the entire deck. I'll try to keep this short but if you want to get your head around the extent and practices of the mafia that controls Russia, you start with Sechin. As you read about him, just keep reminding yourself that you are normal and he is clearly a psychopath. So you'll never really understand his thinking or behavior. But you can't resist trying.

Everything in the mafia that is Russia begins with loyalty. Sechin and Putin go way back together. When Putin was first given a significant job in the St. Petersburg Mayor's office in 1991, he assigned Sechin as his Chief of Staff. So they've known each other even before then, possibly meeting when they both came home after the Glasnost / German reunification years.

Sechin was a KGB gun runner in Mozambique in the 1980's. Getting out of that arena in one piece is very significant and those talents would have been attractive to Putin at the time.

They came up the levels of power together every step of the way. The people around them in Russia during this time were of two types - those that excelled in politics and those that excelled in finance. To succeed you must have both but the disconnect and resulting battles over power were the end of many of the ambitious. Notably, Sechin has a very strong and rare understanding of both.

Sechin quickly understood that having more power and money than anyone else is a good way to get killed. You must have all the power and all the money. And how you accomplish this is a lesson that in Russia goes back to Stalin - you identify any potential competitor with intelligence and drive and you then get rid of them. Don't wait until they become dangerous.

Here's an article that illustrates this philosophy in practice. The application of force, judicial and otherwise, all goes through the FSB, which is a total snake pit with multiple 'clans' fighting each other. Yes, there is a 'Sechin clan' among many others. These are the members that are on Sechin's payroll and from whom he expects results. Notice the word 'trust' didn't appear in that last sentence. As long as he weeds out the clever, he doesn't have to worry about trust. They have the muscle, he has the cash, results follow.

The oligarchs being stripped recently are all victims of Sechin. Yes, Putin needs the money for the war desperately now but when the levels of wealth and power start to get closer to Putin's decreasing level, people have to go. The money is important but the threat to Putin's position is as well.

These strippings will continue and like all growth industries, will attract competitors. Soon there will only be a few very big fish with very large security contingents and equally large war chests with which to keep everyone paid. The few really clever ones will keep a low profile, never allowing their behavior or actions to expose themselves to the Stalinesk cull. Thus the Russian police will always know who committed a hit because the bodies of the guilty will show up within a day of the hit.

This will get easier as the war chests of the big fish start to shrink, thus the critical importance of the attacks on the Rosneft refineries and infrastructure. The ancient secret of keeping significant body parts attached in non-democratic societies is to have more payroll money than the other guy. The minute you don't, you won't. Especially when the other guy is Igor Sechin.

Azov National Guard Corps Encircles Russian Troops After Breakthrough Near Dobropillya

The First Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov,” with attached units, halted a Russian breakthrough near Dobropillya and encircled part of the salient, trapping Russian assault troops, according to DeepState project analysts.

The corps’ press service said that in the past three days, forces in the Pokrovsk sector stopped the advance and conducted search-and-strike operations that cleared Hruzske, Rubizhne, Novovodyane, Petrivka, Vesele and Zolotyi Kolodyaz.

Ukrainian forces reported Russian losses in the area as 271 killed, 101 wounded and 13 captured.

Equipment losses included one tank, two armored combat vehicles, 37 vehicles and motorcycles, and three artillery pieces.

Militarnyi