It’s thirteen days since Putin invaded Ukraine, meeting a level of resistance that’s shocked the world while isolating Russia and its people from much of the global economy.
Good. Now it’s on us to reduce our energy consumption to help keep prices down for those who can’t.
It won’t matter how much energy consumption is reduced because the impact won’t be immediate (as in, prices at the pump dropping between today and tomorrow at a rate of 25%). The average Joe will still blame Biden, despite all facts to the contrary.
But yes, this needs to be done and the US is just a little late to this decision, but better late than never.
Posted in the Ford !50 forum…
“I am in the same boat, I can’t afford gas for my truck so instead of going out I spend more time on this forum and talk about our nice new trucks that we are not driving.”
Putin’s objective, at least what it was said to be by those in the know, was a quick overrun of Ukraine and the placement of a RU friendly government there. One that would ensure UA never joined NATO or the EU. That doesn’t seem likely now. Instead he’s left with crushing UA in a brutal artillery / air war and then occupying it. Something most experts say he cannot do.
As Senator King said today “Ukraine will hate Russia for generations” and that bodes poorly for an occupation. Couple that with the VERY EFFECTIVE sanctions and it’s Vlad not UA that looks more fucked.
Putin’s mistake is common, not long ago a certain W invaded a Middle East country, it was supposed to be a quick victory followed by installing a US friendly government. We all know how that ended.
Maybe we could pull another humanitarian airlift and fly food and medical supplies into Ukraine, and fill the planes with refugees on the flights out.
From Morning Memo:
[Tucker Claims Dems Wanted Russia War With First Trump Impeachment: Fox News host Tucker Carlson argued during his show last night that Democrats were angling for a war against Russia when they impeached Trump because they were trying to punish him for “failing to back a proxy war in Ukraine” (actually, what happened was Trump tried to withhold military aid to Ukraine in exchange for dirt on Biden, but okay Tucker).]
Okay, indeed. 
I just bought an e-bike specifically for that purpose. That and the price of gas spiking. But they’ve come a long way and have decent range now (you can get 40 miles if you don’t hot dog it). For around town it should work, and you can pull a small trailer behind if you’re doing a big shopping or headed out to the beach.
Here’s a way to make life much simpler…anytime you’re confronted with a comment that begins with “they just want” remember all that follows is stone bullshit.
There aren’t any seats on a cargo aircraft . . . .
This is 100% correct, but I’d add one additional observation: Putin is clearly high on his own supply of pseudo-historical bullshit. He really thinks that the Ukrainian people are just Russians with funny accents who want to be brought back into the fold with Mother Russia. He really thinks that they’ve just been duped by a handful of ultra-nationalists and that the CIA was responsible for the color revolutions that deposed his pro-Russian puppets in 2004 and 2014. The dude actually believes that shit. Which means he’s operating from a deeply delusional basepoint.
Serious peace proposal: Immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of troops to their prewar lines, followed by free return of refugees. Then in 1 year’s time, hold a nationwide, oblast-by-oblast election, overseen by the U.N. Only one question on the ballot: Stay or Leave? Any oblast that votes Leave can figure out later whether it wants to be independent or to get absorbed into Putlandia. And anyone who doesn’t like their home oblast’s decision to Stay is free to emigrate.
Crimea obviously would vote Leave. After all Putin’s bullshit, it’s unclear to me whether Donbass would join it. Nobody else would, not even close.
March 8, 2022
Since Putin’s devastating invasion of Ukraine began, 250 companies have announced their withdrawal from Russia in protest.
Nevertheless, some western companies have continued to operate in Russia undeterred; we identify several dozen companies with particularly significant exposure to Russian markets. In the days since we initially published our list, many of the “remain” companies have responded to public backlash and decided to withdraw, and we are continuously revising our list to reflect these decisions as they are made.
The full, current list of companies that have curtailed operations in Russia as well as those that remain, as of March 8, can be seen (at link)
If we subsidized electric powered vehicles like we subsidize fossil fuel, the problem would go away. Congress however actually works against alternate energy.
We packed people like sardines into US military cargo planes for the evacuation flights from Kabul, violating all sorts of regulations to get them out.
The problem with doing this in Ukraine is that the people who need safe passage the most, are in places Ukraine is losing or has already lost control of the airports that can handle big cargo planes. It isn’t like Kabul where the US controlled the airport until the very end.
Burns said Putin’s biggest challenge is that he has “no sustainable political endgame” in the face of Ukrainian resistance, but that he will likely double down on the war.
In that endgame, Putin eventually loses. But as in the Vonnegut story, the pieces that both sides will sacrifice to get to that point are the ones that will suffer
Some of the pros say the best option is just a return to “as it was”. Putin agrees to back off since his assault is a fiasco and sanctions are withdrawn to a bit. Refugees can return and international funding will help UA rebuild. That scenario makes Putin’s stunt a massive waste. All loss and no gain.
I think it’s going to be a long drawn out occupation with intense partisan resistance, long term sanctions and eventually a bullet or a coup takes Putin away. Russia may come out a winner as its relations with the rest of the Western world may move to normalcy.
And how, exactly, do we expect to protect the freedom of expression folks who drive really, big trucks with drag-inducing American flags flapping majestically amid the roar of their modified for noise and black smoke engines? This this typical democrat cancel culture extremism and probably the reason why Biden started the war with Ukraine in the first place.
