Politics

[Red Leg]

The Ukrainians attacked another major munitions depot far from the front lines last night. Again the Russian Army claims all drones were engaged and shot down, though debris from one did start a small fire. Nothing to see - all is going to plan. Out of an abundance of caution they did evacuate the neighboring town.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/1fluk5f/tihoretsk_russia

https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/1flu2e5/explosion_in_tihoretsk_krasnodar_region

Again, the NASA heat signature map.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/1fluavz/23rd_arsenal_burning

This is (was?) reportedly a reception depot for North Korean munitions.

 

[deewayne2003]

Inflation is not really president dependent. Their policies influence it of course now more than ever but the big capability to control it rests with Congress. And they are mostly impotent whores just trying to keep their place in line on the grift train.

If you're insolvent in your budget (like we are) you take debt and then the fed sets the prime rate so banks can print money based on fractional lending to keep the market liquidity sufficient.
The debt is "ensured" by nothing real.
I'm pretty sure we don't conclusively know how many dollars really exist on the planet.

But the really dirty part is they know that if you can keep inflation at just under 3%, it's not enough of a problem to make people pay attention. It's a quiet, unnoticed, bleed of theft.

Net result - federal overspending is literally taking more than they're funded by means of a long chain of sufficiently separated mechanisms with fancy terms so they can slowly steal from your earned money's buying power.

Go suck it and get back to work tax slave!

Well said!

You mention insolvent budgets…. Not only our nation but the majority of US households are operating in this fashion.

The wave of credit card debt that was paid off in this country during covid and then to have it at an all time high is mind boggling.

This situation points out just how easily a financial anomaly can destroy a couple of generations of upward mobility in the average working family.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

that latest drone attack is quite a ways into mother Russia!

 

[Altitude sickness]

I think it’s Hilarious that Hezbollah and Iran is accusing Israel of war crimes for using “boobie traps”.

The nation that supplied training and materials for most of the IED’s planted in the war on terror. (Iran)

Killed or sent many of our comrades in arms home with TBI’s, missing limbs and eyes.

Is now wanting to play by the rules.

Hilarious

 

[Datchew]

I think it’s Hilarious that Hezbollah and Iran is accusing Israel of war crimes for using “boobie traps”.

The nation that supplied training and materials for most of the IED’s planted in the war on terror. (Iran)

Killed or sent many of our comrades in arms home with TBI’s, missing limbs and eyes.

Is now wanting to play by the rules.

Hilarious

Damn skippy. But it's worse than that.

Like a marxist, they put on whatever cloak they can wear to get the upper hand.
Boo-hoo... Geneva convention, etc., with a topping of huge crocodile tears.
When the shoe is on the other foot, it's a very different story.

 

[Tanks]

Damn skippy. But it's worse than that.

Like a marxist, they put on whatever cloak they can wear to get the upper hand.
Boo-hoo... Geneva convention, etc., with a topping of huge crocodile tears.
When the shoe is on the other foot, it's a very different story.

And United Nations follows their lead.

 

[Tanks]

...
Oh wait! 90% of Americans can't afford a butler, in-house handyman and they certainly don't have a solid gold toilet. They struggle to keep the thatch from leaking above their hovel. They live on Costco pet food (not that luxury brand you like for your pets), they scrape by on the sniff of an oily rag. Their $100 now only buys them $85 dollars worth of groceries or 3 weeks supply of diabetes meds for the month.

...

90%, exaggerate much? Also, butler, in-house handyman etc. is so last century, now you have estate managers that manage the staff and take care of all the pesky details, aka Wife.

On a serious note, as mentioned previously it does not matter if $100 of some years past buys $85 worth of goods today if one is making $125 in wages for the same unit of work that used to pay $100. Inflation on Trump's last year was 2.1%, today it is 2.5%. That being said, 55% of voters favor Trump over economy compared to 45% over Harris.

Also, for someone really poor that can't make ends meet, I'd submit the Government safety net, SNAP/EBT etc. is actually better during Democrat administrations than Republican administrations. I would also be interested to find out what percentage of that demographic actually vote.

Getting back to investing in gold etc. I am not alone in this. Just go back a page or so and read others' comments about gold increasing in value.

 

[Datchew]

And United Nations follows their lead.

you're not wrong.

 

[Datchew]

Getting back to investing in gold etc. I am not alone in this. Just go back a page or so and read others' comments about gold increasing in value.

I would posit it's not increasing in value. Instead, the currency you price it in (USD in this case) is simply losing it's buying power. Gold typically isn't an investment or an asset but it is a store of value that doesn't decay physically or get weakened by inflation.

In the current environment, I would take a stab that there is some investment appreciation going on but how much that is? Tough to say.

 

[Zambezi]

90%, exaggerate much? Also, butler, in-house handyman etc. is so last century, now you have estate managers that manage the staff and take care of all the pesky details, aka Wife.

On a serious note, as mentioned previously it does not matter if $100 of some years past buys $85 worth of goods today if one is making $125 in wages for the same unit of work that used to pay $100. Inflation on Trump's last year was 2.1%, today it is 2.5%. That being said, 55% of voters favor Trump over economy compared to 45% over Harris.

Also, for someone really poor that can't make ends meet, I'd submit the Government safety net, SNAP/EBT etc. is actually better during Democrat administrations than Republican administrations. I would also be interested to find out what percentage of that demographic actually vote.

Getting back to investing in gold etc. I am not alone in this. Just go back a page or so and read others' comments about gold increasing in value.

missing the point much!?

Real world Americans living in the real world, spending real world salaries are far worse off currently. They have no money to invest! Can't say it plainer than that.

So what if the market is hitting an all-time high. If Joe Soap has to work two jobs instead of one like he did 4 years ago then he is worse off. His lifestyle hasn't changed (if anything it has gotten worse) and he is now working two jobs.

ps... we are trying to get get people off government assistance not add them to it. Once again your "let them eat cake" attitude rises to the surface.

 

[John Wasmuth]

missing the point much!?

Real world Americans living in the real world, spending real world salaries are far worse off currently. They have no money to invest! Can't say it plainer than that.

So what if the market is hitting an all-time high. If Joe Soap has to work two jobs instead of one like he did 4 years ago then he is worse off. His lifestyle hasn't changed (if anything it has gotten worse) and he is now working two jobs.

ps... we are trying to get get people off government assistance not add them to it. Once again your "let them eat cake" attitude rises to the surface.

Ain’t it so.

 

[LivingTheDream]

This back and forth made me think of this.

 

[shootist~]

Groceries are up as much as 50% in the last 3+ years, and/or the package sizes or smaller. Meat (based on looking for ribeyes and a brisket at Costco this morning) are not up as much, but "Choice" grade is not even what "Good" used to be. And the Prime ribeyes weren't much better. The brisket I checked looked like the fat cap was overly excessive.

I bought a Chuck roast for Sunday dinner instead. And I don't mind paying more for quality.

 

[cash_tx]

This back and forth made me think of this.

I'm not a big SouthPark watcher, but that was truly one of the funniest episodes ever. Genius scenario and plot writing.

 

[Red Leg]

Meanwhile back in Russia - Putin and the propagandists inhabiting the Russian news services have been bragging about and threatening the West with Russia's new Sarmat (Satan 2) intercontinental missile ever since the invasion began to grind to a halt. Putin declared it operational about a year ago after five test firings of which one was successful. Whenever it is actually operational, it will be launched from silos like the Minuteman, but carry a heavier payload of independently guided warheads.

Apparently one was in a silo in preparation for another test firing in the area of one of the two munitions' depots struck night before last...............

The missile apparently detonated inside its silo leaving a rather impressive crater in the ground. Fortunately, no doubt because the troubled design is likely years from actual operational deployment, this one was not equipped with a war reserve warhead. However, it clearly was fueled (it is a liquid fueled design - our last liquid fueled ICBM was taken out of service in 1987) - and the result left a mark.

Ukrainian drone strikes 'struck Putin's Satan-2 nuclear missiles'

A secret ammunition silo facility at Toropets in Tver region which housed one of the Russian President's nuke missiles was hit by Ukrainian drone, it was claimed yesterday.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Others are claiming that the missile exploded while being fueled and was not a result of Ukrainian action. I have no idea. However, I am not sure which excuse would be better. In any case, unlike many failures in the Russian Federation, something had to be said, because the results were rather difficult to ignore.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/1fmr788/satellite_images_show_a_huge_crater_and_traces_of

 

[Saul]

UN seeks immunity for UNRWA employees complicit in Oct. 7 massacre - Channel 12 report

Channel 12 noted that this decision creates a significant legal hurdle for the victims and their families, who must demonstrate that the immunity protecting UNRWA employees should be revoked.

m.jpost.com

Yet another reminder of the UN’s true priorities.

 

[Red Leg]

Again back in Russia, stories and videos like this seem to be increasing. Needless to say, it take a lot of courage to protest this war and particularly the nature of the regime. It may mean absolutely nothing, but regimes retain total control - until they don't. The Russian woman is outside the Federation, but posting on line to her fellow citizens. In the Putin era, that too can be a dangerous activity.

Wives of mobilised Russian soldiers protesting outside Defence Ministry told to ‘stay home and pray’ — Novaya Gazeta Europe

The relatives of mobilised soldiers gathered outside the Russian Defence Ministry in Moscow on Saturday to demand that mobilised reservists serving in Ukraine be allowed to return home, according to Mobilisation News, a Telegram channel associated with the demobilisation movement, on Saturday.

novayagazeta.eu

https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/1fmsbaf/a_russian_woman_is_shocked_after_she_saw_a_video

The brutal dictatorship so many in my party seem completely comfortable in supporting as it pursues its strategic objectives at our long term cost.

 

[Tanks]

Hilarious...

 

[BSO Dave]

On a serious note, as mentioned previously it does not matter if $100 of some years past buys $85 worth of goods today if one is making $125 in wages for the same unit of work that used to pay $100.

Also as mentioned previously, wage increases are meaningless when they are erased by inflation... This is the same gaslighting BS the democrats are trying to sell as if it's a good thing... It's like telling the soldiers who lost a leg to an IED to quit feeling sorry for themselves because they still have one good leg...

Instead of settling for the "it could be worse" rationalization for failed economic policies, how about supporting a candidate whose economic policies provide for wage increases that actually outpace inflation, so their raises are real... Then your $125 dollars actually has the buying power of $125, instead of trying to rationalize that the loss of buying power due to self-inflicted inflation (that was avoidable in the first place by the way) is acceptable because it has been somewhat mitigated....

Also, for someone really poor that can't make ends meet, I'd submit the Government safety net, SNAP/EBT etc. is actually better during Democrat administrations than Republican administrations. I would also be interested to find out what percentage of that demographic actually vote.

Are you seriously making this argument as if it were a viable solution to poverty in America?

Of course, government entitlement programs are better funded and supported by democratic administrations because the main goal of the democrat ideology is a big government with a dependent population for every basic need. The poorer the constituency, the more power and control the government has... Regardless, if you think that lifelong dependency on government entitlement programs for the poorest Americans is a viable solution to their poverty, you my friend, are officially a Marxist...

As for how many voters at or below the poverty level vote, there are no dependable statistics on that... Whatever the number is, I'm certain it has expanded exponentially since 2020 with the changes in voter laws, and the allowance of mass scale ballot harvesting... This particular demographic is going to expand by another 20-30 million during the next decade with the current Brandon/Harris immigration policy...

 

[Datchew]

Again back in Russia, stories and videos like this seem to be increasing. Needless to say, it take a lot of courage to protest this war and particularly the nature of the regime. It may mean absolutely nothing, but regimes retain total control - until they don't. The Russian woman is outside the Federation, but posting on line to her fellow citizens. In the Putin era, that too can be a dangerous activity.

Wives of mobilised Russian soldiers protesting outside Defence Ministry told to ‘stay home and pray’ — Novaya Gazeta Europe

The relatives of mobilised soldiers gathered outside the Russian Defence Ministry in Moscow on Saturday to demand that mobilised reservists serving in Ukraine be allowed to return home, according to Mobilisation News, a Telegram channel associated with the demobilisation movement, on Saturday.

novayagazeta.eu

https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/1fmsbaf/a_russian_woman_is_shocked_after_she_saw_a_video

The brutal dictatorship so many in my party seem completely comfortable in supporting as it pursues its strategic objectives at our long term cost.

Who are you referring to in your party that support Russia?

I haven't seen as much support for Russia as much as I've seen opposition to a war we have no business being involved in (and that's besides the fact that the US state dept spent 2 decades working to egg it on until it finally happened.)

And while I know you like to frame it in the classic "Ukraine = good guys, Russians = bad guys," surely with all your broad domain knowledge of the subject you haven't overlooked the fact that there is still an openly Nazi segment of the Ukraine forces that even our domestic leftist media had to finally admit.

I don't see any white knight in this fight.