Ukraine

brianlux

HughFreakingDillon said:

Jesus Brian. That’s a crazy story I picture in a film noir with saxophone playing in the background and the guy from The Big Lebowsi narrating. 

I love the image your words put into my mind!  The actual scene took place is a Denny's with fluorescent lights, mediocre coffee, and tinny elevator music, but the vibe was definitely intense.

mickeyrat

brianlux said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

Jesus Brian. That’s a crazy story I picture in a film noir with saxophone playing in the background and the guy from The Big Lebowsi narrating. 

I love the image your words put into my mind!  The actual scene took place is a Denny's with fluorescent lights, mediocre coffee, and tinny elevator music, but the vibe was definitely intense.

Recently bought Repo Man on blu-ray

by recently I mean April of last year..

dankind

brianlux

mickeyrat said:

brianlux said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

Jesus Brian. That’s a crazy story I picture in a film noir with saxophone playing in the background and the guy from The Big Lebowsi narrating. 

I love the image your words put into my mind!  The actual scene took place is a Denny's with fluorescent lights, mediocre coffee, and tinny elevator music, but the vibe was definitely intense.

Recently bought Repo Man on blu-ray

by recently I mean April of last year..

One of the best ever!  It must look and sound great on Blu-ray!  I have the Criterion DVD with some cool extras.  I must have watched that film a million times by now.

g under p

brianlux said:

mace1229 said:

brianlux said:

If you subscribe to NY Times, PLEASE do not post the photo from their cover story on Ukraine without giving a heads up first.  The photo was the first thing I looked at this morning and it is highly disturbing.  It totally ruined my morning.  Yes, I am an entitled, privileged  westerner etc,. etc., I know that, but I am also very aware of what is happening in Ukraine, I've seen death, and I don't need that kind of emotional manipulation first thing in the day.

Thanks.

Respecting your wishing I won’t post the image. But this conversation made me want to see what you were taking about. 

I think we can talk about it. I knew Russia had been discriminately targeting civilian buildings, but firing on families trying to flee is sickening. 

I assumed most Russian soldiers don’t want to be there. Probably face severe consequences for not following any orders. But orders or not, how could anyone do that in todays world?

Oh yes, for sure we can talk about it.  And I do understand the power of images.  Perhaps there are people that need to see these things to understand the magnitude of the horrendous nature of what Putin is doing to Ukraine.  What I would hope for is a heads up like we see in videos- somethings along the lines of, "Contents of photos may be disturbing to some."  But this was front page, no warning.  Let me at least have a cup of coffee and a heads up.  Then I'm ready for whatever is out there.  I know how horrendous it is.  I don't need shock therapy.  I'm already doing my part by learning what I can, disseminating information, sending money (and not just a token). 

Excellent point about the Russian soldiers. Mace.  My empathy goes out the most to the Ukrainian people, but I also feel very bad for these young Russian soldiers, many who were sent out without any idea of what they were getting into.  Many who will die horrible deaths and leave their families in terrible grief.  I also feel bad for the average Russian citizen whose hard work and life saving just went down the toilet.  Who are stuck with living under an evil regime.

Some of the things I will say here are not pleasant:

Back in the 80's, I met a young Russian man who was working in the Sates as an interpreter during the collapse of the USSR.  He and another friend of mine and I went out to an all-night coffee shop and talked until the early morning hours.  God, the things he told me- like being given the choice of enlisting in the Russian army or being put in an insane asylum.  He was not at all crazy- quite brilliant and very together, in fact- it was just their way of trying to conscript him.  He was a pacifist so chose the asylum.  They did horrible experiments on him including injecting him with olive oil to see what would happen.  He described the horrible pain he had to endure, an incredible form of torture.  By confiding in me and telling me these things, he put his very freedom and well being at.  But this was his once chance to share with an American some of the things that were going on in that country at the time.

So imagine what hell it is like there now? We would do well to be very aware of how lucky most of us are and how difficult it must be for the average Russian citizen, especially those thousands who are being detained and jailed for courageously speaking out against the Ukraine invasion.

This is a world of hell and tortures we are living in.  I don't think we have a clue how fortunate most of us are.  I can only vaguely imagine. 

Yes indeed we arr most fortunate here in The States to all the things, choices that we take as common place. I can see how the Russian army appear to be  comfortable with their indiscriminate bombing of the Ukraine.  THANK YOU so much for sharing.

My prayers 🙏 goes out to the people of Ukraine. 

Peace ✌️ 

Spiritual_Chaos

https://twitter.com/christogrozev/status/1500812687009267712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1500812687009267712%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=

Gern Blansten

Spiritual_Chaos said:

https://twitter.com/christogrozev/status/1500812687009267712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1500812687009267712%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=

Give him everything but the PM. Let Putin rot...then take it back

mrussel1

Ukrainian wedding..

mrussel1

This is an interesting article about the Ukrainian centers on the west side of Cleveland, and how they view this...and maybe eventually how it collides with MAGA.  This is the part of Cleveland where I grew up and I can tell you that it is most definitely the pierogi capital of the US.  We would have pierogi day once per week in high school and it was magical. 

BTW, for those of you who are voracious political readers, I highly recommend the Bulwark.  It is a conservative site, that is very anti-Trump.  So it's a good place to balance your perspective without reading the cesspool of nonsense from MAGA sites.  

https://www.thebulwark.com/the-politics-of-ukraine-in-an-ohio-town/

Parma, Ohio
Ohio sits in the middle of what food marketers refer to as the “Pierogi Pocket of America.” And smack dab in the middle of this pocket is the town of Parma.

Parma—population 80,000—is a suburb of Cleveland and has suddenly gotten a lot of attention because it has a large population of residents with Ukrainian heritage. It has a section of town called the “Ukrainian Village” and the Ukraine flag flies on the light poles on State Road.

The “Ukies” came to Cleveland in the early 1900s, but they continued coming after World War II, with their numbers increasing even more following the collapse of the Soviet Union. They were mainly religious dissidents and those seeking freedom. Many of these immigrants eventually ended up in boxy suburban houses in Parma.

Vitalogensia

mrussel1 said:

This is an interesting article about the Ukrainian centers on the west side of Cleveland, and how they view this...and maybe eventually how it collides with MAGA.  This is the part of Cleveland where I grew up and I can tell you that it is most definitely the pierogi capital of the US.  We would have pierogi day once per week in high school and it was magical. 

BTW, for those of you who are voracious political readers, I highly recommend the Bulwark.  It is a conservative site, that is very anti-Trump.  So it's a good place to balance your perspective without reading the cesspool of nonsense from MAGA sites.  

https://www.thebulwark.com/the-politics-of-ukraine-in-an-ohio-town/

Parma, Ohio
Ohio sits in the middle of what food marketers refer to as the “Pierogi Pocket of America.” And smack dab in the middle of this pocket is the town of Parma.

Parma—population 80,000—is a suburb of Cleveland and has suddenly gotten a lot of attention because it has a large population of residents with Ukrainian heritage. It has a section of town called the “Ukrainian Village” and the Ukraine flag flies on the light poles on State Road.

The “Ukies” came to Cleveland in the early 1900s, but they continued coming after World War II, with their numbers increasing even more following the collapse of the Soviet Union. They were mainly religious dissidents and those seeking freedom. Many of these immigrants eventually ended up in boxy suburban houses in Parma.

Coming from a Polish Pittsburgh family, you had me at pierogi. Thanks for the recommendation of The Bulwark, the type of media I’ve been searching for. 

mickeyrat

Vitalogensia said:

mrussel1 said:

This is an interesting article about the Ukrainian centers on the west side of Cleveland, and how they view this...and maybe eventually how it collides with MAGA.  This is the part of Cleveland where I grew up and I can tell you that it is most definitely the pierogi capital of the US.  We would have pierogi day once per week in high school and it was magical. 

BTW, for those of you who are voracious political readers, I highly recommend the Bulwark.  It is a conservative site, that is very anti-Trump.  So it's a good place to balance your perspective without reading the cesspool of nonsense from MAGA sites.  

https://www.thebulwark.com/the-politics-of-ukraine-in-an-ohio-town/

Parma, Ohio
Ohio sits in the middle of what food marketers refer to as the “Pierogi Pocket of America.” And smack dab in the middle of this pocket is the town of Parma.

Parma—population 80,000—is a suburb of Cleveland and has suddenly gotten a lot of attention because it has a large population of residents with Ukrainian heritage. It has a section of town called the “Ukrainian Village” and the Ukraine flag flies on the light poles on State Road.

The “Ukies” came to Cleveland in the early 1900s, but they continued coming after World War II, with their numbers increasing even more following the collapse of the Soviet Union. They were mainly religious dissidents and those seeking freedom. Many of these immigrants eventually ended up in boxy suburban houses in Parma.

Coming from a Polish Pittsburgh family, you had me at pierogi. Thanks for the recommendation of The Bulwark, the type of media I’ve been searching for. 

they do a podcast too. my liberal long haired hippy coworker listens on the regular....

MayDay10

Its probably nearing time that Russia/Ukraine/NATO need to come to the table in good faith prepared to make some concessions.  

mrussel1

Vitalogensia said:

mrussel1 said:

This is an interesting article about the Ukrainian centers on the west side of Cleveland, and how they view this...and maybe eventually how it collides with MAGA.  This is the part of Cleveland where I grew up and I can tell you that it is most definitely the pierogi capital of the US.  We would have pierogi day once per week in high school and it was magical. 

BTW, for those of you who are voracious political readers, I highly recommend the Bulwark.  It is a conservative site, that is very anti-Trump.  So it's a good place to balance your perspective without reading the cesspool of nonsense from MAGA sites.  

https://www.thebulwark.com/the-politics-of-ukraine-in-an-ohio-town/

Parma, Ohio
Ohio sits in the middle of what food marketers refer to as the “Pierogi Pocket of America.” And smack dab in the middle of this pocket is the town of Parma.

Parma—population 80,000—is a suburb of Cleveland and has suddenly gotten a lot of attention because it has a large population of residents with Ukrainian heritage. It has a section of town called the “Ukrainian Village” and the Ukraine flag flies on the light poles on State Road.

The “Ukies” came to Cleveland in the early 1900s, but they continued coming after World War II, with their numbers increasing even more following the collapse of the Soviet Union. They were mainly religious dissidents and those seeking freedom. Many of these immigrants eventually ended up in boxy suburban houses in Parma.

Coming from a Polish Pittsburgh family, you had me at pierogi. Thanks for the recommendation of The Bulwark, the type of media I’ve been searching for. 

The Dispatch (https://thedispatch.com/) is also a good one. 

I read the National Review often as well, but it gets on my nerves.  Their writers are not in the tank for Trump, but I don't think they are intellectually honest either.  There's one writer who wrote before the war that sanctions are not going far enough.  Then last week he writes an article about how our sanctions are going too far.  Then the NRO will write another article saying Biden did terribly because he declared before the war that the US wouldn't be boots on the ground.  But everyone knew we weren't going to do that.  So they just split hairs to criticize the administration.  

Gern Blansten

Rich Lowry is a fucking rat. I can't stand that fucker

mrussel1

Gern Blansten said:

Rich Lowry is a fucking rat. I can't stand that fucker

I agree.  I don't love Jonah, but he's not a rat so far as I can tell.  He's a principled yet horrifically wrong neocon. 

Jearlpam0925

mrussel1 said:

Gern Blansten said:

Rich Lowry is a fucking rat. I can't stand that fucker

I agree.  I don't love Jonah, but he's not a rat so far as I can tell.  He's a principled yet horrifically wrong neocon. 

I get their newsletter and just when you think Jonah makes sense he takes a swerve right up his own ass. I'll give him being a Never Trumper and the fact that he responds to some of my emails when it consumes me just a bit too much. Though when I make a decent point he then doesn't reply.

Spiritual_Chaos

MayDay10 said:

Its probably nearing time that Russia/Ukraine/NATO need to come to the table in good faith prepared to make some concessions.  

....what

Spiritual_Chaos

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1500903313344245763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1500903313344245763%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=

mrussel1

Jearlpam0925 said:

mrussel1 said:

Gern Blansten said:

Rich Lowry is a fucking rat. I can't stand that fucker

I agree.  I don't love Jonah, but he's not a rat so far as I can tell.  He's a principled yet horrifically wrong neocon. 

I get their newsletter and just when you think Jonah makes sense he takes a swerve right up his own ass. I'll give him being a Never Trumper and the fact that he responds to some of my emails when it consumes me just a bit too much. Though when I make a decent point he then doesn't reply.

It's funny you say that.  I've exchanged with Rod Dreher from the American Conservative in the past.  And he has thoughtfully engaged.  He's a smart guy, but very Catholic and too close to Tucker for me.  In fact he's been in Hungary for the past year extolling Viktor Orban.  

Anyway, right before the war he wrote a long piece about why we should be hands off Ukraine.  And he brought up how Russia provides x amount of natural gas to Hungary and that he was at a dinner party where all of his intellectual friends in Budapest were concerned about how they were going to heat their homes.  So I asked him how he could write such a long essay, spend time trying to make us feel for his friends that are concerned about their heat, but never ONCE mention the Ukrainians that were likely to lose homes, sovereignty and maybe their lives.  How could expect me to feel bad for his friends when he couldn't muster an ounce of empathy for these Ukrainians.  He did not reply.  

HughFreakingDillon

oh my god. please, trump supporters, please try to claim again that this is trump "trolling" and "fooling" the left. 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/07/politics/donald-trump-ukraine-china-russia/index.html