It's so bizarre, sometimes it it doesn't seem real. But here we are, with a large minority of the population ready to embrace a theocratic autocracy. Its both amazing and horrifying.

Yeah yeah, we all know how eager you are to have criminal gangs take over both America and Ukraine. Well we're not having it.

Biden made the greatest investment in green energy the world has ever seen.

Trump says climate change is a hoax.

@Flyingsaucesir When it comes to advancing our civilizations, seems to me China builds and America destroys, especially under Biden/ Harris.
How are those Houthi's going?

PS: There is no evidence that Biden had anything to do with the bombing of Nord Stream. That's just another in a long list of false assertions by @Puff, our resident right-wing wind bag.

@Flyingsaucesir The case is all there. Biden the demented arrogant wanker flagged his intention stating in front of European media "We will stop it". The technical ability is there as well as the oppourtunity during NATO exercises. Then we have the reaction to the worse terrorist attack on civilian infrastructure ever. The response? "What a wonderful oppourtunity to replace Russian energy supplies with US supplies at 4 times the price (that's called motive) ie drive a wedge between the Russian Federation and Europe as they were getting too close.
The only one that gained from Nord Streams destruction was the US. Vetoing an UN investigation into the attack does not indicate US innocence.
Biden's Environmental legacy.

@puff Pure Puff fluff. Long on supposition, short on substance.

@Flyingsaucesir This enough fluff for you?
[nbcnews.com]
[scheerpost.com]
[usun.usmission.gov]

Do you know what I thought of seeing the US establishment celebrating the destruction of Nord Stream? All the rag heads celebrating 9/11. Same sick mentality at death and destruction. Have fun sailing your boat but be weary of getting your head stuck in the sand.

@puff Sure, we're all glad to see Nord Stream shut down. It was a big source of revenue for the criminal gang headed by Vladimir Putin, fueling his genocidal project in Ukraine. But that is not proof that America engineered the action. It could have been Putin himself, hoping to hurt the European countries by putting them in a deep winter freeze. (Putin was able to quickly pivot and open up new markets in other countries, especially China and India.) Or it could have been Ukraine. Or it could have been any number of other people who have a beef with Russia; Chechnya, Georgia, etc.

YOU just want to point the finger at the USA because it suits YOUR particular bias.

It's too bad that some methane escaped to the atmosphere when Nord Stream was attacked. But let's put things in perspective. The oil and gas industry spills and leaks that much methane every week, just as a normal part of their operations.

Get a sense of proportion, old man.

@Flyingsaucesir You arrogant fuck. Europe has suffered greatly due to Nord Stream going offline. Which is all that Putin had to do, turn off the tap.
Only neocon "land of the free" fuckwits celebrated its destruction. You have a happy election now.
NB During the whole cold war Russian gas was supplied to Europe and never used as a lever by the USSR. Why? Because Russians know starvation/ freezing and are not sick enough to impose that on others.

@puff That is not what Europe has to say about shutting off Russian gas.... Except for Hungary and Turkey who have been helping Putin.... You ignorant arrogant fuckwit...

[iea.org]

Smart them Europeans
[independent.co.uk]

@puff Smarter than you are and that is a fact... India on the other hand is not so smart... exactly like you.

@puff, @Lizard_of_Ahaz The greatest user of Nord Stream was Germany, and they were barely affected by the loss of gas from Russia. There had been predictions of economic catastrophe, but the German economy only dipped about 0.5%. Germany and other countries were able to quickly pivot, bringing in supplies from other sources. The term of art is "elasticity of substitution." No surprise, @Puff is wrong again.

[brookings.edu]

@Flyingsaucesir @puff is always wrong because he gets his information from Russian propagandists... You can always tell when they are lying because their lips are moving. Kind of like Trump's...

@Flyingsaucesir [bundesbank.de]

@Lizard_of_Ahaz He really does appear to be either a bona fide Russian operative or their brainwashed dupe. Very sad.

@Flyingsaucesir He is a complete and utter idiot isn't he?.... He actually thinks the Russian economy is "doing fine" even though their central bank just raised the interest rate to 18% and is already talking about raising it to 20%...

And of course Russian oil is cheap now and India is selling gasoline cheap (since nobody in India can afford it anymore because their economy is shit) after all the Russian shadow fleet is now under sanctions and if caught in International waters is subject to seizure...

And in a further blow to the Russian economy the Ruble is no longer an International currency so Putin's BRICS alliance is all but dead...

@Lizard_of_Ahaz @Flyingsaucesir look up purchasing power parity.

@puff Russia doesn't have much purchasing power, economic assets or military assets anymore. They wasted them all starting an illegal and badly thought out war in Ukraine who is now stronger than they were when the war started while Russia is demonstrably weaker and becoming politically unstable as well...

The Russian infrastructure is falling apart and people are taking to the streets to protest the lack of electricity. Crime is becoming rampant, Russia has already lost a third of its air defense platforms and most of its refinery capability. Much of what they should be putting into preparing for winter is being diverted to fight Ukraine. Now Russian politicians and bankers are going to be allowed to carry not just pistols but assault rifles to protect themselves from the general population. Needless to say the gun control laws there did not allow this before and the bill is now in the hand of the Dumas...

@Lizard_of_Ahaz Holy fuck! Ukraine stronger now than when the war started? Russia on its knees? Regardless of what Biden claims, the US is at war with Russia and Yemen right now. Now if you want to war, a good idea not to underestimate the enemy.
Ukraine is so strong villages are falling by the day.

@puff You really are a stupid motherfucker aren't you?... If you want the truth why not ask this Russian?
FYI the Russian advances are minuscule and getting smaller they are losing massive amounts of men and material... Ukraine has begun to take back the initiative in some areas and is pushing the Russians out... You should lay off the propaganda sites they rot your brain.

@Lizard_of_Ahaz The last months of war are the deadliest. Military commentators were saying months ago the war is lost but the battle not over. Think Zelenskyy is waking up that "Whatever it takes" gets watered down to "Cut and run" when it comes to NATO. Piss weak and logistically inept when it comes to facing equal opposition. Gutless pricks won't go in, happy to see Ukrainian's slaughtered without putting their people at risk.
If Russia is so weak, go in and finish the job NATO and save Ukraine, what's left of it and it's people. But they can't. All because neutrality is unacceptable.

@puff Had a friend once who died a few years back who had a saying that applies to you.... "Stuck on stupid..." and that is you all over....
At the currant rates of Russian losses the personnel losses will exceed 600,000 well before the end of next month. Russia is also losing so much weaponry that if the war drags on until 2025 they will be fighting it with sling shots instead of firearms... This is a war of attrition that is not going to end well for Russia...

[x.com]

@Lizard_of_Ahaz Yes, Putin is driving Russia into the ground. It's a shame too. It could be a great country. Instead, it's a pariah, a rogue state.

@Flyingsaucesir Putin is insane and getting worse as everything around him is disintegrating. He is still convinced he is going to win just like Trump is. They are both delusional narcissists.

@Flyingsaucesir There is a pariah state, but it's not Russia. Have a gander at recent UN votes and I'm sure you can work out who it is. Also look at who does not sanction Russia. Perhaps look at recent international confrences not involving "The West" Diplomacy, does the US remember that?

@Lizard_of_Ahaz The right-wing extremists in France thought they were going to take power, and look how that turned out. I think a similar thing is going to happen in the USA. Autocracy will be roundly repudiated. Putin bit off more than he can chew. He didn't count on Europe being so united. Or, paraphrasing Churchill, the USA, after trying everything else, finally doing the right thing.

@Flyingsaucesir Did you believe you were winning in Afghanistan for 20 years too?
In the US the democrats are the right wing/ prowar party atm. All dancing to Netanyahu's tune, allowing him to criticise American citizens in your peoples house. A foreign leader getting applauded by the peoples representatives deriding Americans. American's have the right to peacefully protest unlike many other nations. I would have thought Congress would defend that right rather than applaud a foreigner for criticising this right. But then again, no-one really defends the US Constitution or Bill of Rights anymore do they? Not since the Patriot Act

@puff I love the way you change subject when you're losing. It reminds me so much of my middle school days.

For the record, I thought it was foolish of the US to try nation building in the graveyard of empires. We should have gotten out of Afghanistan as soon as it was clear that Bin Laden had skedaddled.

As for Israel, that is another very complicated issue. We made a commitment to support an ally, and you don't back away from that just when things get tough. You don't abandon your friend; you try to steer them onto a better path. And that is exactly what Biden has done, to his credit.

As long as we're changing subjects, how many more political rivals do you think Putin will murder before he's done? How many more journalists, athletes, and tourists will he kidnap and use as pawns in a game of geopolitical chess? How many thousands of young Russian men will he stuff into the meat grinder that is his "special military operation"? How many more people will he jail for simply holding up a blank piece of paper? How many?

@Flyingsaucesir Where's the highest incarceration rate? Who has presidents/ candidates at the end of cross hairs? Who assassinate foreign leaders at whim?
Israel is not complicated. White European colonialists still expanding via ethically cleansing the natives in their final solution. The US has legalised torture, supply cluster bombs knowing they will be used in urban areas since 9/11 aka Patriot Act. Veto all ceasefire attempts at the UN. As an Aussie I want to know wtf the US was doing funding Gain of Research in foreign countries when they have banned it in their own. Over a dozen biolabs and CIA bases in Ukraine stirring shit prior to 2022. Nothing to inspire anymore.
The US has no official treaty with Israel and are breaking countless of their own laws supporting them ie supplying military equipment to a nation accused not only of war crimes, but crimes against humanity for one. Arming a nuclear power not a signatory to non-proliferation treaties another. Accepting Ukraine has an unconstitutional government now (so much for defending democracy)
Russia is Russia and the US is the US. Both nations not really my cup of tea but if I had to pick one to get rid of........................Lybia was the turning point for me.

@puff You really are an idiot if you think that the Biden administration is more supportive of Netenanhayhu than Trump. Try listening to some zionists sometime. I have heard them describe Trump as God's tool for their cause.
Maybe if you read something other than RT?
[jpost.com]

@273kelvin Bingo!

@273kelvin And so is Kennedy. All America is Zionist and is Israel's bitch, just look at Congress the other day. Tail wagging the dog.
Israel is fucked and will never recover, all self inflicted. Zionists are a dying breed and the rest of Jewry will be thankful. It is NATO/ Ukraine where Trump seek peace. And a Trump whirlwind through the alphabet agencies is badly needed. The powers that be are shit scared of another Trump presidency and that is good enough for me. NATO pooping their pants especially, the foreign arm of US imperial power.
Don't really care who wins but will put money on Trump romping it home. It will amuse me no end watching many heads explode.
Have you seen Pompeo's latest brain fart? He wants to lend Ukraine $500 billion, increase sanctions and promise entry to NATO. This the same CIA cunt who had direct access ie speed dial to our PM Skidmark, that other psycho cunt who allowed AUKUS and made himself minister for everything.
The "West" is badly corrupted and failing. I won't miss it but understand many baby boomers will. Time for us Gen X's to take charge.

@puff Trump is not for peace. Remember that he wanted to bomb Iran for political reasons. Trump is for Trump, period. Look how soon he will dump on anyone who does not suit his needs, Kurds, Pence etc. Trump is a zionist coz it suits him now

@273kelvin The big news atm is the Golan heights got hit, hopefully in Trump Estate. No doubt the media will overreact and ignore on the same day the IDF hit a field hospital at a place of refuge, a former girls school.
No American is for peace. They all think they are exceptional. I think Trump will romp it in due to the abysmal performance of the Biden admin. The recent assassination attempt has alphabet agency all over it, as if Trump dies, neocon Nikki Haley will take over eg problem solved.
I have no doubt Trump will be a destructive force within America. Unfortunately, some rearranging is badly needed and it looks like Trump is it.
It doesn't really matter as the USA is an empire in decline which won't be stopped by any. Ironically, two social experiments are failing in unison; The American experiment and Zionist Israel.

@273kelvin I recall you claim Australianality, though I had my doubts as you had never heard of the Angels . Let me put it this way.
Our whole history we have clung to apron strings unwilling to seek our own destiny, first with mother England and currently uncle Sam. The British empire fell and so soon will the American one. This will force Australia to find it's own feet and I am rather optimistic about our future free of imperial bonds.
So bring it on.

@puff And we will all be destroyed by the rapture (unless you wear your tinfoil hat)

@273kelvin If by we you mean the West, no we won't be destroyed just forced to adjust to the new world order. A multipolar world. We will be forced to consume humble pie and get used to not getting our own way anymore.
The West is now easily identifiable as those that support Israel's genocide of the indigenous people. The West has a colonial mindset, think it is our right to exploit lesser nations. The rest of the world has had enough.
No more US hegemony, end of the world. Trump elected, end of the world. Yes many Christians are waiting for a rapture, but they are not alone. The world will survive fine. Not into doomsday cults.

And yet people are not even changing the behaviors that are easiest to change. That is, eliminating unnecessary driving and flying. People with kids and grandkids think nothing of getting on a plane and flying to some destination for a few days, or driving across the state for a weekend. How about stay home and work in the garden? How about go for a walk or a bike ride?

A passenger jet burns more fuel in 30 seconds during takeoff than my sailboat burns in five years.

@Flyingsaucesir And as I read this, I have just come to my Living Room after tucking my grandson into my bed. He has been at my house for a week. He lives in the Netherlands with his parents, they arrived almost two weeks ago for their biannual visits, Christmas and summer. Two years ago they lived across town. His parents and sister are also here. Yes, I realize it is not earth friendly for them to do this. But I am glad to see them, and it is a decision they have made that I had limited input into.

@HippieChick58 I certainly see a difference between a family visit and a high-end hunting safari or hedonistic getaway at Club Med. It was more to the latter two that I was referring.

@Flyingsaucesir Yet in another thread the hydrocarbons released via the destruction of Nord Stream was nothing to worry about with similar emissions every day. You confuse me.

@puff I know, nuance completely escapes you. So I'll explain it to you.

First, the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline was a one-off event. But capricious travel is something that happens every day, year in and year out, and its carbon footprint is enormous. The Nord Stream incident was a mere blip in comparison.

Second, taking the grand kids across the pond to see their grandparents twice a year is not the same thing as flying from New York to Paris every month for lunch and a stroll on the Champs d'Elyse, or flying to Alaska to go luxury fishing a la Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, or flying as a sex tourist to Thailand for a little nookie. In other words, while very few trips are absolutely necessary, some are more necessary than others.

@Flyingsaucesir Environmentally pipelines are the way to transport hydrocarbons. You choose the nearest source. Now we use ships and trucks using the same oil via places like India but congratulate ourselves for not using it???????? A bit more than a mere blip. See an oil tanker sunk, probably transporting oil to Europe. [msn.com]
I suspect your environmental concerns are mere virtue signaling and that you don't really care as long as the US is #1 in all things.

@puff You seem to forget that the goal is to quit using fossil fuels entirely. And that is precisely where we are headed. Elimination of one pipeline is nothing if not consistent with that goal.

@Flyingsaucesir And who's goal is that? And is it not a good idea to organise reliable alternatives first? You still defend the pipelines destruction which is causing more emissions through transportation.
Over 6000 patents have been hidden away by the US Federal government. Any bets some of those generated free clean energy? If the US government were so concerned they would not war. The problem with alternate energy is it is not centralised ie can't be controlled ie no money in it for fat cats. The move away from hydrocarbons can be done far more effectively and we have technology now to make engines far more efficient. But introducing that means someone loses both power and money. And remember, the only reason the $USD is #1 is because of it's forced use in oil trade, now going going gone..

@puff We have already established that the loss of Nord Stream was not all that disruptive, and that we are moving away from all fossil fuels. It will happen. It must happen.

Your talk of "hidden patents" is just so much wacko conspiracy theory. Grow up, man.

Your concern about the US dollar losing its status as a fiat currency is noted. So are Chicken Little's reports of a falling sky.

@Flyingsaucesir Have a happy 35th in a few days. Enjoy yourself 122%