It’s once again an Australia Time Friday! It’s FRIDAY!!!!
The Tucker
Lamb Loin Chops, stood on the bone end in a cast iron skillet, surrounded by potato bits sliced rather like french fries (though a bit shorter) and into the oven at 375 F for 30 minutes.
The side vegetable was steamed asparagus. Hold them by the base end and bend until it snaps. It will break at the point where the fiber is too much to bother eating it. Put the top bit in a steamer basket and steam for anywhere from 5 minutes to 10.
5 if you like it “fresh” and don’t mind a bit of tooth. 10 if you like it more limp.
The Wine
Tonight I went with the “Frisk” brand “Prickly Rosso”. This is a somewhat bubbly red wine. It is just kind of fun in the glass. Not as bubbly as a champaign, but just a bit of bubble like in a can of soda that’s been open for a few minutes.
The flavor is nice and the experience a bit different from a flat wine (or from a “sparkling” wine too).
The News
Russia invading Ukraine has displaced Australian news for now…
Musings from the Chiefio 
Love him or hate him, Putin is making the west leaders look like idiots. Not even the press can cover for them now
Phil
The dictators of China, Iran, North Korea and Putin himself will be watching the feeble response from America and the EU with delight.
Boris has sent weapons and enacted a comprehensive series of financial sanctions after a slow start. He also has pushed for SWIFT to be shut down. He has done OK to everyone’s surprise.
America refuses to go down that maximum sanctions route including SWIFT as does the EU. Germany concerned for its gas, Italy for its luxury goods and Belgium for its diamonds.
https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-swift-rejection-eu-leaders-sanctions-russia/
We are seeing the collapse of the 80 year long world order and the rules that accompanied them unless Biden steps up to the plate-unfortunately he is more likely to be asleep I fear than taking action.
Is this the end of Pax Americana? Have the States been reduced from its exceptionalism to just another nation?
Britain was the World policeman in the 18th 19th and part of the 20th Century. America then took over that role, which they appeared to relinquish in the debacle in Afghanistan..
Has Biden now passed the torch to Russia and China? In which case the west and our liberties as we have known them are at an end.
Taiwan next? Parts of the Mid East close to Iran? South Korea and Japan? The Baltic States and Poland?
@Per Ukraine:
See the video here:
link:https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2022/02/24/news-open-thread-on-ukraine-russia-war/#comment-154855
for a good articulation of just who has ended the “80 year long world order”. When the USSR / CCCP broke up in 1991, The West signed a treaty saying “NO NATO on Russian Borders”. Then proceeded to advance NATO right up to Russian Borders (and publicly stated Ukraine WOULD BE a NATO member). That is simply not going to fly with Russia. Too long a history of invasions from The West. (Napoleon, Hitler, etc.) It is impossible for Russia or Putin to accept that.
It wasn’t Biden being a weak idiot. It was 30 years of Western Stupid Foreign Policy slowly marching the line through the buffer zone to the Russian Border. Republicans and Democrats, America and the EU (UK in it then), all singing from the same broken Foreign Policy Hymnal.
All Biden did was to set the exact Schedule by displacing Trump.
“Our Liberties” are rapidly being torched, but not by Putin. It is the Globalist (WEF / Soros / NGOs / EU Autocrats – Authoritarians) that are busy marching us to prison camp.
China will inevitably become the center of the World Order going forward and the USA Prime Focus will shift from Europe to East Asia. (Unless and until someone, like Trump, wrests manufacturing back from China and tells the GGEBs that they don’t get to suck the USA dry of wealth…) As things are presently set up, it is 100% a “Heads China Wins, Tails the USA loses” system Trump was trying to change that, and made progress, now Biden & Co are flushing it for the GGEB Corruption agenda.
@PhilJourdan:
If you watch some of his speeches to the Russian People, the Duma, or the Russian Press, you will find a person with high self control, profound depth of understanding, a full grasp of history, and a precise separation of FACTS from assumptions. I’ve seen him list a bunch of points, after each one ask “Is it fact or not?” “It is fact”. He is very careful about his facts and his reality based, grounded in the truth of reality. Not afraid of having a “Duel of wits” in public with folks and generally seems to come out on top each time based on superior grasp of the facts and clean reasoning.
Right now, I’d have to rate him as the most competent leader in the world right now.
(Note that none of this implies approval for his decisions or policies, just recognition that his skill is extraordinary and his arguments well founded and precise.)
From the US National Security Archives derived under Freedom of information requests and subsequently declassified
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2021-11-24/nato-expansion-budapest-blow-1994
In 1995 Boris Yeltsin agreed to the expansion of Nato beyond the borders that were then present after a series of 18 discussions with Bill Clinton.
Subsequent safeguards were put in place at the Treaty for Peace and a number of other agreements that specifically referenced Ukraine and protected its independence
“The annexation of Crimea violated the pledge that Russia made in 1994 — along with Great Britain and the United States — “to respect the independence and sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine,” as a precondition to Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons.”
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/russo-ukraine.htm
Clintons involvement-as might be expected- is pretty murky, but as long as the expansion of NATO did not include Ukraine or other Russian territories (such as Belarus) it was accepted
It is a shame that Europe did not bring Russia into the fold, but that opportunity disappeared after Yeltsin departed in 1999. The then Prime minister Putin then took over and has ruled ever since, changing the constitution to do so. He was always keen to resurrect the glory days of the Soviet empire as many of his speeches made crystal clear, if anyone from the West had been listening.
Putin has made up all sorts of ludicrous excuses to justify invading Ukraine. The people there do not want him and hundreds have been killed in the blitzkreig unleased by Putin, killing many civilians and which, as I write, has reached the outskirts of Kyiv. Kyiv is a vibrant European city trying to build prosperity and a fledgling democracy.
Putin is a blood thirsty calculating dictator who appears to have become unhinged due to being closeted for 2 years to avoid catching covid and has lost touch with reality.
Hopefully he has over reached himself. If not the world we have known all our lives is finished.
One last aside. Don’t forget Russia had a 2 year agreement with Hitler in the first 2 years of the war during which they carved up a number of european countries between them. They only started fighting each other when Hitler turned on them. Russian skins were saved by huge resources being transferred to them by the allies.
Russia has done very well with the number of its own invasions from many East European countries through Chechyna Syria and Afghanistan.
The NPR station this morning was mourning the “first act of war in Europe since the end of WWII, nearly 70 years.”
Completely ignoring the problems in Yugoslavia…
It seems to me there are lessons to be learned. What did Bill Clinton do about Slobodan Milošević? What went well? What went wrong? If somebody asked Slick, what would he tell us he would now like to have done differently?
I’m kind of the same way with Bill that you might be about Vlad. Not that I admire him, or agree with his politics. But among recent presidents Bill is/was notably clever. As the nickname “Slick” implied.
Bill is still alive. US / NATO forces are still securing the peace (Or acting as a tripwire) in Kosovo. It would be trivial get him on the TV for a interview and analysis.
But they won’t do it…
@Tony – you know why America has not been as strong as the UK? Putin has the material on Biden and his son and has been blackmailing him since 1/20/21. There are only 2 explanations for BIden’s supreme ineptitude. He is a moron, or he is compromised.
Well, in this case it is both since Jill is the Edith Wilson, and she is fighting the 25thing of him. So he is the moron, and Jill is the compromised one.
But as we say in the Colonies – Hey! NO mean tweets!
@EM – Re: Putin
I agree. The reason that Trump had him by the short hairs is they both understood each other, and NEITHER assumed they were the smartest man in the room. A trait that Bubbles does not share or possess! My statement is a truism. Putin is playing the west like a harp from hell. While Soros’ pawns move their checkers around the chess board, Putin moves his Knights, Rooks and Bishops. He does not have to use his queen.
And for the fake news morons and democrats, acknowledging an opponents strengths is not an endorsement. Know your enemy is still the number one rule in Diplomacy!
@Pouncer – NPR is a running joke. It is a clown car accident. A few still listen to it. Those are the ignorant and stupid. The rest ignore it. Because it is ignorant and stupid.
Phil
There we have the problem with so many of our elite-they are nowhere near as clever as they think they are. Add in lack of real world experience, a sense of superiority and arrogance and often a total lack of common sense and add in ideology, and you have a very potent combination
@ClimateReason:
In my dealings with various lower level “Elite” (company VP and Execs) they often have very high people skills, but not so much technical skill. While there are exceptions, even they are often just skilled in one very narrow tech. So when making decisions about technical things, they must resort to either “experts” and “consensus of experts” or fall back on “crib notes” and “rules of thumb”.
That has the failure mode that often “Details Matter” and details are left out of rules of thumb.
This is even worse in politicians. Both those I’ve met and those that I’ve only observed on TV. A few have real life technical experience ( like Rand Paul as a doctor and Trump as a builder) but most of them seem best at selling their votes to buy your votes. Then, after amassing money and power, think that translates to wisdom and understanding; when it doesn’t.
One example:
Keynesian Economics has come to mean “print all you want and deficit spend to get the Economy moving”. So politicians trust in “print and spend” without consequence. What Keynes actually said includes the caveats that you can not do this for longer than about 3 years or you will get lots of inflation, you can only do it during a recession, and you must “pay it back” when the economy is booming; and that there is a “liquidity trap” risk where interest rates can go to zero and yet the economy remains moribund. Actual Keynesian policies would reflect those hazards.
Yet the Political Mind runs out of time / power at the first “.” and never reaches beyond “actually said”…
Now generalize that habit to EVERY complicated question they vote on… and lubricate the choices made with $Million scale “donations” from the most involved companies…
And yes, I agree with the rest of your litany of elite weaknesses too. Just this one is my hobby horse ;-)
I once got to observe Sen. John Tunny (D) at a hot air balloon meet. (He was there for a free ride along with about a dozen support staff / security). He looked up into the balloon and said “So is it the hot air that makes it go up?”… Genuinely asking… His other statements were equally “clueless child” class. But he looked good in a suit and did what the party told him to do…
“looked good in a suit and did what the party told him to do”
I suspect that motto is available on a gold plated plaque that officials buy at the taxpayers expense and put in the downstairs toilet of their homes.
“That has the failure mode that often “Details Matter” and details are left out of rules of thumb.”
I like your example. I don’t if you ever saw the classic British Comedy Yes Minister and its successor Yes Prime Minister.
His assistant would regularly hide important information at the bottom of the despatch box so the Prime minister never got round to reading it or would highlight some things and not bring the ministers attention to other things. So if the PM ever saw the information it might not be detailed enough or not realise the context.
Sorry for the length but this is a part of the script from Episode one of Yes Prime Minister from 1986. It is extremely realistic bearing in mind the events of the last few days in as much it deals with the use of the nuclear deterrent and defence generally
—- —–
“Are there other things I don’t know about the UK’s defence? I don’t know, Prime Minister.
I don’t know what you don’t know.
The government’s chief scientific adviser sees the problem differently from the MoD.
– I’d like to see him now.
– A late drink might be wiser.
Better not to let the Cabinet Office know.
Sir Humphrey gets upset.
He doesn’t regard him as one of us.
I thought he won the DSO at Arnhem.
That doesn’t make up for speaking with an Austrian accent.
He didn’t go to Oxford or Cambridge.
He didn’t even go to the LSE.
Adviser; Prime Minister, you believe in the nuclear deterrent? – Oh, yes.
– Why? – Pardon? – Why? Because it deters.
– Whom? – Pardon? – Whom? Whom does it deter? – The Russians from attacking us.
– Why? – Pardon? Why? They know if they launched an attack, I’d press the button.
– You would? – Well, wouldn’t I? Well, would you? At the last resort, yes, I certainly would.
Well, I think I certainly would.
Yes.
– And what is the last resort? – If the Russians invaded western Europe.
You only have 12 hours to decide, so you’re saying the last resort is the first response? Am I? You don’t need to worry.
Why should the Russians annex the whole of Europe? They can’t even control Afghanistan.
No, if they try anything, it will be salami tactics.
– Salami tactics? – Slice by slice.
One small piece at a time.
So will you press the button if they invade West Berlin? – It all depends.
– On what?
Scenario one.
Riots in West Berlin, buildings in flames.
East German fire brigade crosses the border to help.
Would you press the button? The East German police come with them.
The button? Then some troops, more troops just for riot control, they say.
And then the East German troops are replaced by Russian troops.
Button?
Then the Russian troops don’t go.
They are invited to stay to support civilian administration.
The civilian administration closes roads and Tempelhof Airport.
– Now you press the button? – I need time to think about it.
– You have 12 hours.
– Have I? – You’re inventing this.
– You are Prime Minister today.
The phone might ring now from NATO HQ.
Scenario two.
The Russian army accidentally on purpose cross the West German frontier.
– Is that the last resort? – No.
Right, scenario three.
Suppose the Russians have invaded West Germany, Belgium, Holland, France? Suppose their tanks and troops have reached the English Channel and are poised to invade? – Is that the last resort? – No.
Why not? We’d only fight a nuclear war to defend ourselves.
That would be committing suicide! So what is the last resort? Piccadilly? Watford Gap service station? The Reform Club? – Maybe the nuclear deterrent makes no sense.
– Yes, it does.
If the Russians or Americans have the bomb, so must the other side.
– And keep Polaris just in case.
– What are you proposing? Cancel Trident.
Spend the £15 billion you save on conventional forces.
– You wouldn’t really press the button.
– I might if I had no choice.
They’ll never put you in a situation where you have no choice.
They’ll stick to salami tactics.
Supposing we cancel Trident and channel £15 billion into conventional forces? – What do we spend it on? Tanks? – No, we spend it on E.T
Extra-terrestrials? Emergent technology.
– What’s that? – Smart missiles, target finding, infrared.
– Who would operate this E.T
– A large conventional army.
A large conventional….I’ve got an idea.
Wait a minute! I think I can see how to do this.
First, we cancel Trident.
– Yes.
– We don’t buy Cruise either.
– Yes.
– Then we introduce conscription.
Yes.
Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=yes-prime-minister-1986&episode=s01e01
climatereason says,
“Putin has made up all sorts of ludicrous excuses to justify invading Ukraine. The people there do not want him and hundreds have been killed in the blitzkrieg unleashed by Putin, killing many civilians and which, as I write, has reached the outskirts of Kyiv. Kyiv is a vibrant European city trying to build prosperity and a fledgling democracy.”
Were they ludicrous?
Is there a long history of European invasion and threats to Russia??
Were US government sponsored leaders installed over a democratically elected leader?
Were “Russians” discriminated against in those regions of Ukraine?
Were 13 to 17 k killed?
Was some of that democide?
Did they (the folk that lived there) previously declare independence?
Did they invite Russia in?
Did Crimea?
Was there a vote telling you the people there do not want Russia there?
What was the result of said vote>
Has Putin warned the west of the consequences of continued expansion for years?
Does majority rule justify tyranny?
Were “Russian leaning” citizens brutalized, murdered, discriminated against?
Was the Yelstein agreement followed, or violated?
Is there a difference between supporting Russia as a great state of history, and supporting Stalin’s Russia?
Has Putin cleared much of the Russian corruption that made business impossible post the fall of the Soviet Union?
Has he greatly increased their economy and kept the national debt low?
Were their factions of the old guard that tried to remove him against the will of the citizens?
Do the Globalist tyrannical fascist actions and corruption, now systemic throughout western civilization, effectively make them more dangerous then Russia in Crimea or part of the Ukraine.
Is their ideology not far more dangerous and influential and wealthy than Putin?
Is it reasonable or helpful for them to gain power in a conquer of Putin?
Was EMs recital of the history in that region accurate?
Were the US military sponsored billions of dollar bio labs in the Ukraine, wrong?
Is the one world crowd more dangerous to freedom then Putin’s actions in these regions?
Are they perhaps the greatest criminals in known human history?
If so, it it reasonable or desirable to have them defeat expanding Russian influence.
How would you stop this expansion?
No requirement to answer of course, but those answers are the only means of convincing reasonable freedom loving people of why this Eastern Europe foreign war is worthy of expanding.
For me, I say follow George Washington’s advice, and stay out of such wars.
Assuming you to be American, as this will embolden China you need to decide if you will protect Taiwan. Then failing that, South Korea and Japan. Then various countries in the middle East as Iran impose their will. So its not just Ukraine is it?
At the very least Biden needs to smother Russia with a fire blanket consisting of far more economic sanctions that at present including denying Russia the ability to use SWIFT
I find zero answers to questions poor for communication.
As you have effectively asked one question, yet answered zero, it limits learning.
The answer is yes, there are red lines.
Taiwan is a maybe with more study required. ( Almost zero chance Biden will have any effective response to China anyway.)
South Korea and Japan are a clear red line.
Yes, I am American, and I recognise those who would destroy the American ideals of small government and individual liberty – responsibility. I consider the Devos crowd and China to be by far the biggest threat.
BTW, I consider much of current European leadership to be Stalin, in a concealed dress.
David
You said “No requirement to answer of course” So I took you at your word. Sorry.
You have some sort of Strategic defence pact with Taiwan. Not going to their aid would reverberate with those other countries that you have also pledged to defend
I believe some 60% of the worlds semi conductors come from that country, so apart from any other consideration that loss would be a disaster and probably derail the west. Which possibly indicates the problems of globalisation.
China is not to be trusted but surely we knew that, as Biden must have also known that about Russia, having been involved with American policy in one guise or another for many years.
Stalin? With Bernard Sanders chair of the senate budget committee, Nancy Pelosi and numerous extreme left wing senators I think we could say the same about America.
climatereason, yes, I did say no requirement, as an obvious given acknowledged. However as a means of building understanding and defending assertions, it is required. So I wanted direct answers to concerns I have heard that would, if true, IMV, mitigate or break your assertions.
I agree that the Stalinization of America, and Canada can also be sadly acknowledged. Indeed I think two or three of my questions lead in this direction. So just as America and the west is very different from 50 years ago, so Russia is not the same either. These changes matter. They are not “gotch ya” questions. They are designed to help understand and formulate a reasonable and moral perspective. To be blunt, I think you have ignored many of the things EM has pointed out, and dismissed them with no address. My questions are based on some of those things, and other online assertions. “Truth, is not afraid of questions” is a maxim I have tried to follow. I have seen EM take long critical posts, and address every assertion within, and acknowledge new learning where reason says, and thoroughly discredit, where reason and knowledge indicate otherwise.
Also Another Ian’s post here matters https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2022/02/24/news-open-thread-on-ukraine-russia-war/#comment-154883
as well as the Tony Heller post regarding the corruption in Obama’s Ukraine.
@ClimateReason:
Absolutely loved Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister. The intellectual banter in it was wonderful (American political shows tend to either a kind of crude verbal vaudeville or “Woke” Propaganda plays. No intelligence nor humor need apply…)
Not “America”, just the Democratic National Committee and their “leadership”…
At present, I would rank our Risks as:
1) The stolen election of the puppet Biden, pwned by China.
2) The Euro-GEBs, Soros & his NGOs, Klaus Schwab / WEF, and the rest of the pack working for The Great Reset / Agenda 21/30/moving-target.
3) China.
4) Islamic Terrorists (especially now that they have $Billions of good gear and are about to have a “Nukes OK w/Us!” return of the Obama era Dumb Nuclear Agreement.
5) Everything else. (Russia a minor part 1/2 dozen or so down in this sub-list…)
Why? Because the current Dimocrat / Biden regime is the pointy end of the spear at the moment and the longer it is stuck in our side the more we bleed out. So first priority is remove it and apply first aid. Longer term the Globalist Rot that brought us this mess in the USA, Canada, Australia, etc. needs to be rooted out or the spear will just come back. Then China is rapidly moving to be the Global Hegemon; so we need to fix that by bringing home all we have sent to them and incarcerating the politicians they have bought (but first must do #1 & 2 to have the capacity…).
Russia just isn’t a threat for the USA to worry about. Respect their history and their territory, stop threatening them, and work HONESTLY and RELIABLY with them and you can have a Great Power Friendship. Slavs are decent people and Russians particularly so; BUT, they have a (justifiable) tendency to a bit of paranoia about invasions from other countries and they find our tendency to just ignore signed treaties and agreements as a mix of rude, unreliable, lying, deception, and certainly untrustworthy. It may take generations of being a reliable partner to restore that trust. If you just don’t piss them off, things are fine.
Where would I “draw the line”?
Pretty simple, really: Do we have a mutual aid pact or not? Basically NATO and SEATO (though SEATO is a bit moribund). While I really do not like such agreements, we ought to honor them.
(They were a primary cause of the escalation of W.W.I from one assassination to most of the world in a world war.)
Other than that:
Are they an existential threat, or not? So Taiwan is, as the loss of the bulk of global semiconductors would bring the entire western world to its knees. We ought to be fixing that dependency, but see #2 above… Got to dump the Globalists before you can undo their Globalizing… For South Korea & Japan: We’ve made a commitment, so must honor it. Longer term I think Japan and South Korea ought to be able to take care of themselves, but probably not just yet.
For the Middle East, I’d just ramp up domestic oil and coal production (that can make synthetic gasoline and Diesel) and let them solve their own damn problems. Since about 800 AD, the 2 major factions of Islam have been trying to kill each other. Nobody has made it a peaceful place yet, so unlikely we will succeed. I say let them have at each other and make friends with the victor.
My basic rules of thumb (and yes, considering the limitations I stated above…):
1) NEVER get in the middle of a “Family Fight”. IMHO, Sunni vs Shia is a family fight inside the ummah. NOT something for a Christian or Secular nation to screw around in. The EU / UK can sell to Saudi Arabia & Friends anything they want in exchange for oil (from bullets to bombers) and the USA can just stay out of it entirely with the return of Trump oil policies.
2) Do not think “This time is different”. Not in the Middle East. Not in Asia. When nobody has ever solved the problems of the Middle East, your odds of succeeding are about 1 in 10^12. When Communism has always been deceptive, abusive, exploitative, and lead to ruin, do not expect China to be your reliable friend. When everyone from Napoleon to the Axis Powers failed in a land war on Russia, expect you will too.
3) Respect what your opponent says to their home audience. They are at their most honest then. When Iran chants “Death To America” believe that they mean it. When China says they want world domination, believe that they mean it. When Putin says “No NATO on our border as it is an existential threat” believe that he means it. When you ignore your treaty obligation to not put NATO on his border, believe that’s going to lead to Very Bad Things.
4) Yes, you can “do nothing”. When the cost of “doing something” is horrific, it is a dumb idea to “do something”. Ukraine is not a NATO country. For over 1000 years it was part of Greater Russia (only exceptions being the Golden Hoard occupation -where even then the case could be made it was still seen as part of the one whole -, from the Russian Revolution to the formation of the USSR (for domestic political gains by the Communists), and from 1991 to now (and even then was in the C.I.S. for a lot of it). So the USA ought to just sit this out and let those folks work it out. (Or the EU / UK can do the heavy lifting and take the blowback…) I see no reason to pick a fight with a nuclear power over their family fight. The world is full of problems you can not fix; in those times the best thing you can do is say “Not my problem” and walk away.
5) Do not conflate things that are disjoint. (Also known as “The Domino Theory” is wrong). You may get some reaction from your decision in one country when it comes to another, so prepare for that, but do not base your decision process on it. (IF Ukraine falls, and someone elsewhere starts getting pushy, bloody their nose and let them know of their mistake. That ends the chain… State publicly your reasons for each decision and how the two are different. Want China to get the message? Park a couple of aircraft carriers between Taiwan and China… including the sub escorts. Block Chinese Fighters from reaching Taiwan.)
6) Don’t enter agreements you can not keep, and keep the agreements you do enter. NO NATO on Russian Border means “NO NATO”. Get over it. Treaty to defend Japan & South Korea? Then do it. No Ukraine obligations? Don’t act like there is. then.
Tony Heller’s post https://realclimatescience.com/2022/02/the-biden-crime-family-in-ukraine/
Zelensky found a billion dollars and a villa in Miami.
https://eprimefeed.com/latest-news/zelensky-found-a-billion-dollars-and-a-villa-in-miami-2/20181/
David
There are three threads running on Ukraine and I have posted in each. I gave a very comprehensive reply to EM Smith in the Friends of Australia thread. I certainly don’t believe we should attack Russia, but Putin needs to be ejected from the Ukraine.
By his actions Putin has shown he is a bloodthirsty maniac. Former heads of the military have said he has gone mad and the Finnish PM said something had changed when he met him and he put it down to his long isolation to avoid Covid.
As For Nato, If I lived in a country next door to this thug I would want to be under the Umbrella of Nato. Indeed that seems to be the way that Finland and Sweden are heading. Which of course makes Putin feel even more threatened, but if he behaved like the head of a reasonable country his neighbours wouldn’t need to seek protection. So this Nato thing is a bit chicken and Egg.
I disagree with EM Smith that Ukraine was always a a part of Greater Russia and they are indivisible and this is a family matter
They have been at times independent, at times part of other empires and at times part of Russia who tried to subdue their distinctive culture. Ukraine was around before Russia existed and has older institutions
https://empr.media/culture/history/first-mentioned-ukraine-russia-not-exists/#:~:text=The%20first%20monarchwho%20was%20crowned%20in%20the%20Tsardom,king%20of%20Rus%E2%80%99%20Daniel%20of%20Galicia%20in%201253.
The comments are very entertaining There is also a very good article in Todays Daily Telegraph confirming this history and how Russia, when it had the upper hand, has tried to eradicate the culture. Unfortunately it seems to be paywalled
Whatever the ins and outs of it -it is a very murky and confused history-Ukraine was certainly a Sovereign independent country at the time of the invasion, which they did not want and they want the Russians out of their country.
If we believe that borders drawn up years ago will always be valid them Britain is either Roman Or Anglo Saxon or Norman, our former colonies need to revert to us, Alaska could look again to Russia. There are all sorts of scenarios if we believe borders are set in stone forever
The current scenario is that a vibrant European country has been invaded by its neighbour and if they get away with it the things we talk about above will flow. Pax Americana was created to gain influence, you made lot of agreements, as the British did before you. If you fail to keep them you cease being the exceptional country you and I have known all our lives with all that implies for the West.
Whatever the ins and outs I do wish that sleepy Joe wasn’t currently in charge. ( I use that word ‘charge’ very loosely) Which I guess is one of the very reasons Putin has acted. I don’t think he would tangle with Trump who kept people guessing.
Dsvid
Lets see if that s true regarding the wealth of Zelensky
Mind you it is Chicken feed compared to the $200Billion Putin is supposed to have amassed according to Forbes
https://www.gbnews.uk/news/vladimir-putins-jaw-dropping-200bn-fortune-revealed-as-russia-on-brink-of-war-with-ukraine/232324
If you remember he moved his $70 million luxury yacht from Germany a couple of weeks before this all erupted so he has intended this military action or some time.
David
Just checked out your link and done some searching.. Those promoting this story are a pro Russian party in Ukraine whose head was the god father of Putins children. They are trying to smear Zelensky. Perhaps they should be looking at the wealth of Putin who they seem to idolise
On the local scene
https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/1984-the-bill-the-trusted-digital-identity/
E.M.S.
The Australian paper here had a recipe for grilled lamb chops. Fairly incoherent.
The main point was marinating the chops first (30 minutes), grilling them and placing them on a tray with sprigs of herbs (oregano and fresh mint) underneath, and serving these with halved lemons grilled on the juicey side.
The marinade is ludicrous; brine from the olive jar, whey from fetta cheese, olive oil, honey and dried oregano (and finely sliced garlic). The first 2 they suggest could be replaced by a pinch of salt.
The dried oregano somehow reappears on the serving tray (still dry) flavouring the grilled chops.
Should you want some distraction I suggest the idea of marinating the meat has merit.
Marinading is fine, as is re-use of “juices from jars” of other stuff (especially pickles or artichoke hearts in a marinade), but Olive Brine? That’s got a lot of ferric salt in it. Yes, sometimes I’ll taste a bit on a spoon (as I love salts…), but as a marinade it is lacking in acid. Whey from cheese can be a bit acid from the lactic acid fermentation and I suppose that might work, but man that’s a long way around the mountain for some salt and acid (and VERY short on spices).
The grilled Lemon is just to be a bit cheeky and Fru Fru. Not going to improve flavor or looks IMHO. The Oregano ought to rehydrate in the marinade / brine.
OK, I think it is over done on the “odd ingredients” but the idea has merit. I’d likely use an Italian Salad Dressing marinade (Olive Oil, Vinegar, spices) or the Artichoke Marinade from the canned Artichokes…
FWIW, today I’m making Lamb Stew. Flour and brown stew chunks. Lightly saute an onion in OO & Butter until starting to be translucent. Put in a pot with a sprinkle of dried garlic granules, chopped carrots & celery, potato chunks, and sprinkle over with salt & pepper. On the stove to simmer for a few hours.
I’m going to look up some Lamb Stew recipes now and see if there’s something important I’m leaving out ;-)
OK, looking over recipes they seem to either add Beef Stock, Chicken Stock, or mushrooms. As I don’t like to mix different animal flavors (it can get odd…) I decided to add a cup of mushroom slices (crimini). For the spice mix, it is all over the place. Rosemary OR thyme OR … and there’s optional additions of lentils. I’ve decided on adding 1/2 cup each of lentils & barley to give it some rustic depth, and to use a Greek Mix on the seasoning (rather than the more traditional Irish stew ‘one or two herbs’ approach).
Sort of a “Mediterranean Theme”…
Your lamb chops fight back
“Six scientists call out overcooked claims in Lancet study”
““Very odd things are going on” with one of the world’s major scientific references for health and disease risk, a team of six scientists has found, after its authors failed to produce the data required to defend claims villifying red meat.”
https://www.beefcentral.com/uncategorized/six-scientists-call-out-overcooked-claims-in-lancet-study/
Another big retraction coming up?
@Another Ian:
IF red meat were really harmful, the USA would never have expanded beyond Plymouth Rock and 10,000 years of Agriculture & Animal Husbandry Expansion would never have marched off the Asian Steppes and across North Africa, Europe, and over the the Americas.
Texas would not exist…
Oh, and the Plains Indians (who existed largely on Buffalo meat) would have all died off…
FWIW, I’ve been a big meat eater for 1/2 dozen decades and I’m healthier than those around me who eat stuff like “processed packaged foods” and “Soy-whatever” stuff.
Claims that Red Meat is harmful are one of my indicators of a Bogus Source, as it is patently false just from looking at history. (Not to mention physiology: Gut Length tells you if an animal is evolved to be vegetarian, carnivore, or omnivore. Gorilla & Chimps have a much longer gut length as they eat a lot of plants & leaves. We have a much shorter gut length as we are evolved to be omnivores. We are humans BECAUSE we eat meat. Otherwise we would be a kind of chimp…
What do you universally find in paleolithic human habitation sites? Animal bones with meat processing marks (burned, scraped, chewed…). What you do not find is a lot of grains. The shift to a high grain high starch diet started with the ancient Egyptians and what we find is that they are a LOT sicker than their non-grain oriented neighbors eating red meat… (It’s in their bones and teeth – the evidence).
We have a few million years of evolution to eat meat. Only about 10,000 or less experience with grains as a major diet item. Less than 200 with highly processed and “refined” foods. Under 50 or so for most of the chemical crap being put in “modern foods”… I’ll take the meat, thanks.
E.M.
That wasn’t an attempted conversion course! I’ll flick that link to the editor at Beef Central.
E.M.
Re Anthony Watts
All I’ve seen was this mention
I have never been a Big Meat eater either.
I prefer bite sized chunks instead.
philjourdan
Like Jack Absalom’s bush cookery recipe for camel stew
First cut camel into bite size chunks – should only take about a month