I’m one of the guys who got vaccinated to make people I deeply cared about comfortable in my presence. If I wasn’t, I would have been forced to choose between the jab and my job. I’m not getting any more experimental medical treatments for this political, social and cultural farce that is COVID fear-mongering.
The kids especially cannot take any more of these COVID policies.
I hear you bro. Hear me out for a minute, and consider the possibility that a lot of Americans could see the political goat rodeo coming from a long ways off. The certainty of political fuckery shaped my Covid opinions that I shared on these forums just as much as any publicly available information about the disease.
I didn’t see it coming, but given my already low opinion of politicians in general, and absolute disgust for some specifically- I wasn’t surprised.
Yeah, with two advanced biochem degrees in the family, several Md’s in my circle of friends, and a Cardiologist actively treating me, I skipped the bullshit and just went straight to them.
I had to give maximum priority to the health and safety of my immediate loved ones, which included the preservation of my self.
Any of the public opinionators came in a looooong second.
My retired anesthesiologist aunt had a similar set of personal priorities, and I never suggested she do anything other than prioritize her personal safety during that challenging time. I’m on board with that train 100 percent.
Public priorities are an entirely different matter. Public priorities cannot revolve around severely restricting the many for the benefit of the very few.
And yes, we need to consider the dead, we need to consider the possible dead, and we also need to consider the continued wellbeing of our American society.
Like, my bro in law was talking all kinds of hard shit about this until I pointed out to him that literally all of his calculations and ideas about this revolve around the supposition that it wouldn’t affect anybody he cared about.
Then I took an headcount for him of all of the people who were in a high risk category (including his wife) that we had thanksgiving dinner with.
Then his thinking changed. When we put names and faces to it.
Another friend, with whom I’ve parted ways with for a number of reasons, absolutely wouldn’t budge. Regardless of historical precedent, climbing body count, nothing. The economy trumps all. The gears must grind on, no matter who gets chewed up in them.
I just can’t rectify assigning a collateral value to an unknown variable like covid presented. Even then, it was known to be a novel virus, and suspected to be created in lab- making it a virtual unknown unleashed on a world scale.
Its analogous to how and what I do at work. I can’t in good conscience tell people to do something that can or will injure/kill them, even though I have done some extremely high risk deadly shit myself. And was working in/with the general public at the time.
Fair enough. We have plenty of common ground, but let’s agree to disagree on public policy.
Back to the thread topic of War in Europe.
I would like to hear some thoughts about strategic war goals, or even operational war goals.
I would especially like to hear some thoughts about how those goals might be attained.
I’ll be the first to concede that I have no clear picture of what’s actually happening on the front lines of this conflict. From what I can discern, this war appears to be a human being meat grinder. Neither side is able to execute modern combined-arms warfare, which has required air superiority for roughly the last century.
Luckily for the beneficiaries of the war, the supply of infantry has not yet run dry.
I’m stuck with her in my life for at least 10 more years if I have any intention of having an ongoing relationship with my nieces.
It’s just that the cat is out of the bag and she now knows exactly what I think about her toxic politics and how they have affected the family.
Like many liberals on these forums, she literally has nothing to say when confronted about her wild opinions in plain English, which has only happened once. She just got really angry.
Back on-topic, I assure you that she stands with Ukraine. Extra hard, too. Yellow and blue flag overlaying the profile picture and everything. For like a whole month.
I still do not understand what the invasion was for, although on the one hand the annexation of Crimea was to preserve the possibility of having a fleet there. Currently, Russian troops are increasingly making their presence felt, not only in Europe, but especially in Syria or in the OBUZ countries, and now it is also apparent that they are interested in Africa.
It should also be mentioned that this conflict will not end soon, and the whole offensive will soon come to a halt with the coming winter (heavy equipment is unlikely to be used then). Probably only something will start in the spring, once Ukraine actually receives the promised F-16s although what else they will get there as a gift, nobody knows.
Operationally let me explain what is happening. During the winter Russia made a trench and mine defensive line consisting of 3 lines, which allowed Russian infantry to make easy organized tactical retreats. This is why the frontline was stalling.
Furthermore Ukrainians realised the good Russian defense and were organizing very safe assaults. After the first days of the start Ukrain saw that the whole field is mined and that made the armor and the tanks send as a help useless.
Ukrainian army then desided to make a reserves dry operation. They were faking assaults to make Russian artilery fire so they can target the artilery. Later they realised that it would be easier if they target logistics and mostly vehicles reloading artilery. But further in the days especially when Russian army lost a lot of vehicles, Russians had to move the entire artilery system to reload it. This made following artilery to supply depos easy by drones. Ukrainians started targeting munition depos.
This whole operation dried Russian supplies. Ukrainians also started targeting bridges not long ago to make logistics for munitions and reserves for infantry a hell.
Just recently Ukraine started pushing in Zaporozhie region after drying all the supplies in the South region. It is reported now that Russians are moving reserves from the North and it seems Ukraine is organizing a second bridge head between Bahmut and Zaporozhie.
Operationally Ukrainian tactic is freeing Zaporozhie before the winter, so they can make a massive push towards Krimea and take it as well. For Russians it is to defend Zaporozhie, although the cost can be high and we can see a repeat of Kharkov in the North.
Long term the west is hopping for a regime change. Something that Prigozhin was preparing. Ukraine is hopping to take Zaporozhie and Krimea back before the winter which may make Russia sit on the negotiating table for peace talks this winter.
I have no clue what Russia is hopping for. For the regular Russian the best option is retreat and a regime change, removing all the sanctions and grinding their way back to the civilization. However that is not something Putin and the oligarhs would like. I am not sure what their plan is, but they are done.
It’s a psychological defense mechanism. Imagine a scenario where your were emotionally manipulated into considering a public health emergency a political issue. And that a massive media-political-grifter complex persuaded you, appealing to your emotions (mostly through real and imagined culture war grievances) and your vanity - because you believe that you’re smarter that most of the dumb rubes - that public health measures (including vaccines) are a sinster ploy conceived by Them (who’s exactly is them is pretty nebulous and changes whenever is expedient) to administer “experimental gene therapy” to unwitting sheeple. They’re dumb, weak obedient sheeple, but your’re not. You’re special. Of course, as we’ve establishest that clicks with you because of the aforemention vanity and a chance to LARP as a tenacious member of the resistance to Big Liberal Pharma (in reality just to have a flimsy excuse to be an asshole to other people).
Now, most of the people from the media-political-grifter compley aren’t dumb, they’ve taken sane measures to protect themselves personally (everyone on FOX News for example, all the anchors are vaccinated and social distancing was strictly enforced) but they continue to talk about OSHA martyrs, experimental jabs and sinister ploys about mandates to pander their marks, or consumers. It amplifies your fragile emotions and all that addictive fake grievances, so much that the mere thought of any health measure irrationally angers you. You’re smart enough to have been vaccinated yourself (you cannot easily supress self preservation instincts) but as it clashes with your identity as an underdog free thinker you’re compelled to self-rationalize this a temporaty lapse in judgement/necessity/sacrifice that you regret but and therefore you’re making up for it by supporting anti-vaxx martyrs.
Now, the possibilty that you were (and still are) emotionally manipulated and that you’re not special but well, a run-of-the-mill sucker is too horrible to contemplate. So this is where the psychological defense mechanism kicks in . Rewriting (very recent, mind you) history and rationalizing the shit out of what happened.
Yeah, some people died (you’re conciously trying to forget that 1,1 million people died in the US) lbut they were old/morbidly obese/sick/unworthy/had it coming/whatever while I’m healthy/worthy/member of the anointed club of free thinkers that knows what’s actually transpiring with the pandemic and the world at large. How can the sheeple be so dumb when the hidden truth is just a few clicks away for all to see?
As time goes on all of those that died (as is usually the case) will fade into obscurity and in a few years time you’ll triumphantly claim that you’ve snorted a beaker of the original Wuhan lab strain in March of '20 without even getting a runny nose. And that you’re were right. Because you are special, member of an exclusive club privy to the deepest secrets that can be accessed by only a few choses ones. A real…snowflake if you will.
