scoobdog

You always miss things.

That's awesome. How is he doing?

I really think it's more likely that Putin's stated opposition to NATO was more about him regaining influence over former Soviet satellite states and less about him actively trying to suppress NATO. It was always a means to an end, as evidenced by the fact he went into a country that hadn't really even attempted to join prior. On its surface it make no real sense for either Russia or China to oppose NATO unless it serves to break up a coalition with the United States (almost explicitly so in the case of China). For China, the invasion itself was a monumental disaster because it puts them in a position where they have to defend Russia against Europe at a time when they seek to have greater influence in Europe. None of this helps them isolate Europe from North America, which is always going to be their primary goal because Europe (particularly the more conservative former Eastern Bloc members) is a valuable piece in this game of global chess - an affluent customer that doesn't particularly want to be pushed around economically by the US. More importantly, keeping Europe and NATO as a whole placated has the added benefit of hamstringing the US when it comes to China attempting to exert influence in its own sphere. China gets nothing from being an enemy of NATO, and the longer Russia botches this invasion, the more likely that China is unable to extract itself from Putin's stench. That can have disastrous effects for any aspirations China might have in expanding its control into the South China Sea or taking over Taiwan. TL;DR - Opposition to NATO was always a means to an end for Russia and by product of other aspirations for China.

Yes, please!

*Checks List....* I had no idea I had a Parkinson's joke on my list, but there it is...

I sure didn't...

Lol. You just can't help yourself, can you?

No need to worry. There plenty to dissect for the pundits.

Lol. Durant can't even win against his own body.

True...

Speaking of which…. I can just imagine Nabs’ reaction at reading Dane go after Sawdy.

I don’t know how you do it… live in Tennessee I mean.

This thread needs the delicate touch of @E_NAD.

Now we know why you're so terrible at political advice... you think everyone else is as stupid as your base. None of it because you qualify your own bullshit immediately afterward. Everyone knows China manipulated the yuan for decades, but they weren't doing it prop up its value. In fact, they were doing it to suppress its value which is a significantly different thing: by pegging it at x amount to the US dollar, they were effectively undervaluing its worth so businesses could do international transactions at the higher valued dollar and pay for the materials and labor in the lower value yuan. It has its pitfalls to be sure and it generally only works as long as you can keep the CPI artificially low as well... something that gets increasingly hard as foreign businesses return the favor and start trying to tap the Chinese people for their products and services. By comparison, attempting to boost your currency's value is always a losing proposition - you can't force people to buy your coins if there is no underlying market for the products, resources or services you can provide. Which leads to the biggest hole in your argument: It doesn't matter who has a need for the resources Russia requires if there is no infrastructure. India can most certainly buy their cheap oil and the West is going to be more than happy to let them, but the infrastructure to ramp up the supply in places like India or China isn't going to allow Russia to offset the loss of the European markets in anything less than a decade... and you're not getting a pipeline across the Atlantic to feed Brazil or Mexico. China can easily adapt to changing conditions because their most important commodity is their manufacturing sector: it severely limits how embargo can be placed at least as long as it takes to build up one's own manufacturing capabilities and its infinitely more difficult curtailing the specific products that can be embargoed because of the sheer diversity of items manufactured. Russia has its petroleum and natural gas: if any country refuses to allow a Russian tanker or a tanker with purposely vague manifest to dock or they simply decide to shut off a pipeline, then the product doesn't get moved and no transaction is made. The sanctions are most definitely crippling when it matters most, in the short term. All of those operations were short, which partially explains why Putin tends to rely on such violent tactics. It appears that the Russian armed forces have had operational issues for decades, and the Russian brass relied on short active operations with heavy artillery to cover for those deficiencies. Undoubtedly, Putin knew this and was gambling that he could get in there immediately after the Olympics and before the West had a chance to sniff out what he was doing and pull together. No one questions the fact that he can dig in for an indefinite amount of time, but he isn't going to be able to continue active military operations for very long because that bombardment strategy only works if there is something less to salvage after the bombing is done. He's effectively leveled any infrastructure that might be useful in connecting the Crimea to the East, and now he's damaged his own ability to even hold on to Crimea because of that. He lost any real chance of making the Ukraine an extension of Russia when his initial operations failed, so all he can really do is turn it into a wasteland.

Well, it's more than that even though you're absolutely correct about women (especially those of color) being villianized for it disproportionately. JPS is often seen as an imposter (also in large part because of her skin color), and it isn't helped that her relative lack of personality makes her seem cold. On top of that, her whole connection with Tupac Shakur rubs a lot of people the wrong way, giving them the perception that she's a social climbing hack. It's not all her fault, but she also doesn't do much to make herself likable. People like her are easy to target and it's understandable that Will might have felt some shame that he hadn't done more to protect her from Rock's crass joke. It's just unfortunate that his inappropriate response only made things worse by giving a shitty comedian cover for a clearly insulting joke.

It’s tragic that Sinead only recently came up because she lost her son way too young. The most insulting thing to me is that Rock’s brother is the only one addressing the fact he didn’t know she had Alopecia and he’s not even offering an apology. Like I said earlier, JPS is treated like a villain and that somehow gives people a pass at insulting her. I don’t have to condone what Will did to see how this fits into a larger pattern of making JPS a monster by those on the outside. Even the joke Regina in the opening portrays her in a way that makes her out to be a self entitled slut who deserves to be a punching bag. Also, the comics feeling sorry for themselves leaves a bad taste. No one gives a shit if Amy Schumer is traumatized.

Bro…, it’s too late.

And you even edited it for good measure.

Well that took a tragic turn.

*reads Ginguy’s post* … So the sanctions must be working for Ginguy to word vomit all over himself about how the ruble is going to be stronger than ever.

It isn't. It's a show hosted by (almost exclusively) comedians, and that obscures the fact the rules are different for a host than a comedian doing his set. Every joke has to be approved, which the GI Jane one was not ( it was ad libbed). The Academy knows that comedians will go off script, but that doesn't mean they give them cover to do so. Anyawy, my point isn't to say Will had any right to confront Chris (let alone slap him); it's just to say Chris shouldn't be protected from offense at ill conceived jokes.

Yes, but those times he was the host. I can't recall the last time I saw the award presenter make a joke about someone who wasn't a nominee for that award. Hosting is a different thing entirely.

But in all seriousness… that was the Academy Awards, not a comedy special. Chris Rock has been treated with kid gloves because he was physically assaulted, but he wasn’t there to entertain - he was there to give a fucking award. If will had simply heckled his worthless ass instead of striking him we wouldn’t have anything to talk about.

So what you’re saying is…. If a comic disses my man’s hair, I better taze the mother fucker after I clock him so he doesn’t pop me back?

I get that.