scoobdog

Well, there are better ways to protect yourself in the event of an earthquake. But, that's not the point: we're talking about how earthquake drills were just rebadged nuclear attack drills.

Well you are.

Anyone who's ever been in an earthquake knows you ain't eating snacks if you're stuck under rubble. Also, school desks don't offer much protection from rubble either.

That has "fallout shelter rations" all over it.

Earthquake bags? Never hear of that before.

You don't feel like you're one of us?

The point is the same. The drills never went away no matter where they were, and it was obvious what they were actually for because they didn't really address the catastrophe they were purported to be responding to.

I get you. I'm really just annoyed that a perfectly valid reason to be wary of the MIC is being shoehorned into an issue that doesn't apply. But, yes, at least it does avoid giving Putin any validity while making its critical assessment and that isn't particularly easy.

It was mostly converted to "earthquake drills" by the '70s. The purpose changed as the Cold War fizzled out, but the drill itself never really changed.

The context is somewhat problematic, though. It's predicated on somewhat unsubstantiated and imprecise declarations about how much our defense contractors are making while ignoring how little the former Eastern Bloc countries that gained membership are actually spending compared to either the United States or even Russia. Making a casual connection can't be divorced from the results of that spending, which was mostly very underwhelming prior to the start of the conflict, and doing so has no direct bearing on the bigger issue of MIC spending, which is very much a problem for the US and an easy excuse if nonetheless valid for anyone interested in demonizing us.

I don't think they need to go that far. The army they have now is already poorly trained and under supported.

Yeah, I can't remember his alts either from that era.

Stupid autocorrect.

I always knew you were fancy.

I wish to hear more about your thought process behind creating that peculiar mashup.

Of course Nabs would latch on to the one dink who thinks America baited Russia into an invasion.

Well, getting out of Berkley or even California is fine. That being said, there are plenty of places in state where you can go without meeting people and that aren't on the PCT. Pretty much anything east of the Sierras is a no-man's land.

Seeing as they apparently can't afford fuel for their shitty run down machines of war ... either nobody or someone who just paid a shit load for an oligarch's new yacht.

Me too.

Getting cold feet would suggest getting involved, which China is taking great pains to not.

It's a case he didn't need to make, and I disagree with the assertion that it brings together the Asian countries. There is no evidence to suggest it has.

He didn't need to destroy his own country and crash his economy into the side of a mountain. China had good relations with Russia before. They weren't for NATO before the invasion. THey would have been on board with an alliance without invasion. Now they're not as likely to get into an alliance or oppose NATO openly because of it. They have too much money tied up in Europe to take up a doomed cause.

It hasn't always been that way, no, but it certainly started well before the invasion. Russia has been on a steady decline since well before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and subsequent attempts by post soviet leadership has consistently failed to reignite manufacturing and industrial sectors. China entering the scene as a savior is only recent, however, and the amount of help they're willing to offer is going to be limited by what is in their best interests. Why do you think Russia has to do this to better its relationship with China?

It would be the only thing he's realistic about. Like it or not, the invasion of the Ukraine was a huge unforced error that cost him any chance of retaining control of Russia's destiny. That means achieving whatever other goals he might still have unattained are wholly dependent on China at this point.

For about as cheap as you could get it from a South American country that also desperately needs the money and has none of the sanctions to contend with.