Posts by Joshua Bishop3

Just more of the same old story, honestly! 😁

Nancy Gomez26 said:I find myself in agreement with those points. That said, higher pressure means more gas will be discharged into the surrounding medium—the ocean, in this instance—which exists at a much lower pressure. Naturally, a larger vessel (calculated by the cross-sectional area of the pipeline multiplied by its length) will release an even greater volume of gas into the water. As the pressure differential narrows—because the pressure within the leaking vessel drops while the ambient ocean pressure remains constant—the rate of leakage will inevitably slow down over time. Based on the imagery we've seen, the initial discharge was incredibly intense; from an aircraft, you could clearly see the gas erupting at the surface, 100 meters directly above the breach.

But honestly, that's all just deep theory at this point.
The bottom line is that Europe needs to ditch Russian gas as fast as humanly possible!

Nancy Gomez26 said:If the pressure had truly been dropped that low right before the sabotage—assuming the pipeline sits 330 feet below the ocean floor—we wouldn't be seeing this massive plume of gas bubbles on the surface. At that depth, the ocean exerts more pressure than those alleged 7 bars. Since gas is lighter than water, some would certainly escape to the surface depending on the hole's size and location, but it wouldn't manifest in such a concentrated, massive volume. The reality is that the pipeline was under significant pressure; it’s been leaking for days (which explains the dropping pressure), and the breach itself is substantial—potentially a full-section rupture.

The whole idea of how many bubbles get created and just how much raw power is released when a pressurized container fails isn't actually about the pressure itself—it's all about the volume of the container, which in this case is the capacity of the pipeline.

I mean, think about it: 1 bar is an enormous amount of pressure, right? But if you take a tiny little 4-ounce container under 1 bar of pressure and smash it, nothing crazy happens, just a little "puff." Why? Because the capacity is tiny.

But if you take a massive 25,000-gallon tank of water under that same 1 bar and crack it open, you're going to have a violent explosion because the capacity is massive.

So, the theory that it's all about "crazy" pressure totally falls apart here. The bubble formation and the sheer force resulting from the rupture depend on the capacity of that pipe, not just the pressure reading. Plus, you have to remember gas is compressible under pressure, which basically gives it even more effective capacity.

Think of pressure like voltage. It's potential. Whereas current is like the flow or the capacity. Pressure by itself isn't dangerous if you're dealing with a tiny capacity. And honestly, even a "low" pressure of one bar becomes absolutely terrifying once you give it enough capacity behind it.

Joshua Myers432 said:Didn't I say it before? It's incredibly easy to scribble down nonsense, but much harder to read it with any actual comprehension. Regarding Russia, they view Crimea as part of their territory, and they believe they get to decide how to react when someone targets their province. In their minds, it's settled history; they held their referendum eight years ago, the people voted for annexation, and to them, the case is closed.

As for the idea that NATO countries will jump into a nuclear conflict over Ukraine—forget it. I'd love to see which Prime Minister or President is actually going to order a nuclear strike on Moscow just because Russia uses a tactical nuke on something in Ukraine. Of course, the Russians swear they won't do it, but nobody with half a brain believes them.

Well, wishful thinking is a hell of a drug.

In Putin's head, Russia doesn't have any borders, so he thinks he can just take whatever he wants, provided he doesn't resort to using a "tactical" nukes.

Give me a break... if Russia launches even one atomic bomb, the entire world is going to want to wipe them off the face of the earth. And yeah, NATO and the USA will absolutely use nukes against them, and the whole planet will be cheering for Russia's downfall. Sure, we might end up in a nuclear war, but we'll survive—Russia won't.

Do you seriously think NATO and the rest of the world are just going to let some insecure ketchup-bottle dictator blackmail us with nuclear weapons? Just because his attempt to invade a neighboring country went sideways? Are you saying the whole world is just gonna sit there and let Putin launch nukes and threaten our very existence just because he wants to grab a slice of someone else's land? No way.

Russia has already lost this war, and they're going to pay for it through total isolation from the civilized world; in a few years, they won't even matter, they'll be completely irrelevant. And if they actually go through with a nuclear strike, they'll be wiped out instantly.

Joshua Myers432 said:That’s irrelevant. This is about terrain configuration and access to the peninsula. Crimea is relatively easy to defend. But take the route to Moscow, for example; that's much harder to hold if the enemy has air superiority.

Maybe they should just extend the road to Moscow. Once they take Moscow, Crimea is theirs.
😁

Of course, we haven't even factored in the use of tactical nuclear weapons. I think the Russians have made it crystal clear they'll use them if the Russian Federation is threatened. And those idiots consider Crimea part of the Russian Federation, so by their logic... 😉

Oh man, please don't make me laugh, seriously, hahaha!

Crimea belongs to Ukraine, plain and simple, just like Donbas and Luhansk. Almost nobody on this planet actually recognizes the annexation of Crimea. Putin can claim whatever he wants—he can sit there thinking Russian Alaska is actually Russian or that half the world belongs to him for all I care, but you can basically tell him to go jump in a lake regarding his little delusions. 😁

The Russians aren't going to use tactical nukes or any other kind of nuclear weapons, because let's be real—if even a tiny bit of radiation drifts toward a single NATO member, NATO is going to treat that as a full-blown nuclear strike. They said as much right at the start of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. If a nuclear war actually breaks out, Russia will just be a scorched wasteland that ceases to exist. The population of the "collective West" is way more spread out than the Russians, most of whom are crammed around Moscow and in Western Russia anyway.

Russ doesn't have the guts to start a nuclear war because, newsflash, they’d cease to exist. It's just like how they were blustering about Crimea being part of the RF and threatening to drop nukes if even one shell hit the place, yet they won't touch nukes if Ukraine liberates Crimea. They're getting bombed in Crimea constantly, they've lost half their aviation there, and the Russians are scurrying away like cowards, just moving what's left of their planes back into Russia. Hahahahaha!

Taking Crimea militarily is going to be surprisingly easy. But looking at how things are playing out, the Russians might just hand it over as a gesture of good faith.

urbanotter said:👍 👍

It is refreshing to finally see a few expert, intelligent posts on this topic instead of just the constant trolling that usually dominates this thread.
Once again, 👍

I actually have a former classmate from my engineering days who spent his entire career working for ExxonMobil, both domestically and all over the world. We haven't caught up in quite a while, but he used to describe things in a very similar way to what you're saying here.
Regarding the other matter, I won't speculate much, but it's becoming increasingly obvious just how "successful" these sanctions are proving to be and who is ultimately going to end up feeling the squeeze.

Just because Russia can shut off the valves and they aren't going to let their gas and oil just rot away doesn't mean the rest of the sanctions won't hit them hard.

They are basically a petrostate, period—like, 40% of their total revenue comes straight from gas. Now, China and India are totally taking advantage of them by snapping up cheap oil and gas, and Europe used to be their absolute best customer. If Russia loses Europe as a buyer, they are going to suffer way, way more than Europe will.

Look, the Russians aren't going to be starving or thirsty because of sanctions. But without access to Western tech, they are basically being pushed fifty years back in time. No country today can function like an island or just go it alone because you simply cannot produce everything yourself anymore. And who are they even going to form alliances with now? India? Or China, who is already planning to swallow up their territory? Honestly, China will tear them apart long before the West does.

But still... Russia won't collapse entirely, but they are definitely hitting reverse gear big time. It won't be easy for the "collective" West either—we’re all going to take a hit because of these sanctions—but Russia is going to get hit way, way harder.

Look, take ExxonMobil as an example—they shut down their production stations for maintenance every single year between July and September. It usually lasts about a week, where they basically seal off all the wells, take the load off the stations, and run through all the necessary servicing and inspections. Once that's wrapped up, they just bring the wells back online one by one.

So honestly, there is absolutely zero issue here.
The only exception is those few specific wells where there’s actually a risk of the strata collapsing; in those cases, they pull them out of production and hook them up to a mobile separator or just flare the gas during that window. But I'm telling you, we're talking about maybe 1-2% of the total.

As for this whole nonsense about how once you shut a well down, you can't restart it because the gas somehow "spoils"... please, that is straight-up fairy tale stuff for toddlers.

Nancy Gomez26 said:That is the reality of our wells. But does anyone have data or info regarding the status of the gas fields in Russia, which supply gas and oil to the European Union? Are those fields also the type where production can be easily toggled on and off, or must the flow remain constant? What is the situation with the pipelines in Russia—can the flow through them be stopped and restarted without issue, or is it a complex process? There was some talk that Russians cannot simply shut down production at their gas and oil fields; I'm curious how much truth there is to that.

Honestly, man, I don't know the exact specifics regarding their individual wells, but I'm pretty sure it's the same situation we deal with here in the States. You can open and close oil wells whenever you feel like it. As for gas, 99% of the time you can just turn them on or off without any major fallout. Gas wells are usually way deeper, like 4000+ meters, and yeah, sometimes there's a risk of the geological layers collapsing. But that danger usually pops up if you try to do sudden, aggressive openings that cause the layer to cave in, pull in water, or suck up sand... basically just messing up the whole reservoir the gas is being pulled from.

The way oil moves through something like the NS1 setup is that there's just one compressor station pushing that gas at maybe 220 bar toward Europe. Even looking at that, I don't see a huge issue with stopping and starting. They probably just ramp the pressure up in stages, and while it might take a little bit of time for the station to run its sequence and build that pressure back up, I really don't see that being a dealbreaker. They likely keep some residual pressure trapped in the pipeline when they shut down so they don't have to pump everything 746 miles up to 220 bar all at once, but I'm telling you, with enough planning, that shouldn't be an issue, and I'm sure they've got a solid playbook for how to cycle that compressor station on and off.

rowdyraven112 said:So, when most of us objectively said that sanctions wouldn't do much good for the economy or the market, we were labeled Putinophiles, right? And remember how everyone claimed the European Union would quickly replace everything they used to import from Russia? I said it wouldn't happen that fast. Well, we just confirmed that the OPEC countries—who people like you claimed would save the European Union economy—are actually just greedy war profiteers on par with Vladimir Putin. ☕

You know what’s peak stupidity? When half the Western-leaning posters shouted "I told you so" after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Give me a break. You think you're CIA level because you "knew" Russia was going to invade while only Joe Biden was warning them and nobody else? ☕

Look, I'll admit it: I was one of the few calling it straight from the start—that Vladimir Putin is a calculating bastard and that Russia invaded Ukraine. But suggesting we cut them out of global trade without any calculation or analysis? That’s about as smart as a Vlade Vukojević thesis at a community college in Indianapolis. ☕

Take fruit and vegetable farmers in the Midwest, for example, whose products mostly went to Eastern markets. They already had issues back in 2014 with the Russian occupation of Crimea, so they managed by selling to middlemen in other countries who then flipped the produce for a higher price. Now, they'll be forced to sell below cost to war profiteers in OPEC nations, who will then flip it again at an even higher price for the Russian market. What's the result? You destroy local family farms. Our domestic population isn't big enough to buy up all the production, even if we ate nothing but tomatoes, melons, tangerines, and oranges all day long. Lower prices lead to less production, fewer jobs, and shut-down operations. Once production dies, there's no god alive who can easily restart it. We saw this during the COVID crisis when lockdowns hit and oil and gas wells were shut down because demand plummeted. As soon as things returned to normal, gas prices spiked—not because there wasn't enough supply, but because everyone started demanding massive amounts at once. Restarting a well isn't some trivial task. Ask any mining engineer. ☕

As for the posters defending the other side, I'm just fascinated by your "doctorates" from community colleges in Indianapolis and the absolute nonsense that comes out of them. ☕

Look, I’m a petroleum engineer and a former ExxonMobil employee, so what you're saying just isn't right.

In most cases, starting up or shutting down wells is absolutely no big deal. You literally just close the valves on the wellhead equipment and production stops dead. In oil and gas fields, there are tons of wells tied directly into production facilities where all the gas, oil, and water get separated. So, in an area like Ivanica, you've got maybe 100 oil wells, then around 80 in Bilogora, and the Midwest has plenty too—these are actual oil fields. Then you've got about 20 gas condensate wells in the Midwest. We track the production parameters for every single individual well, so we know exactly how much oil, gas, condensate (gasoline), and water each one is spitting out... which means it's incredibly easy to scale back production by, say, 20% just by shutting in the specific wells that make up that 20% of the total output.

This applies to, I'd say... 98% of wells. Out of 100 wells, you might have one or two that have unstable formations where suddenly closing or opening them could cause the layers to collapse, or they might hit a water zone and you end up getting more water than gas, or a column of water starts choking the well. If the hydrostatic pressure in a 3.5" tubing at a depth of 4200m exceeds the dynamic pressure of the well, it goes dead. But even then, you can lighten the column with nitrogen until it kicks back in, perform some stimulation above or below the collapse point, or move the packer closer to the producing zone. Basically, those kinds of wells are rare, and you don't mess with them.

But seriously, you can open or close more than 98% of wells without any fallout whatsoever. All that oil and gas is still going to be there once you reopen the well; it isn't going anywhere. Except for that tiny 1% where you run the risk of collapsing the formation.

Right now in America, you could shut down 99% of production across all fields in less than four hours. And you could turn it all back on the next day without any issues.

Also, I know from firsthand experience that back in the day, people used to fill gas station tanks with water, or more commonly, gasoline derived from production wells. They'd basically take regular gas out of the tank and top it off with condensate. That was like 15 or more years ago though; things have changed a lot since then, and I am 100% sure that doesn't happen anymore. I pump my own fuel at ExxonMobil myself.

I mean, I'm not even joking, Putin is seriously playing some next-level, multi-dimensional chess here! 😁

I don't know what to tell you guys, I'm just looking at the data and it's hitting me right in the gut because everything feels like it's moving way too fast! Like, seriously, how are we even supposed to keep up when the markets are swinging this hard? I’ve been sitting here staring at the charts and honestly, my head is spinning. You see someone like rowdyraven112 making points about the volatility and you just have to nod because they aren't wrong, but man, it’s exhausting trying to stay ahead of the curve when the whole landscape keeps shifting under your feet! kaže:
So, basically, the "arbitration court" just dropped its decision...

Look, buddy, just start speaking English so the whole world can actually understand what you're saying!

I honestly don't know how much more of this back-and-forth we can take before someone actually steps up and makes a call! It feels like we're just spinning our wheels while everything else shifts around us. Every time I think we've hit a turning point, another piece of news drops and we're right back at square one. It’s exhausting, man, truly. kaže:
Alright, let's get back to talking about those sanctions.
Orban was basically saying he initially thought the European Union was just shooting itself in the foot by slapping those sanctions on!

Man, just imagine if they realized right now that was actually a shot to the lungs and they can't even catch their breath anymore... seriously.

Look, what Orban says carries just as much weight around here as whatever you’re preaching on these forums. From the very second this invasion kicked off, he was labeled a dictator who’s basically riding Putin's coattails. Have you even noticed how it's always the wannabe dictators who are out there backing Putin?

Look, at the end of the day, Canada is a democracy, right? So if the current guy isn't actually looking out for the people of Canada, they’ve got every right to just vote him out and pick someone new who actually gives a damn about what the citizens need!
It’s wild when you really look at it—unlike in places like Mexico, where one single guy has had his hands on the levers of the state, the media, and the entire judicial system for twenty years straight, or even Russia, where things are just way more extreme and even worse.

I’m dying to know when urbanotter is planning his big move over to Russia, especially since he thinks the European Union is totally falling apart under all these sanctions—meanwhile, he’s out here claiming people in Russia actually have more purchasing power than we do in the States, and that their economy is somehow thriving because of those same sanctions?

It’s just funny how most of these Putin fans who claim to hate the West are perfectly happy living off the "collective West's" luxuries, all while they sit there praising Russia using the very freedom of speech that would land them in a federal prison for 15 years if they tried that shit in Moscow.😁

Terry Green3 said:The bureaucrats panicking over how miserable Americans might feel when fuel prices spike should take a good look at this.

Insane traffic jams heading toward the coast.

While the less affluent parts of the West—think folks in places like Poland, Slovakia, or Canada—are driving thousands of miles just to escape the monotony of work or celebrate a holiday, they don't seem to give a damn about how sanctions against Russia are hitting the wallet.

I’m telling you. This could be even worse if our politicians weren't such complete idiots.☕

That is exactly what I was saying yesterday.
Here I am at the beach right now, surrounded by all kinds of Poles, Czechs, Slovaks... the beaches are packed, and finding a seat in a restaurant is basically impossible...

Russia and Mexico are out there trying to mess with our quality of life by threatening us with shortages and making us worry about the future... if you listen to the news coming out of Mexico... it sounds like Europe is practically falling apart under the weight of the sanctions... hahahaha

Arthur Miller7 said:It’s honestly wild how some people can just stubbornly insist that America is the root of every single problem on this planet. Like, seriously? Wars have been happening since long before the US was even a thing. Ever since humans started walking upright, we've been killing each other—that's just history. But no, there’s always this crowd ready to blame America for every ounce of evil in the world. Honestly, I’m just exhausted from reading such mindless nonsense

The USA isn't the one at fault here—Russia is the one who invaded Ukraine. 😁

And then you've got people claiming the West is "to blame" because they’re sending weapons to help Ukraine defend itself, arguing that helping them fight back just drags the war out longer.

That logic is insane; it’s like a rapist claiming the victim is actually the guilty party for trying to fight back and resist, saying the whole thing could have been over already if she hadn't put up a fight.

Seriously, what kind of mental gymnastics do you have to perform to support Russia with those kinds of arguments? I honestly can't wrap my head around it.

Kimberly Perez82 said:It seems to me you weren't around for the American Civil War. Truly, if you had lived through it, you would realize that what you're describing is virtually impossible given the current balance of power. Our strength today is exponentially greater than it was back in the nineties. Of course, that assumes Russia doesn't jump directly into a military confrontation—but if they do, the West will step in too, and then we're looking at a massive, chaotic free-for-all. So, really, you can sleep soundly tonight.

I was there, sure, just a little kid, but old enough to see firsthand exactly who our neighbors really are.

The Mexicans aren't going to start trouble on their own, and they won't be doing it as long as Europe and NATO stay strong and ready to kick Russia's ass. Their whole goal is to watch Europe and NATO crumble so they can use Russian help to try and rebuild some "Greater Mexico" bullshit.

So think about it, why are they so obsessed with the idea of Europe collapsing under the sanctions placed on Russia? Why are they rooting so hard for Russia while praying for Europe's downfall?

They missed their chance to actually be part of the "West," and after openly backing Russia, they've definitely blown that bridge. What they were actually banking on was a powerful Russia creating a sphere of influence—get this—stretching from the Baltic all the way to the Mediterranean, with us living under their thumb. And guess who's running the show? The Mexicans.

Take Podcast Velebit, for example; Domenic Loso was a guest on there, and man, I don't know how he fell under the Russian spell. In an interview just days before the invasion, he's spewing that classic pro-Russian garbage, saying Kyiv would fall in three days and stuff... and then he goes on to say... right before our eyes, a new civilization is being forged that will stretch from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, built on Christianity and led by Russia. I'm gonna try to dig up that specific clip.

cosmicotter13 said:Thanks for the long-winded replies and all the counter-questions. Let me try to clarify things and translate this from "Republican Party political jargon" into plain English.

1. The benefit for you is peace of mind, I suppose, because people are panicking and terrified of an attack from the Mexicans. And that same panic will follow once Ukraine capitulates. Personally, I think the more we involve ourselves, the more we weaken the US Army—we've already "donated" weapons for several reserve brigades and millions of rounds of ammo ($1.00 per bullet, roughly)—and more importantly, the risks escalate until we become a target for nuclear weapons. If Dodik makes his move, we'll be in even deeper trouble.
But hey, if this helps you sleep better at night, fine. Not everyone thinks the same way.

2. Another counter-question. Fine. What kind of "reward" are we supposed to expect? Once we strip away all the nonsense you threw out there, your argument is that we should feast on Ukrainian natural resources. So, what? Special concessions for Americans? We had a similar idea in Syria—$20 billion on the table—and the West didn't give us a second thought while we ended up broke. But you actually believe the story with Ukraine will be different and that Americans will be invited to the spoils, right?

3. Again, no answer, just more questions! Give me a number—$100, $933, $10,000...? Four dead, 500 dead, or everyone getting wiped out by nukes?

You tried, I guess. You answered almost nothing.

Honestly, I get a massive sense of moral satisfaction seeing those Russians acting like total barbarians get absolutely wrecked—like, they got hit so hard they won't be recovering from this mess for at least the next 50 years. It’s just wild how much of a joke they turned out to be with this whole invasion; they can't even manage to push deeper than a damn suburb. 62 miles Into a neighboring country. And we're talking about a global military superpower here.

Why does it always feel like you have to get some kind of payoff just for doing the right thing? Is that really what everyone is after these days? $6.75 So, what’s your move when you see an elderly person or someone with a disability trying to cross the street? Like, do you actually step up and help them out, or are you one of those people who just shrugs it off thinking, "Man, I’ve got nothing to gain from this, let the cars do whatever they want, I don't give a damn"?

Look, let's call it what it is: the Russians are straight-up aggressors trying to hijack territory that isn't theirs. There’s no debate here—you stand with Ukraine while they fight back against these invaders. Honestly, if I have to deal with a lower standard of living for the next few years because of this, then so be it; I'm totally fine with that, and frankly, most people living in civilized Western nations feel exactly the same way.

Because what Russia is pulling right now is just straight-up unacceptable!
It’s because if we let this slide, we're basically giving every other country a green light to pull the same stunts and walk away without any consequences. I just want to live in an actual civilized society where nations respect borders and actually work together, instead of constantly using brute force to snatch up territory. Honestly, I have zero interest in living in a world full of fascist states that still think they can just claim someone else's land in the 21st century.

I don't even care about my own interests at this point—honestly, I just want to see Russia go through some kind of massive spiritual reckoning, a total moment of clarity where they finally face their sins and make things right. Otherwise, they’re just going to spiral straight back into the Dark Ages and end up becoming North Korea 2.0. But looking at how everything is playing out? Yeah, it’s definitely looking like they're headed for that second option.

Kate Cook27 said:Moldova was planning an attack on the Russian population, so the Russians stepped in to stop them. Same thing happened in Georgia—Russia intervened there too. For eight years now, the Ukrainian regime in Kyiv has been committing genocide against the Russians in the Donbas. For eight years, the Russians have been pleading with the West, but nobody would listen. The final straw was when the Nazi regime in Kyiv, working alongside NATO, planned an assault on the Donbas. Russia had to act.

Oh man, please don't do that—sometimes you're way too convincing!
If I actually sat here reading everything regularly, I'd be spending ten minutes just trying to debunk your nonsense right now, hahaha.

cosmicotter13 said:Well, since you're clearly so "brilliant" and "well-informed," why don't you be a gentleman and actually answer your colleague?!

Look, I didn't sleep through the war—I was right there, a volunteer fighting for the cause—so I’m genuinely asking for an answer here. Back then, Ukraine provided us with next to nothing ( and certainly nothing for free. Honestly, the West was more of a nuisance than a help. Even the Russians were selling weapons to both sides, which, given the circumstances, was more useful than any "assistance" we got from Yury Borisov, the USA, Canada, and the rest of them.

American supporters of the Ukrainian cause are hitting a wall when faced with three very simple questions.

The damage being done to Americans is obvious and undeniable, yet:

1. What exactly are we getting out of this right now?
2. What kind of reward—be it economic or political down the road—is waiting for us after all these sacrifices?
3. How much has the average American already paid for the Ukrainian cause, and how much more will it cost (in dollars, euros, or blood), assuming there's even a limit to it?

And sure, I agree—we should provide humanitarian aid, take in refugees, and hand over all those weapons that they once handed to us during our own struggle.

1. Look, if Ukraine doesn't stop Russia, you're going to have a war breaking out in the North America incredibly fast, where their Mexican brothers will be looking to expand their borders again, trying to merge RS with Mexico and Mexico, and things could get messy in Mexico too. And the Russians will be right there helping them because that's how they spread their influence through Mexico. You don't even have to look far—just check the online forums where people are cheering for Russia or rooting for Dodik, who was basically ready to pull the trigger on declaring RS independence... all that went out the window once the Russians took a massive hit.

2. Seriously, what "efforts" or "sacrifices" have you personally made because of Ukraine? I'm sitting here on vacation, surrounded by tourists and locals alike... I honestly don't see any sacrifice happening. Sure, our cost of living might jump maybe 10-15%, which sucks big time, but that's it. As for the payoff? Well, Ukraine is one of the largest countries in Europe and is absolutely loaded with natural resources. Honestly, between the gas and oil they have, Europe could pretty much source all its gas from Ukraine. Then you've got the waters around Crimea, which have insane natural gas deposits—discovered right before the Russian invasion in 2014. Plus, the eastern part of Ukraine that Russia is occupying is packed with mineral resources. Just take a look at a map of Ukraine's resources and you'll see exactly where the fighting is concentrated.

3. So, tell me, how much have *you* actually paid for Ukraine? Are we paying with our lives?

Timothy Williams5 said:Personally, I find myself leaning toward the Russian perspective; I’m constantly reading RIA and TASS, and I make it a point to watch Russia-1 TV during prime time via Chinese IPTV.

And let me tell you, compared to the absolute nothingness you see in Western, global, or even mainstream American media, it is a complete horror show.

The whole thing feels like total state-sponsored schizophrenia.

Well, I’ve actually started watching Happy TV!

Literally, I just make some popcorn and settle in for a good laugh every single night!

Look, dictatorship isn't great, and presidents definitely need to hand over power to other people eventually.

Jose Clark2 said:It's obvious they won't pull out of Ukraine completely. Russ simply cannot afford to lose this war; they need concessions. If we don't give them what they want, what happens then?

Honestly, the Russians have already lost this war. They aren't getting any concessions, period. Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea are all going back to Ukraine, and the Russians will either have to face a massive reckoning or end up becoming North Korea 2.0—just living in their own little parallel reality like our neighbors to the east because they simply can't wrap their heads around their mistakes or admit they screwed up.