Mingo
Life of the Party
Kerry, when my dad's side of the family did DNA tests they were surprised to learn they had about 1/3 Scandinavian blood They had no family records or memory of intermarriages with anyone from Scandinavian countries. That blood was already in them, passed down from the Vikings of long ago. Interesting stuff...so I'm about 1/6 Viking. And 1/8 Apache. That explains a few things about me.....LMAO.
My great grandparents came from the village of Shenderovka, about 60 miles from Kyiv. My dad's grandpa and grandma. His mom's father came from Odesa. Several of their siblings stayed in Ukraine, so when I watch the news it isn't a "spectator sport." I look at those faces and wonder ...which ones could be relatives? And why did I win the immigration lottery while they didn't? It does give rise to some guilt, but also gratitude for the cushy life we all have here ( that so many bitch about nonstop).
Retired General Mark Hertling just reported on CNN that captured Russian soldiers said they were told they were going on a training exercise. They reportedly said they had no idea they were going on an invasion mission. If that is true, that says a great deal about Russian military tactics and preparedness. And there are several stories of vehicles getting lost and running out of fuel. I think the story about the changing of road signs to fuck with them is hilarious.
As far as this being the "Russian B team", I've thought about that too. But with so much at stake, it's hard to believe Putin would risk putting any personnel other than his best into this fight. There is just too much for him to lose. And now he's threatening to use nukes. You don't pull that card now if you have your best forces ready to go. But with Putin, who knows what he's thinking.....
As far as some of the stories of heroic actions being untrue.....I'm sure a few are. Or some names are wrong. In this age of memes and fake bullshit it's a safe bet some of the stories are puffed up or just not true. But the real surprise is how many are absolutely true. Their president is picking up a weapon to fight and refuses to leave. Thousands of volunteers, including women, are fighting now. Two extremely famous and very wealthy Ukrainian athletes (the Klitschko brothers, one of whom is the mayor of Kyiv) are fighting. I think this has done a couple things. It's given us all a very stark reality check as to the will of people who have been conquered before....and their resolve to never go back under the yoke of communist control now that they've had 30 years of independence. It's also made us look at our own current crop of politicians, with their nonstop partisan fighting and lap-dog barking at the other party and chronic selfishness....can you imagine ANY of them picking up a weapon to defend this country? (actually, there are a few I believe would without hesitation, but very few). And watching them use this war as an excuse to take cheap potshots at people in the other party is sickening...
Lastly, please try to remember...it is Ukraine. NOT "the Ukraine."
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