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I don't see any value for Putin in claiming Georgia. It's a tiny little place with only two small useful ports on the Black Sea. Seems to me that it would not benefit Putin one bit, and would probably end up costing more money to prop up than it's worth.

Yup I tend to agree.  Holding Georgia would be more trouble than it's worth.

Heh, fortunately for me, there is a Schwab office just up the street.  I drop in a few times to chit chat.  They never seem very busy at all, I wonder about their overhead.

It's a large office, two guys at the front desk and probably 12 more offices around plus a large meeting room, a TV, and they used to have "free coffee".

these are pretty good reads, from 2014 but still relevant to today...


https://www.vox.com/2014/9/4/6105491/putin-russia-chart

https://www.vox.com/2014/5/30/5762650/eurasian-union-eu-weak-sauce-gdp-military

I just threw in Georgia because of Stalin.

Well, Russia ≠ USSR. Nor will it ever. USSR is dead, and it ain't a never coming back. The whole "Putin wants to restore the USSR" crap is ridiculous. Completely different forms of government, economic systems, and completely different ideologies. For one- present day Russia is very religious - something that has been encouraged by the state. And well, we know the USSR banned religion, destroyed places of worship, and persecuted harassed, incarcerated and executed religious leaders. Putin is actively trying to promote traditional marriage (between men and women) and faith in God. Not that I'm for the state promoting religion or anything- I'm not- but they are pretty huge f'in differences.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/feb/18/russia-ukraine-news-crisis-latest-putin-biden-kyiv-russian-invasion-threat-troops-border-live-updates

Pipeline explosion in Luhansk.

We've been predicting this sort of thing, in part because it isn't really new, nor is it a sign necessarily that "here we go" either.

I expect more of the same, and no obvious invasion with Russian ground forces.  

And I don't see a reasonable reason to think the US would be involved militarily anyway.

'Merica baby. Dumbest, fattest but most kick ass nation on earth.

Here's a bit of an oldie but goodie.....84% of American's polled couldn't even locate Ukraine on a map. And the less they knew about where Ukraine is located- the more they wanted the US to intervene on Ukraine's behalf.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/04/07/the-less-americans-know-about-ukraines-location-the-more-they-want-u-s-to-intervene/

Latest polling shows stark difference in opinion vs the old and young vs US involvement in any Ukraine-Russia conflict. Here's a great excerpt from 538 article. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-americans-think-about-the-crisis-in-ukraine/

"But while Americans under 45 tend to be more Democratic-leaning, they were more likely to say the U.S. should support neither country — or that they weren’t sure — while older Americans felt more strongly that the U.S. should support Ukraine. The age splits could reflect lingering anti-Russian views among older Americans who remember the Cold War. Polling from The Economist/YouGov last week found that about half of Americans ages 45 or older viewed Russia as an “enemy” of the U.S., while only around a quarter of those under 45 said the same. The divide may also reflect the skepticism that many young Americans have toward American military intervention, as many came of age during the lengthy and troubled wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."

So basically, older people who are more prone to remember the USSR/Cold War and conflate the USSR with Russia and view them as an enemy. Not that surprising.