# Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion, breaking-news\ **Created:** [February 24, 2022, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037 "2022-02-24T08:30:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 452
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9087 "2022-10-05T20:36:21Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Weird, gold teeth became very rare in the US by 1980. Say what? ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9088 "2022-10-05T20:44:29Z")
Well, it is not commonly used as a part of dentistry in the US these days. However, you can ask for it. My wife forbade me to get my latest fillings with gold. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9089 "2022-10-05T21:07:05Z")
I have 4 gold (alloy) crowns (molars) that were installed in the '90s. They are not “teeth”, but they are the primary visible part, and they are fairly large. The price difference between gold and ceramic was – there was no price difference. Gold is more compact than ceramic, and it is a non-bioactive metal. ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9090 "2022-10-05T21:23:39Z")
The use of gold in dentistry seems to common to several quite different cultures around the world. I guess it went out of fashion in the US….except maybe amongst rappers. > **[Gold teeth](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_teeth)** > > Gold teeth are a form of dental prosthesis where the visible part of a tooth is replaced or capped with a prosthetic molded from gold. > The academic paper titled "Gold Work, Filing and Blackened Teeth: Dental Modifications in Luzon" describes tooth accessories, ornamentation, and/or appliances as an ancient practice which dates back as far as 4,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. Changing or filing the teeth and beautifying them (ie with gold or blackening) could be seen as a way to show one's statu... ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9091 "2022-10-05T22:06:51Z")
> [@filmstar-en](#): > > The use of gold in dentistry seems to common to several quite different cultures around the world. It’s basically the ideal material, except for the aesthetic aspect. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9092 "2022-10-05T22:14:11Z")
So Saudi Arabia has sided with Russia to cut production to raise prices. We need to ramp up production and stick it to both of them. We are at war and Europe needs energy to get through this. What the Saudis don’t realize is that this is going to drive the green movement even harder. They’re cutting their own noses off for no good reason. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9093 "2022-10-05T22:31:24Z")
I’m starting to think it’s time for us to cut the Saud regime off. No more weapons/weapons systems from Uncle Sam. Oh, and the 101st will be along shortly to take back what you already have. Nice little kingdom you’ve got there, shame if something happened to it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9094 "2022-10-05T23:39:17Z")
I like the use of the river to protect Ukrainian flanks. This source predicts they’ll take Kherson City by Dec or Jan. He admits the Russians may outnumber the Ukrainians after the mobilization brings more men. 9 1/2 min [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-Uji9CypPbs/maxresdefault.jpg "Update from Ukraine | Kherson will be taken | Ruzzia used drones to fight back") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uji9CypPbs) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9095 "2022-10-06T00:28:43Z")
It’s going to be a tough fight this time. Much different than Kharkiv. Cite [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/05/putin-appears-to-adm](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/05/putin-appears-to-adm) > [@](#): > > About 15,000 of Russia’s best-trained troops are struggling to fight off Ukrainians on the western bank of occupied Kherson, despite movements of Russian troops from the eastern front to the south, which has thinned Russian forces elsewhere. > > According to Jack Watling, a senior analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, Russian troops around Kherson have retreated to their second line of defence to shorten their frontline. > > “There’s no evidence of surrender or collapse [of Russian forces] … like we saw in Kharkiv region,” said Watling, noting the political importance for Russia of holding on to Kherson city, the only regional centre it has managed to acquire since February. > > But if Ukraine’s forces manage to break through Russia’s second line of defence, they will be able to cut the Russian supply lines with a wider range of cheaper artillery and trap them on the western bank of Kherson, he added. > > “At the moment, the bridges are being hit by Himars [rockets], which are scarce and very expensive … [if they advance further] they can afford to open up against more incidental targets,” said Watling of the bridges supplying Russian forces on Kherson’s west bank. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9096 "2022-10-06T00:49:44Z")
> **OFF-TOPIC** > > It doesn’t help that Biden has been calling Saudi Arabia a ‘pariah state’ among other things, and that his administration has been working furiously to resurrect the Iran deal. It also doesn’t help that the west is planning to end fossil fuels. > > The combination of those three things has made the U.S. pretty much the enemy of Saudi Arabia and other gulf states. They are predictably aligning with the other side. We shouldn’t be surprised if we’ve lost clout with them. We’re also losing India and Africa, who want fossil fuels we are trying to stop them from having. > > This, and the situation Europe finds itself in with respect to energy and probably the war in Ukraine, was the result of the incredibly foolish way we’ve gone about our energy transition. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9097 "2022-10-06T00:52:41Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > He admits the Russians may outnumber the Ukrainians after the mobilization brings more men. Maybe. But I’m seeing credible estimates of the number of men who fled from Russia, in the last month, in the range of 300,000 - 400,000. That is a lot. This is many times – five to ten times – the number of draft age Americans who fled to Canada during the entire Vietnam war, and U.S. population then was around 200 million compared to 144 million in Russia today. The disparity in population would be much more if age adjusted. So – Russia’s mobilization is in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9098 "2022-10-06T01:12:47Z")
The absolute shit-show of a partial mobilization so far does not bode well for a general mobilization. And Russia is now digging up old T62 tanks, so they are running low on equipment as well. I don’t see how they arm and transport and train a million men. It just doesn’t seem possible. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9099 "2022-10-06T01:14:01Z")
> **off topic hidden by What Exit?** > > Sounds more like: never do energy transition. And to continue to blame the ones doing the change, not Russia > > [Three myths about the global energy crisis](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/three-myths-global-energy-crisis-fatih-birol/) > > > The second fallacy is that today’s global energy crisis is a clean energy crisis. This is an absurd claim. I talk to energy policymakers all the time and none of them complains of relying too much on clean energy. On the contrary, they wish they had more. They regret not moving faster to build [solar and wind](https://www.iea.org/reports/renewable-energy-market-update-may-2022?utm_content=bufferb6cc5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin-Birol&utm_campaign=buffer) plants, to improve the [energy efficiency](https://www.iea.org/reports/the-value-of-urgent-action-on-energy-efficiency?utm_content=bufferb6cc5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin-Birol&utm_campaign=buffer) of buildings and vehicles or to extend the lifetime of [nuclear plants](https://www.iea.org/reports/nuclear-power-and-secure-energy-transitions?utm_content=bufferb6cc5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin-Birol&utm_campaign=buffer). More low-carbon energy would have helped ease the crisis — and a faster transition from fossil fuels towards clean energy represents the best way out of it. > > > > When people misleadingly blame clean energy and climate policies for today’s energy crisis they are, intentionally or not, moving the spotlight away from the real culprits — the gas supply crunch and Russia. > > Fatih Birol > Executive Director at International Energy Agency (IEA) > Published Sep 7, 2022 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9100 "2022-10-06T01:16:34Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > So – Russia’s mobilization is in trouble. Not to mention the economic effects of so many military-age men moving en masse. Even if they do find suitable replacements (doubtful), it will double the negative economic effects (300k moving out, 300k going to the front line). ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9101 "2022-10-06T01:21:14Z")
> **OFF-TOPIC** > > > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > > > It doesn’t help that Biden has been calling Saudi Arabia a ‘pariah state’ among other things, and that his administration has been working furiously to resurrect the Iran deal. > > I thought Saudi Arabia was in favor of the Iran nuclear deal? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9102 "2022-10-06T01:21:37Z")
May I suggest this OPEC/oil price/energy transition stuff would be more appropriate for another thread except insofar as it’s directly related to the war? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9103 "2022-10-06T01:24:19Z")
> **off topic post, hidden by What Exit?** > > > [@GIGObuster](#): > > > > Sounds more like: never do energy transition. And to continue to blame the ones doing the change, not Russia > > No, I’ve already explained what a sane ‘transition’ would look like: > > - More natural gas and more fracking, as an interim measure because renewables rely on natural gas to make them work. > - MUCH more nuclear power > - phaseout of fossil fuels as renewables take their place, and not before. And by ‘taking their place’ that means if you are going to shut down baseload power like coal plants you will either need some form of storage, or you need to ramp up nuclear. Or, you need WAY more natural gas. > - Places that have great solar conditions should do more of that. Places with hydro capacity should develop more hydro. All of the above should be the watchphrase now. > - At no point should you put yourself in a position where your grid can crash if the wind doesn’t blow while the sun isn’t shining. Because that happens a lot. > > As of today, we should have MORE natural gas than we had before the transition. We should have less coal than we do now, and we should be building lots of nuclear plants. > > Natural gas gets phased out when we have a solution for load-following AND the capacity to replace natural gas. But natural gas was always the obvious ‘transition’ fuel. It has half the CO2 of coal, can be ramped up and down quickly, and it’s cheap. > > WIthout China and Russia and India onboard, our solution has to make energy MORE abundant and CHEAPER. Otherwise, heavy industry will just move to those countries, and they will find they have a huge advantage over us - so long as they keep burning fossil fuels. > > I have been consistant on this for years and years. But if you want to continue this, start another global warming or energy thread. This has strayed away from the war in Ukraine . ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9104 "2022-10-06T01:24:57Z")
**Modnote** : I’ll make it official, get it out of this thread or drop the hijack. No more on oil and renewables unless directly related to this thread. I hid several posts that were off-topic on oil issues. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9107 "2022-10-06T01:35:24Z")
> **Also OFF-TOPIC** > > > [@CaveMike](#): > > > > I thought Saudi Arabia was in favor of the Iran nuclear deal? > > No, Iran is Saudi Arabia’s enemy, and the Iran deal would put a whole lot of money and resources in Iran’s coffers. > > [Saudi Patience With Biden Running Out Over Iran Deal](https://www.forbes.com/sites/daneberhart/2022/08/24/saudi-patience-with-biden-running-out-over-iran-deal/?sh=4df636763404) > > > [@](#): > > > > The original Iran nuclear deal, struck in 2015 under President Barack Obama and then Vice President Joe Biden, was not widely popular with voters. President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, prompting a dramatic improvement in U.S.-Saudi relations. > > The war in Ukraine is part of this. Putin has been empowered with money selling gas to Europe, with new alliances as countries like India and Saudi Arabia pull away from America over energy policy, and by his belief that he could keep major European nations, especially Germany, from getting involved due to energy blackmail. > > We are headed for a bipolar world just like the cold war, only this time it’s going to be fought over energy. One half of the world wants to ‘transition’ to a low-energy model, while the other half is starved for it. The war in Ukraine is just the start of the problems we are heading for. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9108 "2022-10-06T03:00:16Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > He ends by saying he can choose between prison, becoming canon fodder or deciding for himself the way he dies. And the thing is, he was aware that if imprisoned for resisting the draft or pressed into service in spite of it, he would anyway be going into an environment where he would be brutally abused and placed in greater danger of death, to put him in his place for having dared to say “I don’t want to”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037.md?page=451) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037.md?page=453)