He lacks the shifty eyes and fiendish mustache, so we were fooled by his genial smile and calm demeanor.
He likes dogs, so 
Well, he doesn’t have a mustache - I’d dispute the eyes, however.
Perhaps you misunderstood me. First, I am fully aware of Putin’s various assassinations. Secondly, I wasn’t talking about concluding that he was evil and vicious; I was talking about the world’s perception of that. In fact, that we more or less permitted Putin’s invasion to occur is evidence of that perception (or lack thereof).
And, as I said upthread (1608): “I agree that in retrospect (IMHO) that there is absolutely nothing surprising about this. However, also IMHO, though the invasion of Ukraine is not surprising, and is on a continuum with Russian actions over the past decades, there is something about the brazenness and “this is so WW II-ishness and would never happen in 21st first world countries” (if you know what I mean) that changes everything, even though the everything should have changed decades ago.”
From a future history:
… Little did we know then that he was only an android, and that the real villain, a man with a scarred face, a twisted lip, and an eye patch, sat playing a massive pipe organ in a secret basement beneath the Kremlin…
I for one take your meaning on this. The world has known who Putin was for quite a while, but it was convenient to pretend otherwise until we understood how far he was willing to go.
I’m not sure how to feel about it, whether it really matters. In the department of silver linings to bad situations, at least nobody can now credibly pretend they don’t know who he is. At least we’re moving against Russia as a criminal enterprise and bringing about its much-deserved status as a pariah state.
At least we’ll dry up some of the money for his disinfo ops sowing discord in the west (hard to ignore that after the invasion, Ben Shapiro & Dan Bongino lost their years-long reign as occupying most of the list of top 10 most-viewed Facebook pages).
It’s cold comfort to all the Ukrainians who have lost loved ones. But at least we’re done ignoring the elephant in the room.
That’s absolutely my point and, sadly, it’s a reflection of a combination of pollyanish optimism perhaps; fear of a WW III, in that maybe it will just go away if we ignore Putin’s baby-steps of evil and conquest (and we should know better from 1938).
I also think that there is some form of racism or cultural chauvinism or elitism or something in this as well, in that “brazen invasions of conquest just don’t happen here anymore - maybe in Africa or Asia, but certainly not Europe”.
For me it’s analogous to Y2K and Trump - The Y2K results have created a population of nay-sayers who believe that it was a waste of time and resources. And, conversely, it wasn’t until Trump that many people just didn’t believe how bad the GOP is.
If Putin had not invaded now, who knows what he could have slowly and deliberately gotten away with while we let it happen. And I don’t believe that we should have let this happen this time.
A ship that attacked Snake Island reportedly damaged – or sunk.
Russian Project 22160 patrol ship Vasily Bykov reportedly damaged (navyrecognition.com)
According to a tweet published by The Dead District on March 7, 2022, the Russian Nav’s Project 22160 patrol ship Vasily Bykov was reportedly damaged by a Ukrainian multiple launch rocket system (MLRS).
“Ship was destroyed, it is confirmed,” one Ukrainian military source told The Times.
So did Hitler.
Oh, it’s a damn hard thing to do, no doubt. But the fact they’re TRYING says a lot.
I recall watching a video of Hitler petting his German Shepherd. The commentary that accompanied it mentioned how the dog seem to cower under Hitler’s caresses.
I have also seen videos of Vladimir with his dogs; yes he even kisses them, but after all, they are probably cared for by others. He also uses his pets for his own ego trips. I am watching “The Putin Files” on YouTube, and he told Bush II that his dog could eat up Bush’s little dog (or something like that). Putin likes big dogs he can make do mean things. Disturbing.
PS. Thanks to whoever suggested “The Putin Files”. I have been listening to an interview a day, and it has been very enlightening…and yet, frightening.
There was also the poisoning of Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko in 2004.
Interesting that there has been little active fighting today.
The Russians have made no gains, and have even been pushed back in some areas.
Ukraine announcement just an hour or so ago:
Kharkiv city is under control by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to Head of the Kharkiv Regional Civil and Military Administration Oleh Synehubov.
"The Armed Forces of Ukraine are firmly holding the defense of Kharkiv. The Russian enemy does not even attempt an active offensive, except for some shelling of the outskirts of the city. According to the Kharkiv Defense Headquarters, the Armed Forces of Ukraine has taken the full control of land area of the city,” he wrote on Telegram.
According to Synehubov, no regular enemy troops and sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been recorded in the city.
Poland is giving Ukraine ALL its MIG-29 jets, via the US! Fantastic news!
A pause in fighting would make me think that they’re preparing to bring in something that escalates the damage. Given that, that would usually involve planes, hopefully those MIGs get there soon.
Ukraine air war update:
“It’s the 12th day of war, and the Ukrainian air defense is still effectively destroying Russian invaders in the air. Many cruise missiles fired by Russians from various directions fail to hit their targets precisely because of our air defense,” the Air Force said.
On March 7, one of the cruise missiles was intercepted by a missile fired by a Ukrainian fighter jet. …
Last night, they destroyed two enemy fighter jets in an aerial battle outside Kyiv. The third was shot down in the same battle by Ukraine’s air defense unit.
The Air Force’s strike aircraft successfully performed in several strategic areas. Su-25 attack aircraft and Su-24m bombers incinerated several convoys of enemy hardware.
Putin just signed a law making it illegal to call what’s happening in Ukraine a war or an invasion. It’s a Military Operation.
Yes. Something they have in common. Does Putin paint?
Is that sort of like a Police Action?
Is it just me that only sees that one sentence statement no matter where I look? And why a US base in Germany and not directly from Poland?
Or they don’t have the needed bullets and beans to advance their lines.
Of course not, it’s not a manly thing to do. Have you ever seen a painter with his shirt off while he paints? I didn’t think so! 