ballpoint

In the case of Ukraine, it's because the US and UK guaranteed they would when it willingly gave up its share of Soviet nuclear warheads (it had a third of all warheads when the USSR broke up), and signed the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty in the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, exactly 28 years ago last Monday (Dec 5th). The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Welcoming the accession of Ukraine to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as non-nuclear-weapon State, Taking into account the commitment of Ukraine to eliminate all nuclear weapons from its territory within a specified period of time, Noting the changes in the world-wide security situation, including the end of the Cold War, which have brought about conditions for deep reductions in nuclear forces. Confirm the following: 1. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine. 2. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, and that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine except in self-defence or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. 3. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to refrain from economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent in its sovereignty and thus to secure advantages of any kind. 4. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their commitment to seek immediate United Nations Security Council action to provide assistance to Ukraine, as a non-nuclear-weapon State party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, if Ukraine should become a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used. 5. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm, in the case of Ukraine, their commitment not to use nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear-weapon State party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, except in the case of an attack on themselves, their territories or dependent territories, their armed forces, or their allies, by such a State in association or alliance with a nuclear-weapon State. 6. Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America will consult in the event a situation arises that raises a question concerning these commitments. UNTC

Merry Christmas.

One of the side effects of using paid mercenaries is seen in the fight for Bakhmut, a WW1 style battle where soldiers fire rifles at each other from muddy trenches, when not taking cover from artillery shells. It's estimated that the Russians are losing around 100 soldiers a day fighting for a city that has little real strategic value. Newly mobilised soldiers and conscripted prisoners are fighting alongside a core force of Wagner Group mercenaries, and are basically being used as disposable human probes by the latter, repeatedly being ordered to charge the Ukrainian lines in order to find the strongest defensive points, which are then targeted with mortar and artillery fire. Human beings been fed into a mincer, and summarily shot on the spot if they refuse. Not only do the mercenaries not care about the lives of the common soldiers fighting for them, it's thought that the reason for the bloody battle is all about their getting paid, with Ukrainian military analyst Serhiy Grabskiy saying: "...the Wagner Group was likely assigned the job of capturing Bakhmut by the Kremlin, and doing so will come with a significant financial reward — regardless of the number of Russian lives lost doing it. Prigozhin "will play his role and show that he is an important component of the Russian military machine. The only part of the long front line where Russia appears to have the capacity to go on the offensive is around Bakhmut, and it's important for the military to provide a battlefield success for Putin." Why the battle for the small city of Bakhmut is so important to both Russia and Ukraine | CBC News More on Bakhmut is also found in this report, along with the news that: "The alleged daily losses are beginning to mount up as Russia is predicted to lose 100,000 soldiers in less than one year of war, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Defence. This milestone could be reached as soon as this week or the next. This would be two months shy of the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022." Russia Losing 100 Soldiers a Day in Bloody Battle for Bakhmut, Report (newsweek.com) Putin must be very proud of himself. I wonder how he'll celebrate?

I know very little about dwarfs, but if you're feeling sleepy I hope it's consensual.

Battery will get you nowhere.

Tell us what you really think, Doc. Don't be Bashful.

Trump would spend the whole time whining about his "bigliest fall ever! The greatest fall of all time! Every knows I should have risen, but they stole that from me. They should abolish gravity to put it right."

Seeing as the sidebar is on the far right of the screen, I don't think any twisting is needed to get his thoughts aimed in that direction.

Shakespeare summed him up in King Lear: “A knave; a rascal; an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave; a lily-livered, action-taking knave, a whoreson, glass-gazing, super-serviceable finical rogue"