zapatos

The cruiser performed multiple roles. In addition to anti-ship missiles, it was armed with torpedos, canon, and most importantly in the Black Sea, surface to air missiles to provide air cover for the rest of the fleet. With the loss of the Moskva and the inability of Russia to bring in a replacement due to Turkey closing the Turkish Straits to the belligerents, Russia's Black Sea fleet cannot operate as freely as they have been doing. One description I saw described the loss by saying the Black Sea changed from Russia's backyard swimming pool to a room with no exits.

Optics is also in the eye of the beholder, and seems to have become a buzzword for those here who disapprove of Biden's announcement to select a black woman to the Supreme Court. From my perspective the optics were very good. A presidential nominee who tells us exactly what his plans are instead of obfuscating, and who announces a bold step toward racial equality without fearing how his announcement will play with those who don't approve of his vision. Good for Joe.

You do this all the time. You are asked a simple question and refuse you answer. You said I claimed to "know" something and when I asked you to show me the quote, you started your dance. Would have been much simpler if you had just said "Well, it seems you didn't actually claim to KNOW that." Is it that hard to admit a mistake on your part?

No, you didn't. My question was, "Where did I say I KNOW?"" You responded with a question of your own. Correct. I'm well aware of what I asked for clarification on. Why are you bringing this up? I still have two questions outstanding that you haven't answered: Where did I say I "know"? I don't remember saying that. Where did I say that YOU "know"? I don't remember saying that. If you don't intend to answer the questions just say so instead of dancing around.

Are you not going to answer my question? Where did I say that YOU know?

Where did I say I "know"?

In what way do you think he perhaps does care and would take the carrot? In what way do you think he perhaps does care about their peace of mind?

Magnetic levitation?

Exactly. So it seems unlikely offering to ignore atrocities is a carrot for him. I'm pretty sure he doesn't care about their peace of mind either.

I suspect he does not care. It's not like the International Criminal Court is going to dispatch their International Police Force to go pick him up for incarceration. Should I apologize for not immediately understanding?

Offer what to Putin?

Shorter retort is: don't tell me what to think.

How about "it makes ME think...". I certainly didn't present my thoughts as fact.

Seriously? What about freckles on breasts, Nicole Kidman dyeing her hair blond, Kate Winslet being a natural blond, contemplating whether or not Nicole Kidman puts makeup on her freckles, the good looking redhead at the gym, and green freckles? I think the "let's keep this about science" ship sailed long ago. At least I provided some actual data.

Maybe, but it also makes me think that what men find attractive is the red hair, and not necessarily the other characteristics that often come with natural red hair.

Please provide a few names and examples. If there are "a lot" this should be easy. Otherwise it looks like you are race baiting.

Actual data! https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-raj-persaud/redheads-psychology_b_1911771.html Which is surprising to me as redheaded women always catch my eye. On the other hand I would not have choosen red as my own hair color.

Thank you. Phrasing it that way made me think about this more deeply. I think I would agree with you if there were no context considered. That is, excluding someone based on race, without considering anything else, may very well be racist. When I consider all other factors that went into the decision though, it seems clear to me that Biden showed no racism when choosing a black woman based on her race. Other factors include treatment of blacks in America, history of the Supreme Court, racial make up of the country, politics, and many others. Choosing any minority of course increases the diversity of SCOTUS. Blacks are the largest racial minority so choosing a black person has a larger impact on addressing racial representation than would choosing any racial minority. Given that you can choose only one person for the job it seems reasonable to choose a black woman over other minority races. Given the politics of the country, getting elected was the country's best chance to increase racial diversity, and choosing a black woman made that more likely than pre-selecting, say, a Hmong candidate. And finally, what may look racist in seclusion, looks like just another stepping stone toward diversity when looking at the overall trend Democrats have shown when selecting judges for the courts. So basically, context matters when considering whether Biden acted in a racist manner, and based on the above reasoning, I don't think Biden's pick was racist.

I don't mean to be dense, but can you just give me a short summary of the RACIST aspects of Biden's actions? I'm trying to understand how you define racism, or at least the component of racism exhibited by Biden.

So if I understand you correctly, you are saying that 'any' race based decision is "racism". Is that correct? If not, can you please further clarify?

No. I am asking why you categorized this particular action as racism. Thinking a particular race as inferior is the/a definition of racism, but I didn't think that is what Biden did. I just want to know how you view this as racism. If you think what Biden did was wrong I have no problem with that. And if you had simply said "everyone should be in the pool of candidates or it is wrong" that would have made sense to me. But I don't know why you think it is racism in particular. Not every decision based on race is necessarily "racism".

Can you please explain why this is racist? It would be racist if he believed whites were inferior based on their color, or if excluding people other than black women for this nomination was unjust. I don't see that being the case here. I'm curious how you perceive this situation.

My understanding is that the sanctions were not meant to prevent Putin from invading or to get him to "shift one iota". Instead, they are intended to choke off Putin's ability to wage war by eliminating access to technology and funds, and to prompt the Russian population to oppose his actions. One of the reasons to add sanctions piecemeal instead of all at once is psychological. You are showing Putin and the Russian people that no matter how bad things are, they can continue to get worse.

I'm not sure that is in the best interest of China. China seems pretty uncomfortable just remaining neutral wrt to Ukraine. Having a military partner that gets involved in a lot of military conflicts seems outside China's economic goals.

I learned about that when I put potatoes in the fridge and made potato salad that tasted AWFUL it was so sweet! 😄