To state the obvious: there are a lot of competing versions of events in Ukraine right now, and even more when it comes to its past. It appears there’s a lot of divergence even within Ukraine — east to west, especially. And since Russia has the most time zones of any nation-state on the globe . . . it’s a given that opinions differ dramatically there.

For this leftist, it’s not an easy task to sort through it all, find trustworthy sources, etc. etc.

Thanks, youze guys, for posting articles from diverse sites like Jacobin, etc. My own preference, however, is to find out what you think about these things. In your own words, etc.

In the midst of a Camus kick, rereading some of his works and books about him. The world really is absurd, but his voice, his courage, the tremendous obstacles he overcame . . . it all somehow gives me hope. Wish he were alive today, along with Orwell, Gandhi, Einstein, Day, MLK, etc. Jim Morrison would help too.

Notepad++ is a free alternative to Notepad and Word, and helps make it more secure to cut and paste. It strips away html tags, which can hide stuff if you cut and paste directly from site to site. You can see what’s on the page before you paste it elsewhere. I’ve been using it for years. Helps a lot with formatting poetry, for instance.

https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

• This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by Billy_T.

Zooey,

You did the legwork, and it couldn’t have been easy. But it’s too much for me to sift through, and the formatting here isn’t cooperating with your efforts. It’s not really readable for me. Could you distill it down to an essence or two? Your own take from those articles?

Also, to each their own, but I personally don’t see Russian State TV (rt.com) as worth a damn in this situation. The same would go for any “official” media for the US, Ukraine, or any other nation in the midst of war. It’s just not going to be credible.

The world has gone mad. Just read about bomb threats and a campaign of harassment at a hospital in NH, cuz the hospital wouldn’t treat a patient with ivermectin. And now Ukraine.

I get the feeling Sapiens want to join the Sixth Extinction.

Agreed, Nittany.

An old house like that would be great. Though I’d prefer a castle. Wish I had the money to buy one, or build one. Thick stone walls, hardwood floors, and ceilings built to last a thousand and one years. A massive kitchen, with an old-school “hearth” I could use for cooking. Huge cauldron there, over a big old fire. Enough surface area to cook for an army, if necessary.

But I’d wire it for the 22nd century, somehow. Fiber to the prim. Gigabit-plus ethernet throughout the house. Easy to reach patch panels for everything.

And greenhouses near the house, so I’d always have fresh veggies and herbs, exotic plants and trees, etc.

Large wood-shop, metal-shop, my own small dairy. Several ponds stocked with fish, ducks, pheasants under glass. I mean, water.

And a small troop of beautiful Amazons to hunt for me, with bows and arrows. Fresh food, never store-bought.

Aaah, that’s the life!

Also,

I’ve been on the receiving end of “blame America first!” accusations a thousand times, and they always piss me off. But I think some of my fellow leftists do have a habit of doing just that, forgetting, ultimately, in cases like this, especially, it really doesn’t matter if the US failed to negotiate in good faith with Putin. He still never needed to start a war with Ukraine. Even if we did all of those terrible things Hedges mentioned, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine would still be wrong, totally unnecessary, and unprovoked.

Ukraine was and is no threat to Russia. And just as America has a history of wildly exaggerating the Russian threat, Russia has a history of wildly exaggerating threats from beyond its borders.

We had no right to invade Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Vietnam, etc. Russia had no right to invade Ukraine, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Crimea, etc.

A pox on all their houses. War is wrong.

wv wrote:

In reading/watching info about Kupp and his mindset, work habits, and study habits, it seems a good bet he will continue to have great years in the next few years. I do not think this year is going to be an aberration. Stafford-to-Kupp should continue to be an elite combo — as long as both remain healthy. It will be interesting to see what the Rams surround Kupp with. Can Woods rebound from the injury? OBJ? Is Higby going to be ok? I’m not a fan of Van Jefferson. w v

The only issue with Kupp is age, IMO. He’ll be 29 this upcoming season. He was an older rookie, at 24, so the number of peak years left for him isn’t on the high side. But, as you mention, given his work ethic and overall mindset, he may just be able to blow up those assumptions too.

I like Jefferson’s game a bit more than you do, but I think he needs to toughen up. As Zooey mentioned, he doesn’t really fight for contested footballs. Josh Reynolds was better at that than Jefferson. So, beyond Woods, the wide-receiver room isn’t as strong as it could be.

Before OBJ got hurt, it was looking like the best in the NFL. A healthy Kupp, Woods, OBJ, and Jefferson is likely tops.

Higbee should be fine, and if Harris puts on another twenty pounds of good weight, they should be set there, too, with Hopkins and Blanton. That becomes a strong group as well.

InvaderRam wrote:

when i watch aaron donald play, i imagine that’s what rams fans felt when they watched deacon jones and merlin olsen play.

Deacon, Merlin, and Gabe were the initial reasons I became a Rams fan in 1966. Interesting to compare eras.

Obviously, huge differences in size. Olsen, to me, was the best DT of his day, and the best all-time, until Donald. But he wasn’t the athlete Donald is. He was just huge (for that time), relentless, strong, and fearless, and I don’t remember him taking downs off. But at 6’5″, 275, he might be moved outside today. Deacon Jones would be moved to Edge, most likely. He was 6’5″ and 250, but that was considered big for a DE then. He was a great athlete, faster than most running backs and more than a few wide receivers. Even more intense than Olsen, more relentless, very strong, and fearless too. He scared the hell out of the opposing team.

Major difference in the way players trained back then and now, too. Most didn’t go much beyond team drills, old-school calisthenics, and pushing sleds around. Donald, of course, trains like a madman. Back then, though, they mostly just left it to their “natural” physical abilities. A few exceptions. But they weren’t the rule.

Oh, and most of them had summer jobs. If memory serves, Jones and Olsen worked at auto-dealerships off-season. They had to, with the pay they were getting. A typical starter made in the 20-40K range. Olsen played long enough to see that change a bit, but I don’t think he ever made much.

Size and training regimens were the big differences. Of course, if you time-travel and put Olsen and Jones in today’s NFL, they’d get bigger. They’d have to. I’d have to think if Jones, Olsen, or even Dickerson played today, they’d be in madman shape too, and their games would reflect that change.

Good rundown, Zooey.

Their first pick is a 3rd round comp for the Brad Holmes signing, I think. As far as I know, additional comps haven’t been awarded yet. Tried to duckduckgo for answers, and it’s basically an absence of evidence kinda thing. Some sites project a 4th, and two 6th rounders for the Rams. The 3rd for Holmes I’m pretty sure is already designated for them.

Brandon Powell’s the punt returner. They should re-sign him. I’d like to see Jake Funk return kickoffs, though. He has quicks and speed and guts. Good hands, too.

“Ironhands Skowronek.” That’s pretty good.

;>)

He’s got the size to win contested catches. But appears to lack the hands. Agree about Jefferson. He needs to beef up and get more aggressive. The former Ram, that great British painter of yesteryear, Joshua Reynolds, was much more physical.

Rochell is a freakish athlete with good size for a corner. Just shy of 6′ and nearly 200 pounds. I think he’s a potential upgrade over Williams, faster, quicker, more explosive. Surprising that he lasted until the 4th. Likely was seen as a bit of a “project,” etc. If any team can speed up that timetable, it’s the Rams.

Going into 2022, I think the starting four DBs might be better than this past season. Feeling comfortable with Ramsey, Rochell, Fuller, and Scott, and Long seems to be much improved. Solid 5th DB. Rapp is decent, but not great. After that, though, I’m not so sure.

They’re gonna need to work some late round magic again, and find some bargains in FA. But, overall, that seems to be a solid position room.

Aaron Donald says he’ll return if Rams re-sign Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller

This should be taken with a grain of salt, given the context and Donald’s celebratory mode . . . but I don’t like the sound of it. I’m betting there is no way the Rams can afford Miller. OBJ is another story, especially after his injury. He’s likely not gonna be ready until the playoffs, so his salary will take a hit. But Miller is going to want to cash in.

If the Rams do sign Miller, I don’t see how they retain guys like SJD. IMO, he’s more important to the Rams future than Miller. Yes, the latter played great football for the Rams, and it would be excellent if he returns. But not if he wants a huge contract — not at 33.

zn wrote:

<p dir=”ltr” lang=”en”>Holding penalty on Logan Wilson against Cooper Kupp. Wilson’s right hand is grabbing Kupp’s jersey, which is clear, and he appears to use it to leverage himself into position to make the pass breakup. pic.twitter.com/L8MeVUv2j1 — 𝕋𝕠𝕞 (@TL_LARams) February 14, 2022</p>

<script async=”” src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js&#8221; charset=”utf-8″></script>

As mentioned in the other thread — I think it was. I confuse them these days — to me, it isn’t the grabbing. It’s Wilson basically tried to go through him to get to the ball. He got there before the ball was thrown.

And I know it’s extremely difficult for DBs in most cases. The best do next to the impossible. But you can’t go through the receiver before the ball gets there. That’s should be a PI call.

I’m actually hoping Whitworth retires, for his own health, and for the cap. But if he goes, the Rams need to re-sign Noteboom, or (obviously) find an upgrade from another team. If the latter, it’s optimal to find a young FA, one in their prime, and sign them longterm.

I’m cheered to see they have A’Shawn Robinson under contract, and Gaines, so if AD decides to come back, they’re still in great shape along the line. Though I’m pounding the table for them to make it even better and re-sign SJD. To me, that foursome (in a 3/4) is tops in football, easily. They found a gem in SJD, a steal in Gaines, and perhaps the best run-stopper in football in Robinson.

Miller isn’t gonna come back, but they’ll be fine. Lewis should be better, Hollins is good, and they have Floyd. Find another edge in the draft, and they have a first rate front seven.

DBs are gonna be fine, even without Williams. I’m hoping they find a bigger corner to take his place. I’d move Nick Scott into that place, personally, and draft another safety and slot.

More thoughts on the offense later . . .

Agree with all of that, Zooey.

And, WV, good points. But I’m wondering if Kupp maybe did get injured and they’re just not talking about it. He took a lot of shots to the head this year, and another big one in the Super Bowl.

That scares the hell out of me too.

Watched an NFL Network interview of AD, Kupp, and Stafford, together. They seemed (understandably) wiped out. Happy, but just beyond tired. Or, maybe I misread their being way cool and relaxed with being wiped out. Not sure. Anyway, it was kind of a funny interview, contrasting their demeanor there with their actions on the field. The interviewers had a little trouble getting them to talk. Those three guys are kinda humble.

With a very few exceptions, this Rams team isn’t exactly “Hollywood.”

Related sidebar on the D and Aaron Donald: Spent some time watching some of the sports talkers today, and they were arguing about who was the best defensive player all-time, and a bit about the “most feared.” It ticked me off that no one mentioned Deacon Jones. It was just AD against Lawrence Taylor, with Steve Smith giving the nod to the latter cuz Belichek said he was the greatest.

Other guests supported AD, but no one mentioned the Deacon. He was bigger, faster, stronger, and meaner than JT, and had more sacks. To me, he definitely wins “most feared” and GOAT.

WV,

I’m seeing some media pundits this morning highlight the Pass Interference call on the Bengals, while ignoring the face-mask that led to the Cincy TD. I may be alone on this, but the replays of the one that was called look like the defender did get there too soon. If it had just been the “hold” before that, I would have said it’s a ticky-tack call, but I think the defender also bumped the receiver enough before he swatted down the pass to make a difference. So, again, it wasn’t the grabbing early on, IMO, but the significant bump right before he swats down the pass. Regardless, it was a tough call.

In general, though, the thing I think the NFL really needs to get right is calling the helmet to helmet stuff. That’s just deadly, and it needs to stop.

Are receivers now the most likely targets? It seemed like it used to be running backs. But Kupp, for instance, gets hit in the head a lot, and the non-call against OBJ a coupla weeks back looked really, really ugly.

If it were up to me, I’d throw the flag, give the player ONE warning. A second time, in that game or any other, he’s out of there. A third time, and he’s done for the season.