Putin doomed, public support collapses, regime change imminent

That was the gist of a story I ran across at the Ukraine Today website this morning. Like most Ukrainian news outlets, they are kept alive only by the generosity of taxpayers in the West who have fully embraced Zelly’s pivotal role in saving Western Civ from the predations of Bad Vlad. Unfortunately, all of them exhibit a marked tendency to slant things a certain way.Imagine my disappointment when I realized that the only evidence presented for a “catastrophic collapse” was in Putin’s polling numbers. Yup, it’s a disaster alright; Putin’s approval rating has catastrophically collapsed… from 74%… all the way down to 69%. Wow! Vlad might as well pack his bags! Meanwhile, the EU’s got the three dorkshits, Stormer, Schmertz, and Micron, spearheading what’s left of the “whatever it takes for as long as it takes” crowd. Every one of these champions of democracy is labouring with approval ratings in the teens! Starmer’s already been deposed and the other two won’t survive their next elections. Every one of them will be replaced by politicians who put their own countries interests before those of Ukraine and NATO. So it looks to me like the odds against Ukraine surviving until their Western sponsors have rebuilt their indusrial capacity to begin fulfilling the empty promises they’ve been making these past four+ years are getting slimmer by the day. That’s why we’re being absolutely inundated with bullshit stories about how “the tide has turned” and “Putin is on the back foot.” We’ve been seeing plenty of this crap in Canadian media. Today CBC informs us that “some Russians are turning against Putin.” Then the sub-head; ” ‘Not only are they not winning, but the war is coming closer’, says Pulitzer-prize winner Anne Applebaum.” That’s faily typical. What they’re studiously avoiding is any reference to what’s actually happening on the ground, which is that for the past two weeks the Russian army has over-run the last of the “fortress cities” that were holding out in Donbas. We mocked Putin when he demanded Ukraine hand over the last Donbas real estate. What? He can’t take it from us, so he expects us to give it away! OK then… now he’s taken it. Are you happy? The CBC of course neglects to mention that Anne Applebaum is a one-trick pony who has literally built her entire career on Putin-bashing. Nor did they mention her husband, the rabid Russophobe Sikorsky, Polands former Defence Minister, who famously held up a sign reading “Thank-you USA” in the Polish parliament the day after the Nordstream pipeline mysteriously blew up. The only other “expert” CBC quotes in their story is a guy named Michael Kimmage, a historian at the Catholic University of America. I’d never heard of it, but they are in fact a real school, rated 169th in university rankings. Of course, just because I’ve never heard of the guy or his school doesn’t mean he isn’t a font of profound insights into the Ukraine war. Maybe. On the other hand, guys like Jeffrey Sachs (Harvard, ranked number 1) and John Mearsheimer (U of Chicago, ranked no. 6) argue convincingly that Ukraine doesn’t have a hope in hell. That opinion guarantees you’ll never see them on mainstream media again. Finally, let me point out yet again what a fool-hardy trajectory my country, Canada, is on. Since assuming office a little over a year ago, Carney has either confirmed or approved new military purchases that will add at least 500 billions to our deficit, because every penny comes from money we must borrow. This spending spree is justified because it is, according to Carney, essential to meeting our NATO commitments, preserving our freedom, etc. Sounds good, but it’s mostly bullshit. We’re spending this money because Donald Trump told us to, and we wouldn’t want to upset him, elbows up or not. What is the real deal? A hard-nosed assessment would conclude that most of these purchases are for obsolete technology. With the possible exception of ice-breakers, everything else is being replaced by drones. We’re making a multigenerational financial commitment to obsolete junk. The F-35 is a prime example. We’re absolutely desperate to replace our 40 year old fleet of CF-18s. The availability of these antiques for missions (“ready rate”) has sunk to an unacceptable 40%. Thank God we got those brand-spankin’-new F-35s on their way to save us from Putin. Paying $40,000/hr operating costs, as opposed to the Swedish Gripen at $12,000/hr, is a small price to pay to preserve our way of life. Except for one thing… according to USAF, the ready rate for F-35s is… 25%!