Hellbroth? Nah. Just an interesting sunrise.
Well, it seems Europe’s largest nuclear power plant didn’t become Satan’s Hot Tub overnight. So we got that going for us, which is nice.
According to The New York Times:
International monitors said early Friday that there was no immediate sign that radiation had leaked from the Zaporizhzhia plant. The Ukrainian emergency services agency said the fire had been contained to a training facility on the perimeter of the complex.
Oh, good. But wait, there’s more:
The company that oversees the complex, Energoatom, warned that any statements being made by workers from the time of the [Russian] takeover could be being made under duress. The company also warned against trusting statements from local officials.
Clearly we are in for many more interesting early mornings pre-coffee as Voldemort Putin continues doing the bidding of the Union of Soviet Socialist Voices in his head.
Our collective ignorance about this fellow, his notions, motivations, and base of support, is maddening. Noting the attack on the Zaporizhzhia complex last night I kept my big yap shut, crossing my fingers and hoping that Europe would not find itself suffering the sort of steep decline in tourism that comes with your basic nuclear disaster.
Because what is there to say? Beyond “We don’t know what the fuck he’s up to” and “There isn’t much we can do about it,” that is?
Over at The Atlantic Tom Nichols makes the case for staying calm.
The day may come, and sooner than we expect, when we have to fight in Europe, with all the risks that entails. If we are to plunge into a global war between the Russians and the West, however, it needs to be based on a better calculus than pure rage.
Sanctions and military assistance short of actual war with Russia will not save Kyiv, he concedes. But neither will letting this smirking Cossack goad the West into giving him anything that will cause the Russian people to back him up instead of knocking him over.
Russians seem to have an endless capacity for enduring suffering. But every pot bubbles over sooner or later if the fire gets too hot for too long.
Will some hero let off a little steam by busting a cap between this devil’s horns? Stay tuned.
Tags: Macbeth, Ukraine, Voldemort Putin, Zaporizhzhia nuclear-power plant
Mad Blog Media 
March 4, 2022 at 8:04 am |
My GF family all live in Germany. We had planned on going over there last summer for her aunt’s 90th birthday but the plague put a stop to that. So we were hoping to go this summer but maybe not. Her aunt lived through WW2 as a kid and she’s freaking the fuck out right now.
March 4, 2022 at 8:12 am |
Yeah, I’m not sure Europe is on my itinerary this year. And not just because I can’t get there by Subaru.
Here’s hoping the GF’s family doesn’t get anything more to worry about.
March 4, 2022 at 8:41 am |
At least we know what pootin is capable of and his state of mind. Shelling an operating nuclear power plant is an act of lunacy. Meanwhile, no American wants to pay more for gas, and no politician would ask them to. So, Russian oil continues to flow into the US, average of 16 million barrels a month, and their natural gas continues to power much of Germany. And, the saudi prince says he doesn’t care what President Biden says. And the beat goes on……..
March 4, 2022 at 10:24 am |
Here’s some chatter about Russian imports over at The Washington Post.
Gas prices here in The Duck! City seem to be holding steady for now, though I heard that it would take about three weeks from the kickoff for the pain to hit the pumps. I just checked the mileage on the Subie and it seems I have driven less than 1,500 miles since she was last serviced in September 2021. I’m trying very hard to not be part of the problem.
March 4, 2022 at 11:16 am |
You and me both. The Rav4 is 5 years old and just went over 20000 miles.
March 4, 2022 at 11:40 am |
I’m doing penance for the years I spent driving ever’ whichaway out of Weirdcliffe. We both were. I don’t even wanna think about how many miles we drove, with Herself in the masters’ program at DU and me doing my freelance scribe/bicycle racer thing. We shot a lot of dinosaurs out the tailpipe.
March 4, 2022 at 2:52 pm |
Gas prices here are stupid competitive. Last weekend it was 3.18. We are always lots lower than even in the next town just a few miles away. This morning I hit the grocery and it was 3.48. This afternoon it’s 3.65. I just quit my career and my smarter half works from home, so we don’t drive much- lucky us…
Either way, it’s hubris driving this bullshit. Pootie-poot’s excellent adventure is a huge mis-calc that will end badly for him, but it will cost too many lives in the meantime.
It pisses me off to no end that the far right is using this as an opportunity to shit on Biden. I am a proud Wisconsin independent, and consider the partisans, especially on the right, to be non-patriots.
March 5, 2022 at 5:16 pm |
Today we hit 3.89/gal. Wonder where it might level off when it seems to be gaining .20/ day.
March 5, 2022 at 5:41 pm |
I meant to check the neighborhood station on my ride today, but it didn’t take me past the pump. We had been in the $3.59 range, as I recall, and Herself reports it took $50 or so to fill up the CR-V the other day.
March 6, 2022 at 6:55 am |
My daughter came to visit from her town 40 miles west of here. She said some gas stations aren’t even bothering to post prices.
March 4, 2022 at 2:41 pm |
So first Vlad The Invader makes noises about his nukes, and now he’s dropped an artillery round (incendiary?) into an admin building on the campus of Europe’s biggest nuke power plant. He’s also cut off the supply of rocket motors for resupplying the space station. All part of his idea of sanctions, I suppose? Any guesses where one of his missile subs will pop up next to get our attention?
March 5, 2022 at 7:22 am |
Here’s something from the WaPo about the U.S.-Russia spaceflight partnership, including an oblique threat to croak the International Space Station.
“Nice space station you got there, colonel. Pity if somefink ’appened to it. …”
March 5, 2022 at 9:16 am |
So, our tax money will flow from a nasty kleptocrat to a goofy oligarch, Musk. Who’s the loser? I say bring our astronauts home and scrap the ISS. Merge NASA into NOAA and use the money to start working on climate change.
March 5, 2022 at 9:50 am |
The ISS is headed for the last roundup anyway. NASA’s gonna shitcan it into the Pacific like a pleasure boater chucking a Coors can over the side.
Jeffy Beelzebozos and his dick-missiles aren’t getting a lot of ink lately. He too busy closing bookstores and opening robo-groceries?
March 4, 2022 at 9:17 am |
One of the rare times I agree w/Sen. Lindsey Graham: “Is there a Brutus in Russia?”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/sen-graham-urges-russians-to-target-putin-take-this-guy-out/ar-AAUBVvT?li=BBnb7Kz
March 4, 2022 at 9:51 am |
Like George said, “This is the best we got folks. Deal with it.”
March 4, 2022 at 10:06 am |
You’ll notice that Poutaine has been cracking heads at any media outlet that strays from the party line. Even the BBC has been forced to bring its shortwave gear out of cold storage. Hard to get the word out when all the voices are silent and the ears plugged.
Says one editor: “Everything that’s not propaganda is being eliminated.”
The old “fake news” bit. Gee, where have I heard that before?
March 4, 2022 at 10:54 am |
Fortunately I also have no need to drive a much and the wagons in our barn get filled up about once a month. I noticed yesterday here in town that gas prices varied from about $3.89 (discount stations) up to about $4.59 (Shell and Chevron). With empathy for others, I don’t mind seeing all prices go up in order to tighten the grip on the russian weasel. Besides, with oil prices at $107.67 as I write, there will be a lot more development in other locations to offset supplies from Russia, and those supplies from elsewhere will drive down demand for Russian oil in the future. The only marketable commodity Russia may have in the future will be Russian brides.