[OutsiderFan]

Like non-response error is determined by assessing the answers of the last people to respond to a survey as proxy for those who skip completely, Russia's mobilization force is not going to be very formidable.  Because if you have people fleeing the country to avoid fighting, the people you are getting at this point are not going to be very enthused to fight.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...ilisation/

[tweet]https://twitter.com/sotiridi/status/1572568782748680194[/tweet]

Just read an article which I now can't find that said flights from Russia to Turkey and I think Armenia are fully sold out for days and prices rising.  Those two countries do not require a Visa.  Prices for some flights are now over $5,000 dollars one-way.  The younger Russians are voting with their feet it would seem.  They apparently are not lining up for enlistment.

The strategic, long-term damage Putin is doing to Russia is quite impressive. He's managed to:

- Fail to take Ukraine after claiming it would be his in three days of fighting
- Wipe out his most capable fighting forces
- Demonstrate how weak those forces are
- Expand NATO to include Finland and Sweden
- Line him and his collaborators up for war crimes prosecutions
- Suffocate and shrink Russia's economy through crushing economic sanctions
- Cut off Russia from high technology needed to compete globally
- Run sham referendums to claim Ukraine territory that no country in the world will recognize
- Push the youngest and brightest minds out of the country, leaving it with an aging and shrinking population

I'm sure I've missed more, but this is a pretty good start. It's really pathetic that nobody in Russia is capable of sacking the guy. Keeping Vlad in power is like giving a vote of confidence and contract extension to Walt Harris instead of firing him. Russians have no self-esteem if they think they can't do any better and/or are too afraid to stand up to a bully.

[OutsiderFan]

Like non-response error is determined by assessing the answers of the last people to respond to a survey as proxy for those who skip completely, Russia's mobilization force is not going to be very formidable.  Because if you have people fleeing the country to avoid fighting, the people you are getting at this point are not going to be very enthused to fight.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...ilisation/

[tweet]https://twitter.com/sotiridi/status/1572568782748680194[/tweet]

Just read an article which I now can't find that said flights from Russia to Turkey and I think Armenia are fully sold out for days and prices rising.  Those two countries do not require a Visa.  Prices for some flights are now over $5,000 dollars one-way.  The younger Russians are voting with their feet it would seem.  They apparently are not lining up for enlistment.

The strategic, long-term damage Putin is doing to Russia is quite impressive. He's managed to:

- Fail to take Ukraine after claiming it would be his in three days of fighting
- Wipe out his most capable fighting forces
- Demonstrate how weak those forces are
- Expand NATO to include Finland and Sweden
- Line him and his collaborators up for war crimes prosecutions
- Suffocate and shrink Russia's economy through crushing economic sanctions
- Cut off Russia from high technology needed to compete globally
- Run sham referendums to claim Ukraine territory that no country in the world will recognize
- Push the youngest and brightest minds out of the country, leaving it with an aging and shrinking population

I'm sure I've missed more, but this is a pretty good start. It's really pathetic that nobody in Russia is capable of sacking the guy. Keeping Vlad in power is like giving a vote of confidence and contract extension to Walt Harris instead of firing him. Russians have no self-esteem if they think they can't do any better and/or are too afraid to stand up to a bully.