I don’t want another war for the US or it’s Allie’s.  Real question though, where do we draw the line?  

6 hours ago, sportsfan41 said:

I don’t want another war for the US or it’s Allie’s.  Real question though, where do we draw the line?  

Yes, that is the question. The line drawn at this time by THE WORLD is no direct troop involvement in the fighting. That includes air force and is why a no fly zone can't be enforced. Stinger missiles can be effective against helicopters but not fighter jets.

@theguru @John Anthony

Back to the oil conversation. Forget Keystone, opening new lands for drilling, etc. None of that is necessary. The US has current capacity to increase production above and beyond the 710,000 barrels we buy from Russia. Less than 5% of Russian oil sales go to the US. If the US turned off Russian oil purchases today, it would be a non event for Russia. The US oil companies reduced production during the pandemic as prices dropped drastically. The US output is more than 1 million barrels per day below what it was prior to the pandemic. US companies are turning wells back on and increasing production. This production increase has been in process since last year and should be able to replace the Russian oil we buy within a few months. 

Now, that solves the US buying from Russia. That doesn't solve high gas prices. It might help some but when Europe buys 50% of their oil from Russia that makes this once again, repeat with me please, a problem for THE WORLD, not just the US. And no one here in the US can fix that. 

1 hour ago, Voice of Reason said:

@theguru @John Anthony

Back to the oil conversation. Forget Keystone, opening new lands for drilling, etc. None of that is necessary. The US has current capacity to increase production above and beyond the 710,000 barrels we buy from Russia. Less than 5% of Russian oil sales go to the US. If the US turned off Russian oil purchases today, it would be a non event for Russia. The US oil companies reduced production during the pandemic as prices dropped drastically. The US output is more than 1 million barrels per day below what it was prior to the pandemic. US companies are turning wells back on and increasing production. This production increase has been in process since last year and should be able to replace the Russian oil we buy within a few months. 

Now, that solves the US buying from Russia. That doesn't solve high gas prices. It might help some but when Europe buys 50% of their oil from Russia that makes this once again, repeat with me please, a problem for THE WORLD, not just the US. And no one here in the US can fix that. 

Let’s see if the US actually pursues production increases.  At some point in the not so distant future, we won’t have a choice.  We’re at a “do what you have to do moment.”  

1 hour ago, Voice of Reason said:

@theguru @John Anthony

Back to the oil conversation. Forget Keystone, opening new lands for drilling, etc. None of that is necessary. The US has current capacity to increase production above and beyond the 710,000 barrels we buy from Russia. Less than 5% of Russian oil sales go to the US. If the US turned off Russian oil purchases today, it would be a non event for Russia. The US oil companies reduced production during the pandemic as prices dropped drastically. The US output is more than 1 million barrels per day below what it was prior to the pandemic. US companies are turning wells back on and increasing production. This production increase has been in process since last year and should be able to replace the Russian oil we buy within a few months. 

Now, that solves the US buying from Russia. That doesn't solve high gas prices. It might help some but when Europe buys 50% of their oil from Russia that makes this once again, repeat with me please, a problem for THE WORLD, not just the US. And no one here in the US can fix that. 

I think the best thing America could do is totally reverse course on all forms of non-green energy and push full steam ahead.  Nothing will be solved overnight but the sooner we come back to our senses the better the world will be. 

Sounds like multiple Russian fighter jets have been shot down today.  All those years of wondering how the US would fare against Russian fighter jets appears to have been answered.  I hope NATO considers sending fighter jets to Ukraine for them to use.

Just now, John Anthony said:

Sounds like multiple Russian fighter jets have been shot down today.  All those years of wondering how the US would fare against Russian fighter jets appears to have been answered.  I hope NATO considers sending fighter jets to Ukraine for them to use.

When it comes to fighter jets Russia is no match for America, not even close, but that doesn't solve anything right now.

Just now, theguru said:

I think the best thing America could do is totally reverse course on all forms of non-green energy and push full steam ahead.  Nothing will be solved overnight but the sooner we come back to our senses the better the world will be. 

10000000000%.  Green is the future, but let’s be honest about the present and work on a hybrid approach.

1 minute ago, John Anthony said:

10000000000%.  Green is the future, but let’s be honest about the present and work on a hybrid approach.

Right, I am all for green energy and 20 or 30 years from now we should have command over it but right now all it does is weaken America and a weak America is very bad for the world. 

6 minutes ago, John Anthony said:

Let’s see if the US actually pursues production increases.  At some point in the not so distant future, we won’t have a choice.  We’re at a “do what you have to do moment.”  

Production increases are already happening and have been since the end of last summer. As of Jan 1, US oil production was up to 11.7 million barrels per day. 

12 minutes ago, John Anthony said:

Sounds like multiple Russian fighter jets have been shot down today.  All those years of wondering how the US would fare against Russian fighter jets appears to have been answered.  I hope NATO considers sending fighter jets to Ukraine for them to use.

Russia does not want the smoke with us, especially in the air. To your point, I think many are realizing that now. 

8 minutes ago, theguru said:

I think the best thing America could do is totally reverse course on all forms of non-green energy and push full steam ahead.  Nothing will be solved overnight but the sooner we come back to our senses the better the world will be. 

That is the worst idea I have heard. Every war the US has been involved in over the past 30 years is oil related. We need to reduce our oil reliance, especially on foreign oil. It should be relatively easy for the US to get back to being a net exporter of oil - it is all about the oil companies continuing to increase production. It is that simple.

In 2011 the US became a net exporter. However, our economic growth and consumption outpaced production. In 2019 the US again became a net exporter and became the world's largest oil producer. Then the pandemic hit, oil prices tanked (not pun intended) and production dropped. The US oil companies have the ability to increase production and became a net exporter before the end of this year.

1 minute ago, Voice of Reason said:

That is the worst idea I have heard. Every war the US has been involved in over the past 30 years is oil related. We need to reduce our oil reliance, especially on foreign oil. It should be relatively easy for the US to get back to being a net exporter of oil - it is all about the oil companies continuing to increase production. It is that simple.

In 2011 the US became a net exporter. However, our economic growth and consumption outpaced production. In 2019 the US again became a net exporter and became the world's largest oil producer. Then the pandemic hit, oil prices tanked (not pun intended) and production dropped. The US oil companies have the ability to increase production and became a net exporter before the end of this year.

We can agree to disagree on this subject.

9 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

Russia does not want the smoke with us, especially in the air. To your point, I think many are realizing that now. 

I agree and there is a reason we push the F35 on our partners and don't share the F22 with anyone. 

Over the years, Israel, Japan, and Australia had repeatedly asked America about potential purchases of the F-22 Raptor, but every time they were shot down and current law explicitly forbids the sale of F-22 Raptors to foreign nations. (edited for BGP).

Unlike the vast majority of U.S. military aircraft, the F-22 was never designed to be exported. As such, it was packed with classified technology and produced through advanced production methodologies that the United States would rather keep close to the chest. To date, the U.S remains the leader in stealth aviation technologies the world over.

https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/why-america-never-sold-the-f-22-raptor-to-foreign-countries/

This may not be directly related to the War in Ukraine but I am thinking it probably is in some small way, in short, I know a lot of people travel with vape carts and mix them in with their makeup and such but it is against the law in most places.  Here is a headline from Fox News:

WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia and could face up to 10 years in prison after customs officers found "vapes" containing hashish oil in her luggage back in February, reports say.