Subject: One has to thank Fred W. for self-identifying in his bio as

Comment:

See Original Content on OpEdNews in article titled "Biden Means What He Says"

One has to thank Fred W. for self-identifying in his bio as a Marxist-Trotskyite for most of his life. In the current news cycle, that self-description recalls the 1930s slogan on the Left "Never Trust a Trot!" because of convoluted machinations that had them frequently selling out the rest of the Left -- Socialists, Communists, Democrats, etc. -- for the sake of their niche, self-centered, and nearly always unsuccessful strategies that had them, for example, dabble with supporting fascists in the 1930s and beyond.

And so here we are, again.

This reader, Fred W., who has no particular military or foreign expertise it appears according to his bio, only his ideology, apparently wants to persuade readers that resistance against Russia and Putin is futile. Maybe he's right.

But maybe not. And why is it so important to opine and advocate? Aren't there enough pseudo-experts and trolls weighing in from all corners?

Let's try to take information from where we can -- always difficult in wartime and then check it out.

Here's one bit of news and analysis, or call it pseudo-analysis if you prefer. I do not vouch for it. Time will tell -- and fairly soon. What follows is a quotation from a Republican Party security site. Its backers would not ordinarily be sympathetic to anything reflecting well on the Biden administration or adverse to their friends in Russia, and the site's views would ordinarily be abhorrent to yours truly. With that caveat, here's what they said:

"The sinking of the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship "Moskva" (Moscow) is a major development which has shocked Naval experts.

"The 611 foot cruiser was the third largest vessel in Russia's fleet and one of its most heavily defended assets. 8 key points from the BBC World Service:"

1) "Moskva" had an advanced radar system crucial for anti-air support for the entire Black Sea fleet.
2) Russia has only three tier 1 naval vessels, and now there are none in the Black Sea. It's a disaster for them.
3) Turkey will not let new Russian vessels enter the Black Sea, so it's not possible to replace the Moskva.
4) The flagship had an elite crew of over 500 sailors and only 54 appear to have been rescued.
5) There is also a moral and public impact. A large ship named Moscow has been sunk.
For a similar public relations reason, the Nazis changed the name of the heavy cruiser "Deutschland" to "Lutzow" in 1940.
6) The sinking is a real surprise because Moskva was equipped with a triple-tiered air defense system. That should have given it three opportunities to defend itself from the Neptune missile attack. The Moskva system can fire 5,000 rounds in a minute, essentially creating a wall of flak around the cruiser. Why the Ukrainian missiles got through is a real mystery.
7) This is the biggest Russian/Soviet navy setback since the loss of "Marat" in 1941, which also sunk in the Black Sea.
8 ) The missile strike raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the modernization of Russia's entire fleet.