Ukraine crisis: Russia attacks! Biden Cyber Monday plan? World War III fears around the planet!

 The scenes were harrowing--at least those we can see. While mainstream media seems to be offering a sanitized view of the Russian attack on Ukraine, social media sites--especially TikTok--are offering up videos of missile strikes, children in tears, families huddled in subway stations, and troops hovering above major Ukraine cities. 

The scenes are reminiscent of those that would appear in old World War II reels.. 

As this post is written, Russian President Vladimir Putin already offered up a warning to the world: If anyone tries to stop him, some other type of hell the likes of which the planet has never seen will be unleashed..

That has prompted fears of nuclear war... fears of World War III.. fears that a new 'cold war' with assassins and numbers stations blaring from cold bunkers somewhere in the former Soviet Union are back again..

Perhaps the planet would be lucky if we can just maintain a "Cold War II" instead of a third hot version..

NUCLEAR WINTER

As Russia sieged cities in Ukraine, another key event occurred that could have GLOBAL ramifications: Scientists are also tracking the possible presence of a radioactive cloud coming from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster site in the Ukraine.

Russian troops invaded the area around the plant. Officials report that shelling occurred at a radioactive waste containment facility in Chernobyl and that radioactive levels are increasing there.

While the failed reactor is no longer burning, it and the nearby radioactive waste remains a grave threat to people near and around the plant. A 20-mile radius was drawn around the plant; referred to as the “exclusion zone”, this heavily contaminated area has been closed to human habitation since the 1986 disaster. While the plant was covered in concrete after the disaster to lock additional radioactive debris from leaving the area, it was observed to be breaking-down in the 1990s, allowing for radioactivity to leave the plant. Due to that, a new shelter was built and slid over the site to better confine radioactive matter; construction started in 2010 and was completed in 2019.

While a new shelter exists, the site and nearby radioactive waste containment areas need ongoing monitoring and service. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the status of those important resources are unknown.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it has been informed by Ukraine that “unidentified armed forces” have taken control of the nuclear plant. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi called for “maximum restraint” to avoid actions that could put Ukraine’s nuclear facilities at risk.

There have been slight moments of bravery among the wreckage.. 

"What the f*** are you doing in our land?" and told them they would "die" if they remained in Ukraine. A number of Twitter users hailed her courage after footage of the confrontation went viral.

Other scenes were not as pretty..

Such as this scene uploaded to social media from Kyiv:

RUSSIA REACTION

As Russia continued its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, anti-war protesters in cities across Russia were being arrested by the hundreds by police.

Reuters reported as of early evening that some 549 people had been arrested in 39 cities across Russia for protesting the invasion, according to the OVD-Info protest monitor.

CYBER MONDAY?

According to sources, President Joe Biden has been presented options for major cyber attacks against Russia.. This according to reporting from NBC NEWS:

Two U.S. intelligence officials, one Western intelligence official and another person briefed on the matter say no final decisions have been made, but they say U.S. intelligence and military cyber warriors are proposing the use of American cyberweapons on a scale never before contemplated. Among the options: disrupting internet connectivity across Russia, shutting off electric power, and tampering with railroad switches to hamper Russia’s ability to resupply its forces, three of the sources said.

“You could do everything from slow the trains down to have them fall off the tracks,” one person briefed on the matter said.

JUST AS SEINFELD

A clip about Ukraine from SEINFELD is being widely shared.. 

In this clip, Kramer and Newman are playing Risk...on the Subway...because neither one trusts the other to leave the game unattended without cheating. They discuss the scenario on the board and Kramer denounces "the" Ukraine in a very over-the-top manner, which catches the ear of a man standing next to them, who just happens to come from Ukraine. Kramer's ambivalence leads to the man's anger escalating rather quickly, and the rest is history: