Oh, it was pure sarcasm! Hal Turner, that guy throws some strikes now and again, and of course we all roll gutter balls from time to time, but a lot of his stories ricochet into the pro shop or sail into the bar area.

On a serious note, I don't believe Russia would have ever started military operations in Ukraine if they believed there was a realistic chance it would ever come to a full nuclear exchange. All I can say here is that there's a lot that goes into that conclusion.

But they do make statements warning about it, especially Medvedev. And it should first be noted that these are warnings. When a dog barks to warn you off, he's doing you a favor. He's not going to bite unless those warnings are ignored.

Even these warnings, though, I see actually as messages to the populations of Western nations: "Your violent and aggressive leaders do not care about you and your nations. It's gotten very, very serious and you all need to wake up, stand up and do something about it as if you and your family's lives were at stake."

What's depressing is that even with a message like that, people are still too distracted and numbed out and beat down to care.