March 30, 20232 yr 1 minute ago, Arthur Jackson said: ahhh... quantum superposition of states indeed the correct call as a bonus this alternative metaphor doesn't require the death or non-death of a cat
March 30, 20232 yr 8 minutes ago, JohnSnowsHair said: as a bonus this alternative metaphor doesn't require the death or non-death of a cat To be clear, when I say "I'd k*** that p****"...
March 30, 20232 yr Putin’s Russia Is Going Broke Fast. Here’s Why. While you may not have been looking, Europe stopped buying Russian oil and gas. And that’s just for starters. https://newrepublic.com/article/171481/putin-russia-economy-going-broke-fast-why
March 30, 20232 yr On 3/29/2023 at 1:34 PM, Abracadabra said: Russians are already on their second generation of hypersonic weapons. Not that this matters to you, but the ARRW is aiming for a maximum speed of Mach 20, which is about twice as fast as the Kinzhal and Zircon. And it’s cost is projected at under $20M, compared to around $100M for the Russian weapons. So not really apples to apples. And, of course, US guidance systems are far superior. In any case, it doesn’t really make sense for the US to field expensive hypersonic weapons. They’ve got to come down in price because Russia and China don’t really have capital ships worth burning a $100M missile on. But for Russia and China, the US has a fleet of super carriers and bunch of multi-billion dollar destroyers. So the cost/benefit makes sense for them. This kind of reminds me of the space race where Russia sent a simple satellite and then a man into orbit, and the US responded by sending a dozen men to the moon which half a century later no one else has yet managed to equal.
March 30, 20232 yr 1 hour ago, Procus said: You seriously think Zelensky is calling the shots? He’s made it pretty clear that he’s very much against the Russian Orthodox Church. He’s basically banned it. He’s the leader of the country, he’s given the green light for religious oppression. Maybe it’s warranted — war sometimes calls for extreme measures, and no doubt there are likely some actors within the church working for Russia — but let’s call a spade a spade. He’s preventing people from practicing their faith and using force to do it. So, yeah, he’s calling the shots even if he’s not giving minute by minute orders.
March 30, 20232 yr 3 minutes ago, TEW said: He’s made it pretty clear that he’s very much against the Russian Orthodox Church. He’s basically banned it. He’s the leader of the country, he’s given the green light for religious oppression. Maybe it’s warranted — war sometimes calls for extreme measures, and no doubt there are likely some actors within the church working for Russia — but let’s call a spade a spade. He’s preventing people from practicing their faith and using force to do it. So, yeah, he’s calling the shots even if he’s not giving minute by minute orders. He's an a**hole
March 30, 20232 yr More western propaganda Quote Putin admits sanctions could hurt Russia's economy President Vladimir Putin has conceded that Western sanctions designed to starve the Kremlin of funds for its invasion of Ukraine could deal a blow to Russia's economy. "The illegitimate restrictions imposed on the Russian economy may indeed have a negative impact on it in the medium term," Putin said in televised remarks Wednesday reported by state news agency TASS. It is a rare admission by the Russian leader, who has repeatedly insisted that Russia's economy remains resilient and that sanctions have hurt Western countries by driving up inflation and energy prices. Putin said Russia's economy had been growing since July, thanks in part to stronger ties with "countries of the East and South," likely referring to China and some African countries. He also stressed the importance of domestic demand to the economy, saying it was becoming the leading driver of growth. Russia's economy has showed surprising resilience to unprecedented sanctions imposed by the West, including an EU ban on most imports of oil products. Preliminary estimates from the Russian government show that economic output shrank by 2.1% last year — a contraction more limited than many economists initially predicted. Yet while China has thrown the Kremlin an economic lifeline by buying Russian energy and providing an alternative to the US dollar, cracks are starting to appear. The Russian government's revenue plunged 35% in January compared with a year ago, while expenditures jumped 59%, leading to a budget deficit of about 1,761 billion rubles ($23.3 billion). The World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are forecasting contractions of 3.3% and 5.6%, respectively, in 2023. The International Monetary Fund expects Russia's growth to remain flat this year, but for the economy to shrink by at least 7% in the medium term. In response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine, Western countries have announced more than 11,300 sanctions since the February 2022 invasion, and frozen some $300 billion of Russia's foreign reserves. An outspoken Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, saidearlier this month that Russia could find itself with no money as soon as next year. Separately, Austrian bank Raiffeisen Bank International said Thursday it was looking to sell or spin off its Russian business. In a statement, the bank called market conditions in the country "highly complex" and said it was "committing to further reducing business activity" there. Raiffeisenbank Russia made just over $2 billion in profit last year. But due to strict local rules, Raiffeisen is unable to take any profits from its Russian business out of the country.
March 30, 20232 yr 1 hour ago, TEW said: Not that this matters to you, but the ARRW is aiming for a maximum speed of Mach 20, which is about twice as fast as the Kinzhal and Zircon. And it’s cost is projected at under $20M, compared to around $100M for the Russian weapons. So not really apples to apples. And, of course, US guidance systems are far superior. In any case, it doesn’t really make sense for the US to field expensive hypersonic weapons. They’ve got to come down in price because Russia and China don’t really have capital ships worth burning a $100M missile on. But for Russia and China, the US has a fleet of super carriers and bunch of multi-billion dollar destroyers. So the cost/benefit makes sense for them. This kind of reminds me of the space race where Russia sent a simple satellite and then a man into orbit, and the US responded by sending a dozen men to the moon which half a century later no one else has yet managed to equal. It’s like when the Soviets came out with the Mig-25 and touted that they had them in large numbers and their performance was amazing, so the US panicked and developed the F-15. In actuality the capabilities were not good during demonstrations the Soviets would have the same airframes fly different tracks to give the illusion of numbers. It’s a cycle. They lie about weapons capabilities and then the US builds some incomprehensible super weapon. Rinse and repeat. 1 hour ago, TEW said: He’s made it pretty clear that he’s very much against the Russian Orthodox Church. He’s basically banned it. He’s the leader of the country, he’s given the green light for religious oppression. Maybe it’s warranted — war sometimes calls for extreme measures, and no doubt there are likely some actors within the church working for Russia — but let’s call a spade a spade. He’s preventing people from practicing their faith and using force to do it. So, yeah, he’s calling the shots even if he’s not giving minute by minute orders. The Russian Orthodox Church isn’t independent. They report back to the Russian government and a lot of Russian Orthodox priests were regularly reporting things back to Moscow.
March 31, 20232 yr 2 hours ago, Bill said: It’s like when the Soviets came out with the Mig-25 and touted that they had them in large numbers and their performance was amazing, so the US panicked and developed the F-15. In actuality the capabilities were not good during demonstrations the Soviets would have the same airframes fly different tracks to give the illusion of numbers. It’s a cycle. They lie about weapons capabilities and then the US builds some incomprehensible super weapon. Rinse and repeat. The Russian Orthodox Church isn’t independent. They report back to the Russian government and a lot of Russian Orthodox priests were regularly reporting things back to Moscow. I don’t doubt there are some spies within the Russian Orthodox Church. That doesn’t change the fact that the response has flat out been religious oppression.
March 31, 20232 yr Finland ratified by Turkey for NATO. They're in. Nice job Putin, #1 booster for NATO!
March 31, 20232 yr 22 minutes ago, Procus said: This is a big problem for Russia Shouldn't have taken action against Ukraine
March 31, 20232 yr 8 hours ago, TEW said: I don’t doubt there are some spies within the Russian Orthodox Church. That doesn’t change the fact that the response has flat out been religious oppression. There are verified accounts of Russian Orthodox priests blessing Russian tanks and weapons as well as Putin using the Church as a political arm.
March 31, 20232 yr ‘Vulkan files’ leak reveals Putin’s global and domestic cyberwarfare tactics https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/30/vulkan-files-leak-reveals-putins-global-and-domestic-cyberwarfare-tactics Quote Documents leaked by whistleblower angry over Ukraine war Private Moscow consultancy bolstering Russian cyberwarfare Tools support hacking operations and attacks on infrastructure Documents linked to notorious Russian hacking group Sandworm Russian program aims to control internet and spread disinformation You have to have some balls to be a whistleblower in Russia. Given how sweet they are to protesters.
March 31, 20232 yr 10 hours ago, TEW said: I don’t doubt there are some spies within the Russian Orthodox Church. That doesn’t change the fact that the response has flat out been religious oppression. This was all perfectly calculated by Zelensky. You just don't understand his motivations.
March 31, 20232 yr 3 hours ago, BBE said: There are verified accounts of Russian Orthodox priests blessing Russian tanks and weapons as well as Putin using the Church as a political arm. OK, and there were multiple accounts of Mosques recruiting AQ members. Would it then be acceptable to shut down all Mosques?
March 31, 20232 yr 1 minute ago, TEW said: OK, and there were multiple accounts of Mosques recruiting AQ members. Would it then be acceptable to shut down all Mosques? Apples and oranges.
March 31, 20232 yr 1 minute ago, TEW said: OK, and there were multiple accounts of Mosques recruiting AQ members. Would it then be acceptable to shut down all Mosques? Was AQ executing a full-scale invasion of the US? Were they taking territory?
March 31, 20232 yr Just now, VanHammersly said: Was AQ executing a full-scale invasion of the US? Were they taking territory? No, they just blew up the financial and military headquarters of our entire country. No biggie.
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