The Russian Invasion of the Ukraine.

[acbytesla]

Germany confiscated a $0.6 billion Yacht of an oligarchs.
I

Yeah, the Dilbar. 512 feet long. https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacom...-alisher-usmanovs-mega-yacht/?sh=5c7bf6a352dd

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Some interesting speculation on Russian maintenance in this thread:

https://twitter.com/TrentTelenko/status/1499164245250002944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1499164245250002944%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediaembed%2Fliveupdate%2F18hnzysb1elcs%2FLiveUpdate_891df1d4-9a8c-11ec-ab5e-92be2145d5a0%2F0

Fascinating.

 

[acbytesla]

Russian will turn into North Korea after this...

I don't think so. Russia has a sizable middle class. It's too integrated into the world economy. The question is how will they react after seeing their life's savings disappear? This is not going to be good on the rest of the world. But the impact on Russia is going to be really ugly.

 

[psionl0]

Because many people view it? That's an... odd takeaway. Because the magnitude of harm being done makes it worthy of pointedly dealing with would be a much more obvious takeaway, with a side of any background manipulation being done to misrepresent reality should be addressed.

What harm is it doing (other than to the Russian people themselves)?

The same arguments can be made against the Western media which is owned by wealthy corporate barons (eg Fox or Murdoch) and have a heavy pro-conservative bias. Obviously I am going to believe in Western media reports about the war long before I believe in a single word from RT but there is no denying the harm Western media does - especially the way they villainize all forms of social programs in favour of unfettered capitalism.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

The next best move would be for other countries to offer Green Cards (and equivalents) to all highly educated/qualified Russians - siphon off the brains.

 

[Venom]

I spent the day watching Russia Today — and now I’m questioning my grip on reality

RT America is every 24-hour news channel you’ve ever watched remembered in a fever dream. Uncanny and off and slightly cheaper, some parallel world where [Dennis] Miller and [William] Shatner are still big stars. And, most eerily, a world where you can talk about Russian foreign policy… and barely ever mention Putin.

 

[Lennart Hyland]

I don't think so. Russia has a sizable middle class. It's too integrated into the world economy. The question is how will they react after seeing their life's savings disappear? This is not going to be good on the rest of the world. But the impact on Russia is going to be really ugly.

How about Putin and his lackeys? Will they ever be invited to another country again besides their allies? The only right thing waiting for them outside Russia is some handcuffs and jail cell in Haag.

 

[Klimax]

Oh come one! You literally wrote "You ... Germany", and made me out to be responsible for what Germany is doing or not doing.
Which is the same kind of mistake that lies at the heart of things like racism: Making an individual responsible for perceived failings of a group (s)he is born into.

Sorry, but I think you should have noticed that English doesn't distinguish between personal and royal you. First line was clearly about German response, not your own personal,while later I did address your posts.
I guess I could have been more clear who was addressed when.

You didn't actually answer the question.

I think after checking again I see your confusion. For some reason you treat RT, Sputnik and others as a press outlets. They are not. They are pure propaganda, nothing more. They are not like e.g. Communistic papers Haló noviny, they are not Al-jazeera. Their only goal is to spread lies, misinformation and confusion. They are not press, so your question cannot be answered, because its subject is different from subject under discussion.

And if those Russian outlets want to challenge it, they can through courts. Unlike Russian courts, ours are independent of state...

 

[jimbob]

No, that's not true. Putin wants to "denazify" (sic) and "demilitarize" (sic) Ukraine:

(https://www.npr.org/2022/03/01/1083677765/putin-denazify-ukraine-russia-history?t=1646240036186).

I don't think this is acceptable. Ukraine voted to become independent from the Soviet Union in 1991 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Ukrainian_independence_referendum). I see no reason why this wish to be independent shouldn't be respected by Russia. If there is something to "denazify" or to "demilitarize" in Ukraine, this should be done by the Ukrainians themselves, not by Moscow.

Putin is not a nice man.

He doesn't tell the truth unless he thinks it is coincidentally helpful to him.

 

[jimbob]

I find the model more plausible that he has cut himself off of reliable, truthful, 360 °C all around information and instead placed himself in an echo bubble, where all he hears is echos of his own lies, which he has come to believe. Bad decisions follow from bad information.

https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html

We characterize the contemporary Russian model for propaganda as “the firehose of falsehood” because of two of its distinctive features: high numbers of channels and messages and a shameless willingness to disseminate partial truths or outright fictions. In the words of one observer, “[N]ew Russian propaganda entertains, confuses and overwhelms the audience.”2

Contemporary Russian propaganda has at least two other distinctive features. It is also rapid, continuous, and repetitive, and it lacks commitment to consistency.

Interestingly, several of these features run directly counter to the conventional wisdom on effective influence and communication from government or defense sources, which traditionally emphasize the importance of truth, credibility, and the avoidance of contradiction.3 Despite ignoring these traditional principles, Russia seems to have enjoyed some success under its contemporary propaganda model, either through more direct persuasion and influence or by engaging in obfuscation, confusion, and the disruption or diminution of truthful reporting and messaging.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

What harm is it doing (other than to the Russian people themselves)?

The same arguments can be made against the Western media which is owned by wealthy corporate barons (eg Fox or Murdoch) and have a heavy pro-conservative bias. Obviously I am going to believe in Western media reports about the war long before I believe in a single word from RT but there is no denying the harm Western media does - especially the way they villainize all forms of social programs in favour of unfettered capitalism.

Just to point out the obvious, Fox News does significant harm. This has been measured showing people who mostly watch Fox News believe a significant number of provable falsehoods compared to people who watch the other mainstream news programs.

 

[Ryokan]

What has been described as a gang of football supporters from several rival football clubs forced themselves into a train station holding Ukrainian refugees looking for dark skinned people who they had been told were hiding among the refugees.

 

[Garrison]

The list of companies cutting ties with Russia gets longer and longer, what will the nomenklatura do when they can no longer get their favourite foreign brands?

 

[The Don]

The list of companies cutting ties with Russia gets longer and longer, what will the nomenklatura do when they can no longer get their favourite foreign brands?

Buy Chinese/India/Pakistan made knock-offs ?

At least for fashion and clothing brands.

 

[uke2se]

Russian jets violated Swedish air space but withdrew after Swedish jets scrambled to intercept them.
I was afraid Putin would start playing these games.
Would not be surprised if a US Warship being buzzed by a Russian jet is next.

That's pretty much normal procedure for Russia. Only reason it gets a headline is the special circumstances surrounding the war in Ukraine. Russia regularly violates our airspace and we lodge a complaint.

My guess is that Russia was checking to see if Swedish posture had changed from normal.

 

[Jack by the hedge]

Early in the thread I brought up the old "Radio Free Europe" ads I would see and hear on TV and radio and wondered if/why such a thing couldn't be done today. Cool to know it can and is.

What surprises me about it is the implication that a significant number of listeners will still have radios which can receive Short Wave. (Okay, I do have one in the garage but the last time I used it to listen on Short Wave was probably during the Falklands war).

 

[jimbob]

The list of companies cutting ties with Russia gets longer and longer, what will the nomenklatura do when they can no longer getsell their favourite foreign brands?

Minor correction. It's OK if they're in the UK, the have 30 days notice.

the nomenklatura turned into the oligarchs.

 

[Andy_Ross]

A twitter account tracking the use and capture of equipment

Ukraine Weapons Tracker

https://twitter.com/UAWeapons

 

[Arcade22]

Yep, just a lousy "peace front" type over here, quaking in my boots. I'd be a hippy, too, if I could remember where my bong was at, man.

So anyway, what do you suggest then?

Don't piss your pants just because Putin puts Russia’s strategic missile forces on "special alert", just ignore it like when they send their bombers around the British isles every now and then.

Don't bother wasting money on iodine tablets either...

 

[Arcade22]

In these dark times it is of critical importance to remind everyone that NATO and the West really is the Great Satan while Russia is the Lesser Satan:

A group of 11 Labour MPs from the left of the party have removed their names from a statement about the invasion of*Ukraine, which heavily criticises Nato after being warned they risked losing the party whip.

In a rapid victory for Keir Starmer over MPs still linked to Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour chief whip wrote to the 11 backbenchers asking them to remove their signatures from*a statement drawn up*by the Stop the War group.

...

The Stop the War statement, which accuses the UK government of “sabre-rattling” over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, also criticises it for saying Ukraine has a right to join Nato if it wishes.

It says the alliance “should call a halt to its eastward expansion and commit to a new security deal for*Europe*which meets the needs of all states and peoples,” adding: “We refute the idea that Nato is a defensive alliance, and believe its record in Afghanistan, Yugoslavia and Libya over the last generation, not to mention the US-British attack on Iraq, clearly proves otherwise.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politic...tement-criticising-nato-after-starmer-warning