Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 6 2022 15:10 utc | 32
As an simple example of possible pacification of Ukraine, there is Chechnya. That country from the first and second wars are complete different from what is now.
And let us knot forget that people usually love to associate themselves with winning side and strong ally, eg. Kadyrov is hotshot but cunning, he knows which way wind blows and that Russia/Putin are strongest ally worthy of respect and loyalty.
Same can be said for future independent Ukraine. Novorossiya is going its own way, of course. And it will definitely include coast, Odessa, all the way to Transnistria.

Posted by: Abe | Mar 6 2022 19:04 utc | 104

Oh well, Colonel Cassad just announced they’re stopping real time coverage / relaying off updates on the special military operation…
Something to do with the new fake news law in Russia, that they can categorically guarantee the authenticity of information they relay.
So now we’re left with Baghdad Bob’s Coverage (BBC) and friends with their weaponized propaganda…
Any barflies know of anywhere else to get good coverage?

Posted by: A.L. | Mar 6 2022 19:14 utc | 106

@ ACPAL | Mar 6 2022 18:08 utc | 88… good comments….
some other possibilities which you didn’t include in your list
russia loses and is no longer a player in the same way..
i can’t see that myself, but i don’t rule out the possibility either way..
@ Jörgen Hassler | Mar 6 2022 18:49 utc | 102
clan mcrae here… friends with the grahams! been in canada since late 1700’s…

Posted by: james | Mar 6 2022 19:16 utc | 108

Oh goodie, the colonel cassad announcement relates to tiktok in RU, not themselves…. I blame machine translation 😛
…Color me stupid
Have a round on me.

Posted by: A.L. | Mar 6 2022 19:21 utc | 110

@ BM
thanks for the lengthy post from the chinese militaries vantage point on the russian besiegement of parts of ukraine.. i thought it was interesting, but where i felt it lacked is in acknowledging up front this is not a war in the typical sense… russia has a mandate to protect the innocent people, much more then the usa in all of its foreign wars, or even with regard to the azov battalion in the mariupol area… funny enough cbc here was saying the humane corridor is still not happening because of the russian shelling that continues on… as far as canada, cbc and etc. etc. are concerned – there isn’t an azov battalion in the area~!
but to the larger issue – his sources are from both the russian and ukraine military… i believe he hasn’t factored in the unique nature of this dynamic happening in ukraine at the moment… he refers to ”passive’ front lines… what else could they be if they are not going in and blowing the shit up everywhere? they cant be called aggressive front lines, can they? what are your thoughts on the lengthy post you shared on the previous thread? thanks..

Posted by: james | Mar 6 2022 19:22 utc | 112

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Vlodomyr Zelensky
https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/1995573/screengrab-kvartal-95-studio-music-video.webp?w=450&f=92b869b09470fea4818ffc6387df5d5c

Posted by: IronForge | Mar 6 2022 19:24 utc | 114

usa funds bioweapon labs in georgia, so it would surprise me if this isn’t true… in other words – high odds it is true…
we went thru all the assad gassed his people with chemical weapons b.s. they were getting ready for round two… but they have also added nuclear power stations into the mix… now it is russia trying to blow them up and ukraine protecting them… well… up is down and down is up you know..

Posted by: james | Mar 6 2022 19:31 utc | 116

Posted by: james | Mar 6 2022 19:22 utc | 112
On the guancha.cn piece:
At the end of the previous troll fest thread many posters (including native speakers like myself), have already brushed off this piece. It’s an opinion piece, There’s nothing in it. The author seems like a military porn fanatic that does unspeakable things to his stack of Jane’s magazines in his spare time.
I didn’t dig deeper but it seems its a piece trawled from their forum.
An internet sleuth does not an analyst make. Not one without relevant background, and if that author had any, it wasn’t listed. And i couldn’t be bother going into his back catalogue given the quality of this piece.
I wish BM didn’t repost it AGAIN in this thread. I’m embarrassed as a Chinese that a trashy piece of critique from someone who’s still wet behind the ears got published.
Let it die.

Posted by: A.L. | Mar 6 2022 19:37 utc | 118

Pakistani premier hits out at Western envoys’ joint letter on Russia
pakistan actually has a real leader, not afraid to speak the truth!! so refreshing… if i was a pakistani, i would be very proud…

Posted by: james | Mar 6 2022 19:39 utc | 120

@ A.L. | Mar 6 2022 19:37 utc | 118… thanks! i am sorry i missed the follow up on the previous thread… i appreciate your commentary here!

Posted by: james | Mar 6 2022 19:41 utc | 122

There was a few carrying on the other day about Russia somehow losing a propaganda war as if that meant something.
I think there will be more than bio weapons come out of Ukraine. The bio weapons which is US seems to have solid evidence now and witnesses that will be made public, at the UN and other places, a bit of information on Ukraine building nuke weapons perhaps more will come on that, perhaps not. There will be a lot more information on the nazi’s and their killings in Ukraine.
The majority of the world that is not the US west will be seeing all this.
I read something about Russia will be announcing counter sanctions in a few day. EU countries have shown their colours, especially Germany The Biden admin trying desperately now to secure oil from Venezuela and Iran. This is going to be good to watch.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 6 2022 19:44 utc | 124

@BM | Mar 6 2022 14:47 utc | 20
@Richard Steven Hack | Mar 6 2022 14:51 utc | 22
I am familiar with those so called military commentators with that website, and they’re far from professinal. They’re natinalists in the first place, and, apparently, also deeply influenced by the so called Western advanced weapon systems. As such, they often disparage Russian weapons systems. One of them even denied that Russia has “wave rider” hypersonic missiles.
However, I am also interested in the point they all raised. Why did Russia not use a large number of surveillance and strike drones(like Turkey’s TB-2) against the Ukrainian army in military operations, which could have reduced Russian casualties significantly and made it much easier for Russian army to take well-defended cities?
Their explanation is that Russia does not have a large number of surveillance and strike drones due to financial reasons, while my explanation is that Russia does not want to show the weapon systems they prepare to use for the conflicts with NATO. What do you think about this?
Please keep in mind that Chinese netizens mostly support Russia.

Posted by: Chen Laoshi | Mar 6 2022 19:46 utc | 126

Chen Laoshi | Mar 6 2022 19:46 utc | 126
I read early on, Russia was using very little in the way of advanced systems in Ukraine. it is also using only a small percentage of its military. I suspect Russia is maintaining a large reserve for if NATO countries are foolish enough to get involved. There is a large US force in Poland now, I read the numbers some days bag and was surprised, plus other NATO elements. US and I think other NATO countries have also been moving forces to Romania though I have no idea how large the overall NATO force is there.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 6 2022 19:54 utc | 128

Someone has to encourage Zelinkski to open his borders to Islamists (ISIS, syrians and Turks) who hate Russia and love guerilla wars.
Then the world will understand what Syria went through when the opposition and turkey invited violent islamist to help ‘liberate’ Syria from Russia and Iran..
Maybe Assad could send all the Islamists in Syria’s jail as a gift to Zelinkski!

Posted by: Virgile | Mar 6 2022 19:56 utc | 130

Peter AU1 | Mar 6 2022 19:44 utc | 124
It’d be interesting to see. So far it seems all the western sanctions were thought up by clueless politicians a-la Truss without consultations.
They are totally oblivious to all the second order repercussions that they’re only figuring out now.
They’ve condemned their own aircraft leasing industry to death already.
If Russia goes ahead and allow ru debtors to repay unfriendly creditor countries with rubles, it’ll negate any effect of the foreign exchange reserve piracy the west has committed.
My only fear is that given the propaganda, the west didn’t plan for an off-ramp.

Posted by: A.L. | Mar 6 2022 20:00 utc | 132

@Norwegian
I just found it on YouTube before coming back to Post it Here.
https://youtu.be/UPT4oGTOHRo
Thanks – ROTFLMAO!
The LGBTs can live out their Private Lives as long as they’re not Committing Criminal Acts; but hopefully I’ll have moved on to more Traditional Lands before “Males in Heels” and “Chicks with Sticks” become the Media MainStream MusicVids/Commercials/AdPosters Pushed/Shoved(Fisted?) Onto the Public.
Seriously, I’ve worked with/for LGBT Types as an IT/Financial Systems Contractor in the Corporate Offices; and most of their persuasion maintain their professionalism. Somehow, the SJWoked started to try and Daisey-Chain Work Environments in the 2000s; and I had a Twink follow/stalk me to the Gym After Work in NJ – prancing about the after my exercising stations and even following me CROSS COUNTRY after I moved to SoCal for an IT Contract Interview with a Biotech Giant (the Twink showed up in View at the Parking Lot as I was heading to my Car Post Interview. I just Ignored the Twink and Drove Off.) – considering the extent of the stalking, the Twink probably contacted my Interviewers beforehand and Sabotaged the Interview.

Posted by: IronForge | Mar 6 2022 20:13 utc | 134

Posted by: Chen Laoshi | Mar 6 2022 19:46 utc | 126
Laoshi,
I’ll have a go. For the same reason you will not see su57, armata, s400/500 or zircon etc. in this conflict. Its simply not hot enough to warrant the engagement of top shelf assets.
Its not an existential war for Russia, not yet anyway. The elint environ is extremely unfriendly for Russia as well.
Showing your hand with your best assets will allow your adversary to learn and time to develop a counter when you really need it later.
Decades of development can go down the drain.
Its the same reason you only have F22/35 and SU57 in uncontested airspace like Afghanistan and Syria.
I would venture to say the west has fallen into this very trap with the whole obsession on stealth.
You need to also realize the west will be studying Russia’s every move to update their force doctrine. If it was up to me, I wouldn’t be showing anything new either, be that toys or tactics (even at the expense of soldier’s lives).
Also, Russia needs to clear their cold war inventory from their warehouses to make room for the new toys.

Posted by: A.L. | Mar 6 2022 20:19 utc | 136

This energy chart highlights why Europe is falling further and further behind the US as a business location. Gas prices are 5 times higher in Europe and the European gas price chart looks like from a crude cryptocurrency.
https://twitter.com/Schuldensuehner/status/1500537857030737923

Posted by: Arne Hartmann | Mar 6 2022 20:24 utc | 138

dumb question — so that 600+ billion of Russia’s USD reserves that the US just confiscated, they can do that because it’s just a number in a electronic system, and the US can prevent tbe system from processing any transactions for that account? is that an accurate description? same thing with Afghanistan’s sovereign funds?

Posted by: mastameta | Mar 6 2022 20:32 utc | 140

The US is urging South Africa 🇿🇦 to condemn Russia 🇷🇺
Acting Amb Todd Haskell:
“We think it’s really important when we look at this unprovoked aggression, this attack against democracy, Russia’s war against Ukraine, Putin’s war on Ukraine — it’s important to say this is wrong”
https://twitter.com/SamRamani2/status/1500561875418890241
US warns Pakistan of Ukraine war consequences
https://www.dawn.com/news/1678353
The US trying hard to get “disloyal” countries on her side and revert the emerging status quo: The US political power to influence world events according to her demands has vanished.

Posted by: Arne Hartmann | Mar 6 2022 20:38 utc | 142

Posted by: mastameta | Mar 6 2022 20:32 utc | 140
I don’t believe its confiscated, its just frozen, russia can’t access it, so yeah, confiscated… LOL.
Though I think it’ll be released in tranches to compensate banks with Russian loans last they go bust or fail basel.
This is because Russians will soon be able to pay off their western debts with rubles in a holding account held at a russian bank, which cannot be accessed by the western to withdraw due to sanctions. Neat eh?

Posted by: A.L. | Mar 6 2022 20:40 utc | 144

This short video deserves a wide circulation.
https://dissidentvoice.org/2022/03/what-you-dont-know-about-the-war-in-ukraine/
Apologies if this link has already been posted.
Arne Hartmann@119
You make a very good point: governments representing the majority of the world’s population abstained. The US was supported by its NATO whores and prostitute governments everywhere. This might explain the hysterical intensity of the Russophobic propaganda campaign

Posted by: bevin | Mar 6 2022 20:44 utc | 146

EuroUnion runs amok…
https://www.vp.gov.lv/ru/novosti/dlya-zaschity-informacionnogo-prostranstva-planiruetsya-vvesti-otvetstvennost-za-ispolzovanie-nelegalnykh-sistem-takzhe-i-dlya-konechnogo-polzovatelya-potrebitelya
Latvia citizens would see fines up to 700 EUR for “using illegal content services”.
“Not only rights of protected service providers [may be violated by use of illegal systems] but also customers might obtain services, which are illegal in Latvia”.
This new law “is definitely not aimed at punishing citizens” but at protecting consumers and “protected service”.

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 6 2022 20:44 utc | 148

Crooke’s latest piece
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2022/03/06/burning-globalist-structures-to-save-the-globalist-liberal-order/
Mostly about the EU. Apparently energy traders have stopped buying from Russia for fear of further sanctions or getting tangled in current sanctions. Both EU and US wanted energy and some metals left out of the sanctions. I guess this is why the Biden crew are desperately trying to do a deal with Iran and flying off to Venezuela. Even without Russian reciprocal sanctions, they are copping blow back from their own that they had not thought about.

But what of the unintended consequences to last Saturday’s ‘sanctions Blitzkrieg’: the ‘unknowable unknowns’ in Rumsfeld’s famous mantra? The unprecedented switch-off affecting a key part of the Globalist system did not download into a neutral, inert context – It developed into an emotionally hyper-charged atmosphere of Russophobia.
Whereas EU states had hoped to spare Russian energy shipments, they did not take account of the frenzy raised against Russia. The oil market has gone on strike, acting as if energy were already in the frame for Western sanctions: Oil tankers had already started to avoid Russian ports because of sanctions fears, and rates for oil tankers on Russian crude routes have exploded as much as nine-fold in the past few days. But now, amid growing fears of falling foul of complex restrictions in different jurisdictions, refiners and banks are balking at purchasing any Russian oil at all, traders and others involved in the market say. Market players fear too that measures that target oil exports directly could be imposed, should fighting in Ukraine intensify.
Commodity markets have been in turmoil since the Special Military Operation began. European natural gas jumped as much as 60% on Wednesday, as buyers, traders and shippers avoid Russian gas. A combination of sanctions and commercial decisions by shippers and insurers to steer clear has cut that contribution to global supplies sharply over the last week. A default cascade by western companies is perfectly possible. And Supply line disruption is inevitable.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 6 2022 20:47 utc | 150

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 6 2022 20:47 utc | 150
If the sanctions persists then the west will also lose its stranglehold on the oil market as well.
Its only a matter of time before the South Koreans and Chinese churns out tankers to run the Russian routes. They’ll also put those trades in shanghai instead of London or chicago.
There’ll also be insurance coverage written by China for those routes, Switzerland and London – blowback much?
Will the west start sinking those Chinese tankers at open seas then?
The popcorns are getting crunchier by the day…

Posted by: A.L. | Mar 6 2022 20:57 utc | 152

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 6 2022 20:47 utc | 150
—
Next week in the financial markets will be one for the record books.

Posted by: too scents | Mar 6 2022 21:00 utc | 154

Les7 | Mar 6 2022 20:44 utc | 149 “I wonder if Putin’s 20 ft table meetings with Westerners is connected to what was going on in the biolabs?”
Easiest way to check is to see if Putin used the long table before Kazakhstan. CSTO secured the lab there so I doubt Russia would have passed up on the opportunity to have a look around.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 6 2022 21:04 utc | 156

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 6 2022 19:28 utc | 115
To call spade a spade yet published documents do not suggest bio-weapons development, nor even any active research into pathogens.
The yet published documents order emergent destruction of pathogens after Putin declared military operation on LDPR behalf. Basically that is what any responsible government shouyld had done. If you have dangerous things you can no more secure – destroy them safely while you still can.
It would had been the opposite – if Ze won’t decree emergent destruction of them – that would consittute a crime IMHO.
Now, do those yet published documents reveal there was any bio-weapon research? No.
Maybe there are more documents hidden somewhere in Russia and not published yet, this i can’t know. Buyt the documents that were published do not show it.
Do yet published documents show any research at all – medical, civil defense, any – was being done oinn tose pathogens? Not even this.
So, basically we can only know of those documents two things:
1. Ukraine hade bio-medical institutions that had samples of dangeorous microbes. They did, and it was not secret. Russia also has such institutes, USSR had them, any nation serious aboout their healthcare is required to have them,
2. Zelensky well understood that Ukraine can not sustain war with Russia at the same time keeping those dangerous microbes safely sealed and secured from marauders. Everyone knew it, and understanding this reality – regardless the propaganda he was spinning on TV – and acting on it should serve credit to Ze. Of dozens things he screwed, this thing, maybe the only one, he did right.

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 6 2022 21:14 utc | 158

RE: William Haught | Mar 6 2022 20:39 utc | 143
Got the date wrong, should be 6 March 2022, but I hope that was obvious.

Posted by: William Haught | Mar 6 2022 21:16 utc | 160

Arioch | Mar 6 2022 21:14 utc | 158
From Martyanov’s latest.
“MOSCOW, March 6 – RIA Novosti. Moscow received documents from employees of Ukrainian biological laboratories confirming that components of biological weapons were being developed in Ukraine, in close proximity to Russian territory. This was stated to journalists by the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov.”
All Russian government sites are blocked for me so I cannot check, but according to this Russian military are officially saying Bio weapons were being developed in the labs in Ukraine.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 6 2022 21:27 utc | 162

Posted by: Olivier | Mar 6 2022 21:26 utc | 161
It is one thing to say you have a plausible suspicion and another to say you have evidence.
If we would start spinning “highly likely” because “uor son of the bitch”, then we would become nothing better than BBC ideologic drones just with mirrored direction.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 6 2022 21:27 utc | 162
It was said indeed. However the only published docs i saw were those: https://aftershock.news/?q=node/1075557
Them are pictures (scans/photos) not text, and them are in ukrainian, so i do not think they would be of any help to you.
However what i was able to read there, all those documents were of three categories.
1) generic rules of operations, how specific site should react to declaring emergency w.r.t. safely disposing of anything dangerous
2) Ze’s order to engage those protocols
3) reports from sites with lists of specific pathogens being properly destroyed

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 6 2022 21:33 utc | 164

All Russian government sites are blocked for me
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 6 2022 21:27 utc | 162
I can only remind that RT suggested to western readers this “jail-breaking” software https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psiphon

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 6 2022 21:37 utc | 166

@ Arioch 156
SO…Why did they have Anthrax pathogens? Wasthe US unwillingly share their cures??
Prior to 2001, they had been aerosolized.
Prior to 2001, their enhanced lethality had been perfected.
What is left other than ethnic targeting as requested by a DARPA proposal in 2016??
Get real. Russian stockpiles were from pre 1990. Russian scientists had told all to the US. Russia only reconstituted its research facilities starting in 2018, in response to the Darpa RFP.

Posted by: Les7 | Mar 6 2022 21:41 utc | 168

@mastameta #140
To be clear: it was not the entirety of the Russian Central Bank capital that was affected.
It was probably not even the entirety of dollars and/or euro held by the Russian Central Bank.
The Federal Reserve in New York and The Bank of England, as well as large American, British and European banks are major clearinghouses for transactions.
Foreign reserves held by national central banks are supposed to be to enable liquidity in trade transactions, so it should not be surprising that the CBR had dollars and euros and what not in accounts in the above financial institutions.
The CBR reserves are also not the only financial assets of Russia. Russia also has a sovereign wealth fund called the National Welfare Fund – which is built primarily from taxes on energy exports.
This article talks about both as of September 2020
This article talks about the NWF
There is some overlap between the 2 because part of the NWF is foreign exchange, and the NWF’s purpose is to act as a financial reserve should oil prices fall below $44/barrel. Per the article above, the NWF is 13.6 trillion rubles = ~$180B before the sanctions attack and is ~$136B at the moment.
The NWF was supposed to be de-dollarized as of 2021 but not clear how far they got, whereas the CBR was never going to de-dollarize (prior to 2/22/2022 of course) due to its trade reserve responsibility.
This article shows how much foreign reserves are in the CBR as of Sep 2020
Note that the USD + euro portion of the CBR was $295B out of roughly $550B total CBR size as of September 2020.
Thus the $630B thrown about by MSM news is certainly not all that was “frozen”. Unless RMB and/or gold was held offshore, it was likely around $300B. Possibly somewhat less if the NWF had successfully de-dollarized, possibly somewhat more if the CBR had been slow to rebalance after the energy price spikes/income windfalls of 2021 and early 2022.
Note also the historical breakdown: the rise in RMB and gold starting 2018 and accompanying reduction in relative USD/euro and complete apparent elimination in GBP in the first 9 months of 2020…

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 6 2022 21:42 utc | 170

SO…Why did they have Anthrax pathogens?
Russian stockpiles were from pre 1990.
Posted by: Les7 | Mar 6 2022 21:41 utc | 168
If Russia had stockpiles “pre-1990” then so could Ukraine. Both Russia and Ukraoine are ex-USSR shards.
Why to have ones? bacause if s-t hiot the fan (tourists from exotic land come with some untypical exotic disease) – your healthcare should IMMEDIATELY start responding, towards both public safety and thsis specific persons diagnosing and curing.
Would you say responsible government would instead be running around the globe pleaing “would anyone please send their microbiuologists and labs to our country to see what the hell our citizen contracted” ???
Having plausible suspicions is one thing, claiming having evidence when you don’t is another.

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 6 2022 21:48 utc | 172

Link to story in my # 173
https://sputniknews.com/20220306/nato-labelled-laptop-with-intelligence-found-at-ukrainian-nationalists-hq-dpr-head-says–1093639199.html

Posted by: Sushi | Mar 6 2022 21:52 utc | 174

NATO plans to invade Crimea and the republics on March 8 were snuffed by Russia’s move on February 24.
Translated from German anti-spiegel.

Today Denis Puschilin, the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, announced a statement and invited journalists to it. Among them was Alina Lipp , who filmed his statement and sent it to me immediately. In the meantime she has also published this on her Telegram channel, the video with the five-minute explanation and Alina’s breaking message on Telegram can be found here .
Pushilin told journalists that a notebook was found in a staff of the Right Sector, a Ukrainian Nazi organization fighting in the Donbass and linked to the so-called volunteer battalions, bearing a NATO registration and containing secret data . On it are data collected by US spy drones, which are constantly patrolling the Donbass border, which could even be tracked on Flightradar. The nationalist forces of the Ukrainian Nazi battalions thus had direct access to NATO reconnaissance data on military objects in Donbass and also in Crimea. Detailed maps were secured.

Anti-spiegel is a good source and easily translated by most add-ons.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 6 2022 21:53 utc | 176

It is one thing to say you have a plausible suspicion and another to say you have evidence.
Posted by: Arioch | Mar 6 2022 21:33 utc | 164
I posted a link to the evidence at 21:26. Obviously you did not have time to look into it. Too bad. Who is spinning?

Posted by: Olivier | Mar 6 2022 21:59 utc | 178

Arioch | Mar 6 2022 21:48 utc | 172
Most countries have civilian labs that test various pathogens and so forth. US has civilian labs, but these labs spread around the world by the US are military. They are run by the pentagon and the US refuses to agree to a bio weapons treaty.
But that is the big difference in pathogen research. Military vs civilian.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 6 2022 22:11 utc | 180

George 100
Thanks appreciate that.
“Hypothecated multiples of collateral already at event horizon disguised as liquid. Do tell more.”
And beautifully said by you.
More? I’m just a sketch artist, remember? 🙂
I used to have somewhat more than a rough sketch of the derivatives market about a dozen years ago when that was right there on the cutting edge of the systems theory of Collapse but I’ve since had to let that go in order to keep riding the wave. You can’t bring everything with you can you? I can’t anyway.
They try and say that Hot Potato aren’t derivatives but of course they are to a fundamentalist.
Always happy to talk more in general.

Posted by: reante | Mar 6 2022 22:14 utc | 182

In response to
”
Next week in the financial markets will be one for the record books.
Posted by: too scents | Mar 6 2022 21:00 utc | 154
”
Agreed….its all Russia’s fault…..LOL

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 6 2022 22:16 utc | 184

Posted by: Misotheist | Mar 6 2022 16:24 utc | 50
Agreed. Russia will not use nukes unless they are in fear of losing a conventional war or nukes are used against them. It’s not a question of whether they are a “first-strike” doctrine or not, just whether the situation is serious enough. Poland is not serious enough. Russia is in no danger of losing to NATO, as thirty NATO war games have established. However, I could envision a situation where a war with NATO – full-blown, not just planes from Poland – could trigger a first strike, at least on a tactical level. But Russia would be attacking NATO with hypersonic missiles – lots of them – well before then, without nukes.
It’s simply not in the cards. People got spooked when Putin put the nuclear forces on alert, but that was a precautionary measure and a warning to NATO not to try anything drastic. “Due diligence” in other words.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 6 2022 22:18 utc | 186

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 6 2022 22:11 utc | 180
This may be or not be so w.r.t. labs in Ukraine, however the documents published by RuMoD to this moment do not claim such ownership.
Posted by: Olivier | Mar 6 2022 21:59 utc | 178
Those documents were not referenced by RuMoD yet, for the best of my knowlegde.
Also, them do not constitute proof but a plausible suspicion.
Basically, all they say is “We see no plausible scenario when sampling blood would trigger ‘unexpected conditions’ up to death, therefor what these documents describe as taking blood sample SHOULD HAD BEEN some other activity actively damaging participants health”.
This “should had been” is exactly what makes it suspicion, not evidence.

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 6 2022 22:22 utc | 188

https://aftershock.news/?q=node/1075077
interesting law enacted…. if any entity in Russia has a large loan from unfriendly foreign institution, payments of this load should be addressed to Russian banks not foreign banks
global economy unbundling gets steam… What was not yet unbundled by covid would be unbundled by economic war between West and Russia

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 6 2022 22:30 utc | 190

cindy6 #177
Thank you for those links on sanctions – paper tigers indeed.
I cannot see debt settlements being in gold unless clearances are monthly or sooner. Ask Venezuela about trust when their gold is stored offshore in a ‘reliable’ western nation. I am sure it is feasible and perhaps the only planes flying will be gold freighters from west to east and nitrate fertiliser from east to west.
Regardless of the west suddenly having a ‘morning after’ remorse, there may be no return to anything like the old normal. Nice to see the Visa/Mastercard team take a hit – Xerxes Biden does it again and this time to his closest pals.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 6 2022 22:35 utc | 192

Posted by: Abe | Mar 6 2022 19:04 utc | 104
Agreed. For the doubters, I don’t say this project will be easy or that, as b says, it might not last longer than some years, but it’s the best that can be done given the circumstances. People who say it won’t work need to come up with a plan that works better, or admit they think Ukraine is lost and Russia might as well nuke Ukraine. In the real world, Russia will do what it can to salvage Ukraine as a compliant partner, regardless of what the population thinks. The only thing that matters is: 1) the new Ukrainian government is compliant and 2) that government’s existence can be secured by Russian military guarantees and influence.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 6 2022 22:39 utc | 194

@Posted by: too scents | Mar 6 2022 20:25 utc | 139
You live in a parallel universe, or have you just come out of a coma? There are millions of EV’s with ranges of 300km and much more being sold in China. Go watch the reports below and learn something – this is not 2015. Last year 15% of Chinese car sales were battery-only vehicles, 10% in the EU. Please go educate yourself before seeming even more ignorant of reality.
The energy density for batteries in China has now reached a cost level that the cost of an EV is equal to that of an ICE vehicle, and that was before the most recent price hikes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw11YEnToHE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjJesRtqPoA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEs2JGb26nY

Posted by: Roger | Mar 6 2022 22:45 utc | 196

@Posted by: too scents | Mar 6 2022 20:25 utc | 139
Most recent OIL price hikes.
P.S. I picked the youtube reports because they are very straight-forward to understand, of course there is a ton of battery chemistry and engineering technical documents if you want to go deeper.

Posted by: Roger | Mar 6 2022 22:48 utc | 198

Posted by: Chen Laoshi | Mar 6 2022 19:46 utc | 126
I wonder whether the assertion that a lot of strike or surveillance drones weren’t used is even true. I haven’t seen anything but assertions on that point. If it is true, one simple explanation is that the Russians decided they didn’t need to, for what reason I can’t imagine, but it’s certainly possible. Another possibility is that command and control of hundreds of drones consumes too much manpower better used elsewhere. After all, someone has to guide the drone except in cases where it’s just a “go to these coordinates and shoot at a fixed installation” mission”; mobile targets and drones without AI target recognition software need to be manually guided, which is a lot of work.
While it’s likely that most of the Turkish drones were destroyed early on, and it’s true that most the Ukrainian drone videos are videos of other conflicts such as Syria, one has to wonder why Ukraine hasn’t used those drones more often as well. I don’t see a lot of use of drones on either side.
I think drones are the new “It Weapon” and people are ascribing too much capability and influence in combined arms operations to them. Certainly they’re a great new weapon for pinpoint attacks on critical assets, especially undefended ones, but perhaps the hype has exceeded their actual practicality. It would be interesting if some expert somewhere would weight in on that, since I can’t with any credibility.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 6 2022 22:52 utc | 200