The Crimean bridge makes an ideal target for tactical nuke – big impact, low loss of civilian lives.
I would think that Russia should have response prepared for such an event.
They do….
It’s called all out nuclear war…
Perhaps they might respond similarly to the upcoming NATO nuclear exercises….
Then what????
BTW…..
In case of a nuclear attack near by….
Bend over….
And….
Kiss your ass good bye….
INDY

Posted by: Dr. George W Oprisko | Oct 13 2022 11:17 utc | 204

Imam Khomeini’s historic letter to Gorbachev
The historic letter has attracted attention of the world’s pundits, analysts, spiritual men and religious scholars
The Great Leader of the Islamic Revolution and Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
To President Mikhail Gorbachev, Leader of the Soviet Union
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Your Excellency Mr. Gorbachev, Chairman of the Presidium of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
With due wishes for the happiness and prosperity of Your Excellency and the people of the Soviet Union.
Since your assumption of office there has been the impression that Your Excellency, in analyzing world political events, particularly those pertaining to the Soviet Union, have found yourself in a new era of reassessment, change, and confrontation; and your boldness and initiative in dealing with the realities of the world is quite likely to bring about changes that would result in upsetting the equations of power dominating the world. I have therefore found it necessary to bring certain matters to your attention.
Even if your new approach and decisions are merely used as a means to overcome the party crisis, and to solve some of the problems confronting your people, your courage in reappraising a school of thought that has for decades enchained the revolutionary youth of the world behind its iron curtain is indeed worthy of praise. If, however, you are considering taking a further step forward, the first thing that will ensure your success is that you re-evaluate your predecessors’ policy of obliterating God and religion from society, a policy that has no doubt given the heaviest blow to the Soviet people. Rest assured that this is the only way whereby world problems can be dealt with realistically.
Viewing Islam as a remnant of the pre-socialist stage, Marxists took two major approaches to confront it: to wipe out Islam as an alien element from the scene of public life by openly challenging it, and to assimilate Islam into Russian society by Russianizing Muslims. Stalin, the most notorious of all communist leaders, persecuted Muslims on a large scale by banishing certain Muslim peoples collectively to Siberia and Asia Minor. The astonishing number of Russian anti- religious publications distributed in Islamic countries is part of the Soviet government’s universal struggle against Islam. The occupation of Afghanistan was the Soviet Union’s last attempt to penetrate the Islamic world.
Of course it is possible that as a result of wrong economic policies of former communist authorities, the Western world, an illusory heaven, will appear to be fascinating; but the truth lies elsewhere. If you hope, at this juncture, to cut the economic Gordian knots of socialism and communism by appealing to the center of Western capitalism, you will, far from remedying any ill of your society, commit a mistake which those to come will have to erase. For, if Marxism has come to a deadlock in its social and economic policies, capitalism has also bogged down, in this as well as in other respects though in a different form.
Mr. Gorbachev,
Reality must be faced. The main problem confronting your country is not one of private ownership, freedom and economy; your problem is the absence of true faith in God, the very problem that has dragged, or will drag, the West to vulgarism and an impasse. Your main problem is the prolonged and futile war you have waged against God, the source of existence and creation.
Mr. Gorbachev,
It is clear to everybody that from now on communism will only have to be found in the museums of world political history, for Marxism cannot meet any of the real needs of mankind. Marxism is a materialistic ideology and materialism cannot bring humanity out of the crisis caused by a lack of belief in spirituality—the prime affliction of the human society in the East and the West alike.
Mr. Gorbachev,
You may have not in theory turned your back on certain aspects of Marxism—and may continue to profess your heartfelt loyalty to it in interviews—but you know that, in practice, the reality is not so. The leader of China struck the first blow to communism and you have
struck the second and, apparently, final blow. Today we have no such thing as communism in the world.
I earnestly call on you, however, not to get trapped, while tearing down the walls of Marxist illusions, in the prison of the West and the Great Satan. I hope you will attain the honor of removing the decayed layers of 70-year communist aberration from the face of history and of your country. Today those allies of yours that are genuinely concerned about their homelands and people are no longer willing to sacrifice their subterranean and surface resources to keep alive the myth of the success of communism—an ideology whose din of collapse has already reached the ears of their children.
Mr. Gorbachev,
When after 70 years the call, “Allah is Great” and the testimony to the prophethood of the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (peace be upon him and his posterity) were heard from the minarets of the mosques in some of your Republics, all the followers of the pure Muhammadan Islam were moved to tears out of ecstasy.
Therefore, I have found it necessary to remind you to reflect once again on the materialistic and theistic worldviews. Materialists consider sense to be the sole criterion of knowledge and are of the opinion that whatever cannot be known through the senses falls outside the realm of knowledge. They identify existence with matter and consider as nonexistent anything that has no material body. Inevitably, they regard the world of the unseen—God Almighty, Divine Revelation, Prophethood, and the Resurrection—as mere fiction.
On the other hand, theists consider both sense and reason to be the criteria of knowledge, and maintain that whatever can be known through reason lies within the realm of knowledge, although it is not perceptible. To theists, therefore, existence is inclusive of both the unseen and the manifest. For a thing to exist it is not necessary to have a material body. In the same way that a material thing depends on an incorporeal thing, sensory perception is dependent on rational perception.
The Holy Qur’an reprobates the fundamentals of materialistic thought and, addressing those who say:
“We shall never believe in thee until we see God manifestly,”
proclaims:
“Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends all vision; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware.”
I should not like to present here Qur’anic arguments concerning Divine Revelation, Prophethood and the Resurrection which from your point of view are debatable. In fact, I do not wish to entangle you in the twists and turns of philosophical arguments, particularly those of Islamic philosophy. I will content myself by presenting one or two simple, intuitive examples of which even politicians can avail themselves.
It is self-evident that matter, whatever its nature, has no awareness of self. Consider a stone statue: each side is ignorant of the other side. Whereas human beings and animals clearly observe and are aware of their surroundings. They know where they are and are aware of what goes on around them. There must be, then, an element in men and animals that transcends matter and is separate from it, living beyond the life of matter.
Intrinsically, man seeks to attain absolute perfection. He strives, as you well know, for absolute power over the world; he is not attached to any power that is defective. If he has the entire world at his command, he naturally feels inclined to have command of another world once he is informed of its existence. No matter how learned a person may be if he learns of some other branch of knowledge, he naturally feels inclined to attain mastery of that branch of knowledge as well.
Therefore, there must be some Absolute Power and Absolute Knowledge to which man is attached. It is God we all seek although we may not be aware of it. Man strives to attain Absolute Truth, so that he may be annihilated in God. Basically, the desire for eternal life that is inherent in every individual is proof of the existence of an Eternal World to which destruction cannot find its way.
Should Your Excellency desire further information on these matters, you may command those scholars of yours who are well-versed in this field to study, in addition to the works of Western philosophers, the writings of Peripatetic philosophers, al-Farabi and Avicenna,
peace be upon them. It will then become clear that the law of causation on which all knowledge depends is a rational, not sensible law. Likewise, perception of general laws and concepts on which all reasoning rests is reached not by means of sensory experience but through rational argument. Your scholars may further refer to the Ishraqi theosophy of Suhrawardi, and explain to you that the flesh, as well as any other material thing, is in need of Pure Light which has no material entity, that man’s witnessing of his own truth does not take place by means of any sense organ.You may also have the scholars familiarize themselves with Transcendental philosophy of Mulla Sadra (may Allah be pleased with him and resurrect him with the prophets and the pious), so that it may become clear that the nature of knowledge is different from the nature of matter and that intellect, far removed from matter, cannot be restricted by the laws governing matter.
I won’t tire you further by mentioning the works of mystics, in particular Muhyi’d-Din ibn al-‘Arabi. If you wish to make yourself acquainted with the doctrines of this celebrated mystic, send a number of your brilliant scholars, who are well-versed in this field, to Qum so that, by reliance on God, they may, after a couple of years, glimpse the depth of the delicate stages of gnosis, which will be impossible for them to acquire without making such a journey.
Mr. Gorbachev,
After mentioning these problems and preliminary points, let me call on you to study Islam earnestly, not because Islam and the Muslims may need you but because Islam has exalted universal values which can bring comfort and salvation to all nations and remove the basic problems of mankind. A true understanding of Islam may forever release you from the problem of Afghanistan and other similar involvements. We treat Muslims of the world as Muslims of our own country and will ever share in their destiny.
By granting certain liberties to some of your Republics in matters pertaining to religious practices, you have shown that you no longer consider religion as the “opium of the people.” Indeed, how can Islam be the opium of the people—the religion that has made Iranians as firm as a mountain against superpowers? Is the religion that seeks the administration of justice in the world and man’s freedom from material and spiritual shackles, the opium of the people? Only that religion is the opium of the people that causes the material and spiritual resources of Islamic and non-Islamic countries to pass into the clutches of super and lesser powers and that preaches that religion is separate from politics. This, however, cannot be called a true religion; it is what our people call “an American religion.”
In conclusion, I declare outright that the Islamic Republic of Iran as the greatest and most powerful base of the Islamic world can easily fill the vacuum of religious faith in your society. In any case, our country, as in the past, honors good neighborhood and bilateral relations.
Peace be upon those who follow the guidance.
Ruhullah al-Musawi al-Khomeini
67/10/11 AHS
[January 1, 1989]

Posted by: Almajiri | Oct 13 2022 11:21 utc | 206

Ukrainian brigades are being broken up into smaller fragments and spread over wider areas. There was a case of one brigade being in both Kherson and Bakhmut fronts simultaneously. They are mostly just trying to plug gaps now due to major losses in offensives in earlier weeks.
https://twitter.com/Taurevanime/status/1580513742676119552

Posted by: unimperator | Oct 13 2022 11:29 utc | 208

Posted by: unimperator | Oct 13 2022 11:29 utc | 210

There was a case of one brigade being in both Kherson and Bakhmut fronts simultaneously.

This is going to confuse mappers like DPA, Dima and Rybar endlessly …

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Oct 13 2022 11:52 utc | 210

@195 Zanon “There is no way Russia can win this war if they cant even protect their border!”
From your own linked article: “Some reports have suggested that debris from an incoming projectile or drone may have fallen on the building after being struck by the air defense systems.”
I mean, honestly, what more do they have to do?
You shoot a drone out of the sky. The damn thing has to fall somewhere.

Posted by: Yeah, Right | Oct 13 2022 12:12 utc | 212

@201 “If the US can ‘strong arm’ 140 odd countries to support their position and deter 35 countries from voting for Russia’s situation in Ukraine, it would seem to demonstrate the strength of the US over Russia on the global stage would it not?”
No, Tom, it demonstrates the lack of skin that 139 countries have in the game, and the irrationality of one rogue state.
USA: Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! DOOOOOOOO IIIIIITTTTTTTTTT!
139 other countries: Oh, fer’ f**k’s sake. Yeah, sure, fine, just stop shouting.
That’s what it demonstrates.
That is ALL it demonstrates.
Put up a proposal that really matters to those countries and then see if the same badgering works anywhere near as well.
Hint: It won’t.

Posted by: Yeah, Right | Oct 13 2022 12:17 utc | 214

“I know you disapprove of this sort of characterisation but to me they are nothing more than piss-ant cockroaches, internet blockwarts, the almost-cheapest seats in the entire western intelligence racket.”
Posted by: anon2020 | Oct 13 2022 8:56 utc |
HA! Well, as long as the expression is elegant playful and cutting, like yours above, it gets my vote.
What gets my goat, however, is personal insult and trash-talk. I live in Mexico where there is far too much litter underfoot – my #1 complaint about the country and the first priority I would address if elected President. I prefer not to encounter it here as well!
But it’s not that big of a deal…

Posted by: Scorpion | Oct 13 2022 12:23 utc | 216

@216 Yeah Right
If these countries have no skin in the game, why are they not persuaded by Russia badgering them to support their position and vote against? Or abstain? By your logic, the answer is that the US has more diplomatic sway and power than Russia. It may also tell us that most countries do not like the idea of a larger country annexing territory of a smaller country by force.

Posted by: Tom UK | Oct 13 2022 12:25 utc | 218

Such an organisation has lost all mandate to determine ‘law’ and all moral high ground or authority to determine consensus.
Posted by: Arch Bungle | Oct 13 2022 8:57 utc | 174
Indeed. And Putins refusal to call it out forthrightly is one of the reasons I cannot fully bring myself to trust him. That said, trusting any such leader is a little silly. They are more like forces of nature than friends, family members or colleagues.

Posted by: Scorpion | Oct 13 2022 12:28 utc | 220

Another crashed UA Su-24 in Poltava. Seems they have lost 3 aircraft in the last 16 hours.
https://twitter.com/mdfzeh/status/1580524457084747776

Posted by: unimperator | Oct 13 2022 12:53 utc | 222

Interesting fact. If you were to add up the populations of oh, say the 170 countries in the world whose populations are less than or equal to that of Saudi Arabia (pop. 35 million), you would still fall slightly short of the population of China, by itself.
If you decided to be more bold and add up the populations of oh, say the 194 countries in the world whose populations are less than or equal to that of Iran (pop. 88 million), you would still fall slight short of the populations of China and India combined. (Also note: Iran is the 17th largest country in the world by population.)
Both China AND India abstained from the recent UN vote against Ukraine. That would be the equivalent of a Beatles reunion missing both John Lennon AND Paul McCarthy. I love the music of George Harrison (and Ringo is okay at his best), but the Beatles without John and Paul aren’t the Beatles.
Russia voted no (for obvious reasons). 9th largest country in the world by population. Over 144 million Russians. This is now the equivalent of a Beatles reunion missing both John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and George has laryngitis.
This UN vote against the Ukraine is like someone trying to sell me a Beatles reunion, with Linda McCartney and Yoko Ono filling in the two missing spots.

Posted by: Ursula Zandt | Oct 13 2022 12:57 utc | 224

I’m not bothered by that UN vote. VVP says that he favours multipolarity. This is just an example of it. Only the US seems to want Uno Duce, Una Voce. But I saw something interesting the other day. Seems SCNF – the French railway company – has pulled out of the Californian railway project. Headed to Morocco to build one there. Seems Morocco is less “dysfunctional” than CA. Putting that straw in the wind together with the useless US education system I’m wondering about where those companies exiting a deindustrialising Europe will locate to. The US just looks like a bad bet. When VVP takes over Ukraine it might be a far better bet. After all, those Germans had a big part in developing Novorossiya in the first place. And they’ll have loads of energy for the heavy industry – while the US is still going to be mired in wokeness and the green delirium for the foreseeable future

Posted by: Guy L’Estrange | Oct 13 2022 13:04 utc | 226

Posted by: Ursula Zandt | Oct 13 2022 12:57 utc | 226
and Pete Best substituting for Ringo.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 13 2022 13:11 utc | 228

@227 Arch Bungle
Which will be exactly zero, as seen by the smoking ruin that used to be Ukraine’s electricity supply grid.
Two points. First, it will not be zero. It’s an important supply chain, the loss of which will have an impact. How much of an impact remains to be seen. Second, I don’t think Ukraine’s electricity supply grid is a smoking ruin. It’s going to take more than two days of missile strikes to accomplish that. I don’t claim to keep tabs on events 24/7, but it seems that after two days, the missile strikes eased off?

Posted by: Tom UK | Oct 13 2022 13:17 utc | 230

Posted by: unimperator | Oct 13 2022 12:12 utc | 215

I’d assume that Nato will be wanting some “negotiations” relatively soon

Yes, some room to breath and re-arm will do them good.

… if Iris-T / Nasams etc. turn out to be useless.

These things are going to have significant teething problems.
I mean, Iris-T has not even been delivered to the Bundeswehr yet.
They’re nowhere near as battle-tested as the Russian equivalents.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Oct 13 2022 13:23 utc | 232

Posted by: Tom UK | Oct 13 2022 13:17 utc | 232

, but it seems that after two days, the missile strikes eased off?

Your notion of “eased off” is warped.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Oct 13 2022 13:29 utc | 234

Ukraine is now even worse than Haiti.
No electricity, no GDP, an economy literally down to printed dollars from the west. Most of the productive folks have left for the EU or the US.
Mission accomplished!

Posted by: Chris | Oct 13 2022 13:33 utc | 236

Posted by: Lapin | Oct 13 2022 12:26 utc | 221
Pity you couldn’t get yourself sufficiently together to give us a link, but still you expect us to believe your interpretation.

Posted by: laguerre | Oct 13 2022 13:37 utc | 238

“Peace be upon those who follow the guidance.
Ruhullah al-Musawi al-Khomeini
67/10/11 AHS [January 1, 1989]”
Posted by: Almajiri | Oct 13 2022 11:21 utc | 208
Thank you. Am not familiar with Muslim thought or expression but found that clear and easy to follow. Although not convinced it is a universal approach, rather one that works well within a generally Arab/Middle Eastern cultural context, I think the author rightly identifies the cleaving to materialism as one of the root – if not THE root – problems in modern, generally secular, societies. In other terms, this is sometimes referred to as ‘separation of Church and State.’ Of course, if the nation’s Church is no longer truly aligned with universal, absolute perception and values, perhaps it is best to divorce it from State. But then a State divorced from the spiritual and embracing only the sense-based material will always, always, always founder. So he well identifies a key matter, one that all politicians and world leaders should be more well versed in, no matter their culture or language.
If the One principle is without form, location or duration it is fine. If it has any then it is a construct mimicking the material and will fall into the trap of partiality and no end of various myopias and corruptions. Theistic traditions who turn their One in a type of partial, or materialist-like entity, a type of Many, similarly go astray.

Posted by: Scorpion | Oct 13 2022 13:39 utc | 240

Posted by: oldhippie | Oct 13 2022 13:41 utc | 243
Thanks for the correction.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Oct 13 2022 13:43 utc | 242

laguerre @239
Fascist death squads are fascist death squads. Slight differences in the warped program running in the heads of meat robots are irrelevant. The color of the skin of the magic sky daddy, the current characteristics of the evil “others” who must be destroyed, or the national mythos used to guide the fascists’ behavior are all irrelevant as they are installed by mass media and clergy and can be adjusted at will.

Posted by: William Gruff | Oct 13 2022 13:54 utc | 244

It is wrong to conflate the CIA/MI5 class of Political Islam, the agents of the Emoire of Lies, with either mass of
Ignorance found in everyday Muslims or the zealots of those who have become patsies to terrorism.
Some people earn a very good living trading in tittle tattle supplied by Western 24/7 spying outfits while many Western agents of the law enforcement institutions use the lure of early release to get oatsies to do crimes.
To not stray completely off topic , I would add that senior diplomats at the UN, senior politicians in Nato and senior journalists are all ground down by the Empire of lies, which sees any deviance from its Lies as a target for oppression.
Khomeini’s Da’wat/ message to Gorbachev would not have been even considered if it had been addressed to the neocon-spawn.

Posted by: Giyane | Oct 13 2022 13:55 utc | 246

@236 Arch Bungle
Your notion of “eased off” is warped
Quite possibly. Have the missile strikes eased off in the last two days or not? I’m not claiming to know the answer, I’m asking the question.

Posted by: Tom UK | Oct 13 2022 13:56 utc | 248

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Oct 12 2022 21:48 utc | 52
You’re correct. First Blood is a very different film to the others.

Posted by: Herr Ringbone | Oct 13 2022 14:04 utc | 250

Or even more likely is that there is no difference, and never has been, between ISIS/Al-qaeda and other mercenary terrorist death squads employed by the Empire.
Posted by: William Gruff | Oct 13 2022 10:50 utc | 199

You made me remember Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua. They had good training there. Keep on Gruffing, your posts are a lot of added value to this site.

Posted by: Paco | Oct 13 2022 14:12 utc | 252

Tom UK @ 250
>Have the missile strikes eased off in the last two days or not? I’m not claiming to know the answer, I’m asking the question.
Oh do keep up, at the back
See Grieved @ 107

Posted by: Hereward | Oct 13 2022 14:16 utc | 254

Most countries have land beefs and will never vote okay for land to be taken by force.
Posted by: OohCanada | Oct 13 2022 13:38 utc | 241
Well said. Which is why RF stepped in to prevent Ukraine’s attempt to forcefully annex the two Donbass republics who had declared independence following the unlawful coup in Kiev in 2014. Now they are legally a part of Russia in accordance with the express wish of the people who live there. Their voice trumps that of any individual representative voting in an unelected chamber thousands of miles away, moreover one wherein only support for attacks against their property and persons has been forthcoming.
The UN clearly is part of the Empire of Lies. It should be abandoned yesterday.

Posted by: Scorpion | Oct 13 2022 14:20 utc | 256

BBC propaganda about Ukraine in action.
https://twitter.com/KateMor95244775/status/1579882950875033600?cxt=HHwWgMDRmYvL7-wrAAAA

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Oct 13 2022 14:26 utc | 258

I’m quite sure Belarus and Russia will enter from Belarus to cut the border crossings of weapons from Poland, this will collapse the Ukraina war efforts, a large offensive at the west Bank of Dnieper and when that reaches the forces around Lyvov, an offensive from Belgorod and, finally the Odessa storming.

Posted by: gimmeabreak | Oct 13 2022 14:33 utc | 260

The Strategic Objective for the West was only Sanctions.
That failed. Now it is to keep the war going until after the November elections. They have a shot at that. European governments are hosed. Imagine the effect in the UK when pension funds blow up, there are power outages, inflation rages, people are unemployed, people lose their homes, and then …. it is announced that Russia has won in Ukraine.
Expect a false flag nuke in L’vov.

Posted by: JackG | Oct 13 2022 14:36 utc | 262

Posted by: Scorpion | Oct 13 2022 12:23 utc | 218
You’re right, of course, a decent tone is to be encouraged

Posted by: anon2020 | Oct 13 2022 14:37 utc | 264

Posted by: aristodemos | Oct 13 2022 6:01 utc | 139
In full agreement re: Russian emigres. I am the son of a WWII Russian POW who fell through the cracks during the aftermath repatriation debacle. Immigrated to the US in 1956. A true Russian. Enjoyed the company of many
“Russian” literary figures who had a total disdain for anything Russian. For some odd reason their background was questionable. Could see right through their Khasarian facades…..

Posted by: georgeg | Oct 13 2022 14:41 utc | 266

SOP for the US state department is to bully smaller countries in the UN with threats of either outright violence, or cutting off of foreign aid money, if they don’t tow the line.
So counting UN votes is a pointless exercise. Watch what the larger, more independent countries like India and the Saudis do.

Posted by: Chris | Oct 13 2022 14:54 utc | 268

Second, I don’t think Ukraine’s electricity supply grid is a smoking ruin. It’s going to take more than two days of missile strikes to accomplish that. I don’t claim to keep tabs on events 24/7, but it seems that after two days, the missile strikes eased off?
—
Which is an obvious but understandable misinterpretation of the current situation.
The Russian objective for now was neither the shutdown nor the destruction of the Ukrainian power grid, but a finely tuned and well-calculated warning, specifically to Kiev’s allies in Brussels.
According to its own information, Kiev has now stopped its energy exports to Western Europe until further notice, which means that Western Europe has to compensate for the shortage by using additional resources that are already scarce, which will of course have an corresponding impact on the energy market.
For Kiev, this means that the energy supply of its own population and with it all vital facilities of civilian life will continue to be secured to some extent, once necessary repairs have been carried out, but the price tag for Ukrainians can no longer be subsidized by overpriced energy exports.
It remains to be seen how the citizens of rump Ukraine will react when they suddenly have to pay nearly our energy prices, especially when the Russian example is right next door for direct comparison.
Btw, any attempt by Kiev to resume energy exports to Western Europe will, of course, result in an immediate ‘recalibration’ of its power grid. Needless to say, finely tuned and precisely calculated.

Posted by: Nobody | Oct 13 2022 15:10 utc | 270

Giyane @ 267
You would have a hard time in US. I don’t believe I have ever lived in an apartment that was remotely up to code for electrical work. Current abode has fabric wrapped wires, no ground wire on any of the switches or wall outlets. This is normal. All landlords without exception take pride in flouting building codes and using scum of the earth electricians and plumbers. The price to be paid is there are simply more fires. Everyone knows this. There is no problem getting fire insurance, the fire marshal never calls out faulty wiring as cause. New construction is a little better but not necessarily new residential.
I worked as a housepainter. When much younger I would allow being coerced into handyman work. Every time I ever did electrical work more technical than replacing a lightbulb I would find truly frightening problems and advise the owner. This invariably led to being fired and blacklisted. Glad to not work for the scum who use that sort of blacklist.

Posted by: oldhippie | Oct 13 2022 15:20 utc | 272

Seems SCNF – the French railway company – has pulled out of the Californian railway project.
Posted by: Guy L’Estrange | Oct 13 2022 13:04 utc | 228
Looks like a NY Times article woke them up.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/09/us/california-high-speed-rail-politics.html

Posted by: Wim | Oct 13 2022 15:24 utc | 274

This being an excellent post that was a pleasure to read (unlike many others on this thread, and in particular those advocating scatology and the use of nuclear weapons or the demolishment of cities — please posters, grow up!) I post it again in full – thank you Grieved!
…from the ever excellent and often neglected Stalker Zone):
The Second Day of Enlightenment: How Vladimir Putin Saves the Ukrainian People…
I haven’t seen any commentary anywhere that details the actual shape of the Russian strikes. But it is clear that they are pinpoint and intentional – in other words, what is being hit is precisely what is chosen to be hit by Russia.
And what is chosen to be hit?
Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Poltava, Kiev, Lvov regions were without electricity. Please pay attention – regions, not regional centres. Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov and Lvov were plunged into darkness not because of damage to substations, but because the power system itself was being rebuilt and balanced there. There will still be blackouts in major cities, even rolling ones. For the short term, residential areas will not suffer much if the power engineers understand the rules of the game in time.
The nature of the damage invites repair teams to restore some energy facilities very quickly, while others should be strictly avoided. Although a few dozen meters to the left and right … and the damage could become irreversible in some places. But the missiles hit everywhere they were needed: strategic objects (for the most part) remained operational, the main damage fell on regional substations and individual cities. It was there that they sat with kindling sticks and lanterns.
[…]
The so-called Burshtyn “energy island”, which sends “independent” megawatts to Hungary, Slovakia, Romania. And the Dobrotvor thermal power plant balances the system. The entire complex belongs to Rinat Akhmetov and is isolated from the general energy system of Ukraine. It was in the heart of his empire that the Kalibrs and other precision-guided missiles were sent. So that the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant starts to fill the energy deficit in the central regions of Ukraine, depriving the country of a strategic reserve for generating electricity in case of peak loads.
If the task had been to drive the earth from Odessa to Lvov into the Stone Age, fewer missiles would have been needed, targeting completely different targets. As the Americans did in Serbia, Iraq and Syria. Now, with surgical precision, Ukraine has been put on a prison half-starvation ration, with the exact calculation: there will be enough electricity for the civilian population and key life-support enterprises. Not without economisation, but enough. And you will try again to make a profit with surpluses, for which European countries are churning out weapons … we will “Kalibr-ate” the system again.
So the scheme of the Russian strikes is laid out here as being one that destroys the oligarch ability to export Ukraine’s electricity to neighboring countries, and maintains the supply in general to the civilian population. With the implicit warning that if you restore the circuits to the west, they will be destroyed, but if you restore the circuits to the general populace, they will be preserved.
This indicates a degree of “tuning” that I hadn’t understood to exist, but which makes great sense. If any here have some understanding of electrical grids (and I know there are some people), it might be useful to study this commentary and to offer your own opinions.
We thought a certain note was being sounded by Russia in its strikes on Ukraine, but it seems that an even finer tune is being played. I would love to hear that tune in a better appreciation.
~~
By the way, this article is by “Historical Thimbles” – and I have no idea who this is but we have seen really good analysis from this author before, so that carries a certain weight also.
Posted by: Grieved | Oct 13 2022 3:23 utc | 107

Posted by: juliania | Oct 13 2022 15:31 utc | 276

In fact, modern Western science owes its existence almost completely to Iranian scholars of the Islamic Golden Age …
Posted by: Arch Bungle | Oct 13 2022 11:37 utc | 211

Sure, every civilization is built on what came before, but that statement is flat out ridiculous.
What was the Iranian Golden Age contribution to calculus? To the periodic table of elements? To the development of computer languages?…

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Oct 13 2022 15:35 utc | 278

Apologies that my 287 comment above does not reproduce the link and offset article in Grieved’s original post. Interested readers should return to the original post for those.

Posted by: juliania | Oct 13 2022 15:42 utc | 280

It is well to bear in mind that the mass of nations which voted in favor of blaming Russia are still cowering under control of their financial reality by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Bank of International Settlements. Do have a read of “I was an Economic Hitman” to get some insights into these facts. Those nations have been squeezed into situations where they oblige themselves to be tied down by these Bank$ter entities by incurring indebtedness in order to pay for various “improvements” in their lands.
Posted by: aristodemos | Oct 13 2022 5:03 utc | 130

As I recall, the title is Confessions of an Economic Hitman and the author’s surname is Perkins.

Posted by: David Levin | Oct 13 2022 15:48 utc | 282

… Glad to not work for the scum who use that sort of blacklist.
Posted by: oldhippie | Oct 13 2022 15:20 utc | 274
Thanks for that. Those lists, yet another way for the guilty to punish the innocent. The fire marshals you mention reminded me of the Surfside condo collapse, many a blind eye turned to get anywhere near to that sort of disaster, more bits of the state failing, rotting away. Thanks also for your account of seeing U2 perform before they’d been through the sausage machine, a glitch in the matrix.

Posted by: anon2020 | Oct 13 2022 15:52 utc | 284

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Oct 13 2022 15:35 utc | 280

What was the Iranian Golden Age contribution to calculus?

Try to do calculus without algebra and you will have your answer.

To the periodic table of elements?

Would Mendeleev have thought to structure the table of elements if there had not been any systematic classification of chemicals inherited from Jabir Ibn Hayyan?

Jabir’s works contain the oldest known systematic classification of chemical substances, and the oldest known instructions for deriving an inorganic compound (sal ammoniac or ammonium chloride) from organic substances (such as plants, blood, and hair) by chemical means.[1] His works also contain one of the earliest known versions of the sulfur-mercury theory of metals, a mineralogical theory that would remain dominant until the 18th century.

To the development of computer languages?…

Try to create a computer language without Al-Gorithms (“Al-Kwarizmi”) and you will have your answer.

Al-Khwarizmi explained how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide using this numeral system (Gillispie et al., 2008). Al-Khwarizmi provided solutions as sequenced steps, thereby introducing the concept of the algorithm and thus leading to the creation of the word algorithm the precursor for today’s computing (Aksoy, 2016). The word “Algorithmi” in the Latin title of the work became known as “Algorismi” and the mathematical methods using the numeral system as described in the work became known as “algorisms” (Stewart, 2017). Among the Europeans, the phrase “dixit Algorismi,” or “thus spoke al-Khwarizmi” became an arguing point in mathematical disagreements to send the message that any words written by al-Khwarizmi are final, true, and must be followed, not argued against (Stewart, 2017).

And if you fail to be convinced by all that, try to do all the above with Roman Numerals – you shall have your answer:

al-Khwārizmī, in full Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, (born c. 780 —died c. 850), Muslim mathematician and astronomer whose major works introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals and the concepts of algebra into European mathematics.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Oct 13 2022 16:02 utc | 286

UK is an island; London is just few meters above the sea level. One day, in the near future, Kinzhals, Sarmats might visit London and few other places in the UK. And/or there might be an artificial tsunami in the English Channel and in the North Sea. A same type of tsunamis might happen in the Noth Atlantic and in the North Pacific, USA being an Island too.

Posted by: Paulg | Oct 13 2022 16:16 utc | 288

Paulg | Oct 13 2022 16:16 utc | 290
I hate to quibble but UK is not an island at all.
The United Kingdom (UK) is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. But even this overlooks the many off-shore island such as Lewis, Isle of Wight…

Posted by: Lapin | Oct 13 2022 16:27 utc | 290

@ Posted by: Arch Bungle | Oct 13 2022 16:02 utc | 288
I prefaced my comment with “every civilization is built on what came before”.
Using the Hindu-Iranian algebraic path did save Leibniz, Newton etc. some time.
The basis of modern computing is binary, invented by Leibniz. Exponents? Nothing there from Iranians. Cryptography, again nope.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Oct 13 2022 16:44 utc | 292

Yo moon, I m the only guy living in Crimea that posts on your website once and awhile, so your pussy moderator has to delete my non toxic posts to make himself feel like Zelinsky?? He must be a jew too.

Posted by: Гмк | Oct 13 2022 16:48 utc | 294

“Russian” literary figures who had a total disdain for anything Russian. For some odd reason their background was questionable. Could see right through their Khasarian facades…..
Posted by: georgeg | Oct 13 2022 14:41 utc | 268
Thank you for contributing. A question, if I may: is it your impression as a Russian that there was a significant Jewish element and agenda in the so-called ‘Russian Revolution?’ And did this continue throughout the communist period? Some here have argued that this notion is a fiction made up by evil Western propagandists bent on discrediting and indeed destroying the noble communist cause. My impression from afar is that the whole business is extremely complicated involving many skeins (as is always the case in national embroglios with large populations) but also much of the history has been deliberately obfuscated by partisans with the power to suppress various types and sources of information.
Would much appreciate your take on all that, if you feel it appropriate to express here.

Posted by: Scorpion | Oct 13 2022 17:10 utc | 296

paulg@202
A hit on Norway’s central bank by a hyper would suffice. No need to mess with the rest of the country.

Posted by: aristodemos | Oct 13 2022 19:03 utc | 298

Norwegian@289
Takk for alt. My ancestral background encompasses both the Trondhjem region and More-Nord Romsdalen. Little doubt that some of my slektning, generations back, hiked/skied in the Trollheimen bergen.

Posted by: aristodemos | Oct 13 2022 19:40 utc | 300