I seriously doubt the embassy will be closed completely at this time, and historically, the US Ambassador would be the last to leave along with the Marine security group. Closing the embassy and evacuating the US Ambassador would signal both Ukraine and Russia that Ukraine is diplomatically abandoned, as well as signaling NATO that we have washed our hands of Ukraine. NOT unusual tho, to evacuate dependents early, as commercial airline and aviation operations will be the 1st thing to stop if hostilities break out anywhere near the capitol.
Why gas (and liquid product) will still flow thru Ukraine even after Nordsrteam 2 is operational. (there are actually more lateral lines running off Brotherhood line from Ukraine to other countries than these basic maps show.)
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 01-23-2022).]
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:He said his biggest regret was the collapse of the USSR. He's basically stated he wants that back...
You proved my point that he didnt say it was his biggest regret AND never said he wants to recreate it. You just make stuff up.
The statement he made is that things like the life span of the former Soviet male dropped by 7 years overnight. They starved and became heavy drinkers. They were left without gov direction after a life of believing.
Now the USA is nearing that same collapsing event that they faced.
I seriously doubt the embassy will be closed completely at this time, and historically, the US Ambassador would be the last to leave along with the Marine security group. Closing the embassy and evacuating the US Ambassador would signal both Ukraine and Russia that Ukraine is diplomatically abandoned, as well as signaling NATO that we have washed our hands of Ukraine. NOT unusual tho, to evacuate dependents early, as commercial airline and aviation operations will be the 1st thing to stop if hostilities break out anywhere near the capitol.
Agreed. If, the administration follows it's Afghanistan policy, the embassy will be empty soon. Hard to say which direction this is gonna go.
Yep, it's gotta be hard on the ego when going from a Super Power to basically an also ran......... Especially when some of your former friends change sides.
Rams
I honestly won't be surprised if Russia crosses that line with Germany not supporting NATO very strongly and knowing all we're going to do is economic sanctions, pride is a strong and compelling thing. I guess the Russian people should be stocking up on Vodka or whatever they chose to drown their sorrows in again. Putin as an Uber driver huh. Interesting.
Rams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 01-23-2022).]
Agreed. If, the administration follows it's Afghanistan policy, the embassy will be empty soon. Hard to say which direction this is gonna go.
Rams
I disagree. The Ukraine embassy's chance of closing very quickly is somewhere between slim and none at best. It is historically seen as the last bastion of diplomacy in a war zone, and in diplomacy, appearances matter a great deal
The so-called Easter Offensive in Vietnam (the final offensive) began in Dec 74 and our ambassador didn't leave until late April '75 and even stayed 5 days AFTER S. Vietnam's president abruptly resigned and fled the country.
Evacuation of US Ambassador is solely up to the ambassador himself. Hostilities in Somalia in 1990 had been ongoing for over a month before Ambassador Bishop requested evacuation on 1 Jan '91 and only after the Somalian govt collapse 2 days before.
I disagree. The Ukraine embassy's chance of closing very quickly is somewhere between slim and none at best. It is historically seen as the last bastion of diplomacy in a war zone, and in diplomacy, appearances matter a great deal
The so-called Easter Offensive in Vietnam (the final offensive) began in Dec 74 and our ambassador didn't leave until late April '75 and even stayed 5 days AFTER S. Vietnam's president abruptly resigned and fled the country.
Evacuation of US Ambassador is solely up to the ambassador himself. Hostilities in Somalia in 1990 had been ongoing for over a month before Ambassador Bishop requested evacuation on 1 Jan '91 and only after the Somalian govt collapse 2 days before.
You could be right, it's a wait and see. Afghanistan did set an example of this administration's willingness to stick it out though. I sincerely hope you're correct and there's some backbone involved.
It's not spin, genius. He's talking about the humanitarian crisis created by the collapse, and specifically about ethnic Russians. None of this is unfamiliar to me. You obviously can't even understand what you're reading, which is sad.
Americans can keep looking at TV and assuming the typical dullard position, and they'll understand exactly what he's saying when our turn comes and there's no government to care about you. Because your govt already doesn't like you.
Putin is a Russian who loves Russians. He cared enough that when the international bankers were sending in money to their ethnic relatives who were acting as opportunistic privateers to buy up State assets that he took that power away from them. They will never forgive him of that.
I personally don't care all that much for Russians, but I'm not dense about what Putin's positions have been.
I'm definitely not fond of the typical unthinking Republican or Democrat either.
[This message has been edited by sourmash (edited 01-23-2022).]
I'm sure he'd probably be a blast if we all met at the local bar though, we would just have to keep Soros, Bill Gates, Hispanics and other such topics off the table.
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: I'm sure he'd probably be a blast if we all met at the local bar though, we would just have to keep Soros, Bill Gates, Hispanics and other such topics off the table.
Putin wants to recreate the Soviet Union! LOL. You guys are brilliant.
We don't talk politics and religion at the bars I go to. We talk music mostly.
Willie, just because I own you, you like to call people names like a bratty child. You use the exact names that BLM and Antifa use, because you want to virtue signal. Grow a pair. And teach that kid 82 how to act.
Russia has notified Ireland of Russian naval exercises in international waters in the Irish Sea, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Monday, adding that they were unwelcome.
"We don't have a power to prevent this happening but certainly I have made it clear to the Russian ambassador in Ireland that this is not welcome. This isn't a time to increase military activity and tension," Coveney said.
Russia said late last week its navy would stage a sweeping set of exercises involving all its fleets from the Pacific to the Atlantic, the latest show of strength in a surge of military activity during a standoff with the West.
One thing for sure, putting all your eggs in one basket is most surely one way to get an omelet. Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. Or, as Forrest Gump's mama said, Stupid is as stupid does. How about, Be careful when playing with fire, you might get burnt.
I know most of you aren't very literate on politics or international intrigue, but it's a passing hobby for me.
Here's a little easy reading to show how the Clintons and Soros were involved in pilfering Russian assets. Soros and his ethnic relatives worked to loot Russia with the help of the Clintons.
"During the privatization period, international capital wasted no time in opportunistically swooping in to take over Russian industries. The Clinton administration sought to redesign the economic policies of the nascent Russian Federation according to the Washington Consensus: privatization, deregulation, austerity, and the opening up of Russia’s companies to purchase by ultra-wealthy Americans. They gave the role of economic planning in Russia to the Harvard Institute for International Development, which sent Harvard economists to meet with Anatoly Chubais, Boris Yeltsin’s head of privatization. The close relationship with Anatoly Chubais allowed a select group of American investors to be on an inside track of financial dealings in the new Russia. One Harvard grad involved in this scheme was Jonathan Hay, convicted inside trader. He became senior advisor to the GKI, Russia’s new state privatization committee.
Certain members of this network, which included Harvard graduates Hay, Jeffrey Sachs, Andrei Shleifer, Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, David Lipton, and others, misused funds from USAID that were intended for Russian economic development and rigged deals for privatization to gain control of key Russian industries in backroom negotiations. In one 1995 off market deal, Anatoly Chubais created a closed bidding process for prime national properties in which the only approved bidders were Harvard Management Company and George Soros. This resulted in the acquisition of major stakes in Sidanko Oil, Novolipetsk Steel, and Sviazinvest."
The criminality was not limited to foreign speculators. During the early period of privatization in the 90s a secret society of seven Russian oligarchs entirely controlled Boris Yeltsin’s administration. This group called itself Semibankirschina, named after the Seven Boyars who controlled Russia during the 17th century. The secret society included the following oligarchs: Boris Berezovsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, Vladimir Gusinsky, Vladimir Potanin, and Alexander Smolensky.
A Russian journalist named Andrey Fadin described their overwhelming power in an article, “they control the access to budget money and basically all investment opportunities inside the country. They own the gigantic information resource of the major TV channels. They form the President’s opinion. Those who didn’t want to walk along them were either strangled or left the circle.” Less than one year after publishing the article Andrey Fadin was killed. Through their front man Anatoly Chubais, Semibankirschina used control of television networks to prop up Boris Yeltsin’s low approval ratings. From the mid-90s to 1999 this clique had total authority over Russian policies and industries, judiciously using violence to enforce its monopoly. In one case Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his underling Leonid Nevzlin carried out the murder of the mayor Vladimir Petukhov, who was pursuing Yukos Oil Company’s evasion of taxes.
In late 1999, Vladimir Putin became president of Russia and the fortunes of these self-appointed rulers rapidly turned for the worse. A new group of Putin insiders such as Gennady Timchenko, Vladimir Yakunin, and Sergey Chemezov formed and began supplanting the previous access that the Semibankirschina had to the president. In 2001, a state takeover of media seized the television networks previously owned by oligarchs Boris Berezovsky, Vladimir Gusinsky, and Badri Patarkatsishvili, prompting Patarkatsishvili to denounce Russia to the New York Times and flee the country. While exiled in the UK, Patarkatsishvili died suspiciously at the age of 48. The Georgian government has called his death an assassination. Boris Berezovsky also died suspiciously in the UK after having sold his Russian assets and denounced Putin. After his television networks were seized, Vladimir Gusinsky was criminally charged with money laundering and forced to flee the country as well.
The sweep continued as three other allies of the Semibankirschina were killed: Nikolai Glushkov, Alexander Litvinenko, and Boris Nemtsov. Bill Browder was deported in 2005, and later convicted in absentia for fraud. Fraudster Konstantin Ponomarev was also convicted, sentenced to 8 years in prison for crimes relating to his extortion of $1 billion from IKEA. Jamison Firestone, an associate of Ponomarev and Browder, was forced to flee Russia due to his involvement in the Magnitsky case, and his associate Alexander Peripilichny mysteriously died while jogging near London. George Soros was banned from Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.
Once the richest man in the country, Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s fortunes turned for the worse as well. In the early 2000s, Putin pushed through a number of populist reforms for criminal, tax, and land law, which the oligarchs of the 90s had strongly opposed. As the most blatantly criminal member of the original Semibankirschina, Khodorkovsky’s Bank Menatep had been founded with funds stolen as part of the looting of state assets. The bank operated as a hub of money laundering and engaged in countless financial scams, even delaying government funds to Chernobyl victims while using their money to financially speculate. It was Bank Menatep through which American fraudsters had allegedly ripped off Avisma shareholders with the titanium dumping scam.
In 2003, Khodorkovsky was criminally prosecuted by Putin for tax evasion and fraud for which he ended up serving 10 years in prison. His protege Leonid Nevzlin was convicted of ordering multiple contract murders on Khodorkovsky’s behalf, and sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia. Associate Platon Lebedev was also convicted and imprisoned. This wave of prosecution sent a message and gave Putin a strong position, which was used to negotiate a “grand bargain” with the remaining oligarchs: they retained most of their existing assets in return for alignment with Putin’s vertical rule of Russia. The era of financial gangsterism from the 1990s was over.
[This message has been edited by sourmash (edited 01-24-2022).]
I know most of you aren't very literate on politics or international intrigue, but it's a passing hobby for me.
Here's a little easy reading to show how the Clintons and Soros were involved in pilfering Russian assets. Soros and his ethnic relatives worked to loot Russia with the help of the Clintons.
We do know about this... and it's frustrating. I didn't read your list (I'll look at it later), but I'm sure Uranium One was probably in there as well as some of the other more egregious things. I think it's less Bill Clinton (he seems to just be along for the ride) and more Hillary, to be honest. But what can we do? What can individuals like you and me do?
Someone once told me... "Don't expect politicians to help protect you from the Government."
We can only do what we're doing... with the Internet, we have a bit more control over the narrative, and I think this is why you're seeing the left / left-leaning voters (quite honestly) breaking up into two camps:
1 - Radical, and unashamed / no longer hiding their true intentions. 2 - Being quiet, unsure of what's going on, disapproving of what's going on, but not informed enough to speak up. It can be best described as "loss of voter interest."
The left, and foreign governments, still control and manipulate the mass of the media.
.
BREAK ...
In your opinion, what do you think is going to happen to Ukraine, the United States, and Russia in the next 1 week, 1 month, 1 year. Just want your opinion...
My thought, with the U.S. sending 3,000 troops to neighboring countries, that's to assist with evacuation. Putin has over 100,000 troops on the border right now. That's a huge expense for a country who's finances are not great. They wouldn't be doing this for show.
I'm positive that the West will continue to bait Russia and manipulate the situation in the way that theyre used to doing in international politics. They aren't going to quit because the people instigating are adept at burning the beach down to get their way.
Can Putin stay atop the resistance and hold Russia in security? Is there a network behind him that could fill the gap if he's replaced?
The West wants to mire him down in skirmishes as a means to weaken his support domestically.
[This message has been edited by sourmash (edited 01-24-2022).]
My thought, with the U.S. sending 3,000 troops to neighboring countries, that's to assist with evacuation. Putin has over 100,000 troops on the border right now. That's a huge expense for a country who's finances are not great. They wouldn't be doing this for show.
Just as important (if not more important) than the numbers is the unit's make up, their normal mission and how they are equipped. I would assume that if those troops are infantry, you're probably correct. But, if another type of unit, then the mission could be completely different than evacuation. I don't know what unit was or is being considered.
I say many of you are politically illiterate. Some of you just blush over how the USA has been behind the looting of the Russians since the 1990s and go straight back to how Russian might instigate some military action.
No. Russia will not be the instigator. The USA will do that for them. It's our values.
[This message has been edited by sourmash (edited 01-24-2022).]
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: ..... and I think this is why you're seeing the left / left-leaning voters (quite honestly) breaking up into two camps:
1 - Radical, and unashamed / no longer hiding their true intentions. 2 - Being quiet, unsure of what's going on, disapproving of what's going on, but not informed enough to speak up. It can be best described as "loss of voter interest."
A nationally known political pundit friend of mine has often said that he sees the Left in two distinct groups.
There are what he calls the "little l" leftists. They are the followers. The no-so-bright masses of "useful idiots" that are propagandized to and manipulated by the 2nd group. They are the ones that hoot and bray on forums like this one and other innumerable places all over social media, parroting what they are told. They are the ones that are perpetual complainers, unaccomplished in life, blaming their own shortcomings on being "victimized" by some nebulous "oppressor". They are the ones that look to the state to fix every wrong they perceive and to provide them with everything they want. They are the ones that constantly demand "universal healthcare", "basic universal income", free college tuition, "housing rights" (a/k/a free housing), "food security" (a/k/a free food), etc., etc., etc.
Then there are the "Big L" leftists. A very small group. They are the ones that you rarely, if ever, see out front in the media or anywhere else. They "lead from behind", in the shadows. They are the "True believers". They are the die hard Marxist radicals trying to overthrow capitalism in general and our government specifically. They see western democracy as inherently evil and are hell bent on killing it at any cost. They are the ones that desperately want power and are willing to do anything to get it.
I just call them all LEFTISTS and use a capital or lower case "L" as my mood strikes me.
It's just easier and at the end of the day they are all functionally the same.
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 01-24-2022).]
I just call them all LEFTISTS and use a capital or lower case "L" as my mood strikes me.
It's just easier and at the end of the day they are all functionally the same.
I actually know a few Moderate Democrats but, they seem to be unwilling to call out the far left. I don't understand why but, I have failed miserably at trying to drive change within the Democratic Party. I'll continue to try to get my more moderate friends to speak up. Sorry guys.
Rams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 01-25-2022).]
"Chip shot... U.S. threatens use of novel export control to damage Russia’s strategic industries if Moscow invades Ukraine"
"The Rule of Rule"
quote
The attraction of using the foreign direct product rule derives from the fact that virtually anything electronic these days includes semiconductors, the tiny components on which all modern technology depends, from smartphones to jets to quantum computers — and that there is hardly a semiconductor on the planet that is not made with U.S. tools or designed with U.S. software. And the administration could try to force companies in other countries to stop exporting these types of goods to Russia through this rule.
I would fully expect all such products be threatened if Putin continues his drive to restore the previous USSR. With very few exceptions, once a society tastes freedom, they don't normally want to lose it. Putin may take Ukraine but, he and his country will pay a hefty price. Of course, this depends on whether or not our President grows a set. It's obvious Russia, China and N. Korea are in cahoots to stretch out our forces and give us more to be concerned about. Anyone else think our embarrassing Afghanistan departure emboldened our opponents?
"Chip shot... U.S. threatens use of novel export control to damage Russia’s strategic industries if Moscow invades Ukraine"
I know this is random, but back in the early to mid 1980s, Russia and the USA were at their peak competition years. Russia was developing and designing their own computer processors to compete with Intel, Texas Instruments, Advanced Micron Devices, and American Megatrends Inc., etc.
This is the KM1810VM88 processor, manufactured under USSR rule / control back in the day:
The processor in that picture was basically a copy / reversed engineered version of Intel's 8088 processor, which you can see here:
Both chips were 16-bit processors, with an 8-bit data bus. So effectively, it was really just an 8-bit processor that did math a little bit better than the 8086. It wasn't until the 80286 where the data bus became 16-bit and could support 16-bit ISA cards and more quantifiable RAM.
The above two chips (8088s) could be had in either 4.77, or 8.77 speeds. Eventually, Intel did make a 12Mhz version, but that was for special use cases.
This was the one that everyone wanted though, made by NEC, it was the NEC V20 processor...
This chip was FORCED unceremoniously down to 8.77mhz (and 4.77 for compatibility mode) in most computers that it was installed in, but it could easily run at 10Mhz in most machines. When you got a powerhouse computer, like the KayPro PC-10, it came with the NEC V20. It's the one everyone wanted. It was ALSO made from a reverse-engineered version of the Intel 8088... for that matter. But they made it betters.
.
Anyway, I apologize for the huge nerd turn-off. Not only is this incredibly nerdy, but it's information that literally has absolutely no value or importance to society. I mean, if you read this, and remember any of it... it will serve no value to you as you go about your lives. It will make you less cool if you bring it up at a cocktail dinner, or a BBQ... and even at a nerd convention, people will probably slowly walk away from you to go neuter their cats. So I do apologize, but I love this topic. Hahah...
Anyway, I apologize for the huge nerd turn-off. Not only is this incredibly nerdy, but it's information that literally has absolutely no value or importance to society. I mean, if you read this, and remember any of it... it will serve no value to you as you go about your lives. It will make you less cool if you bring it up at a cocktail dinner, or a BBQ... and even at a nerd convention, people will probably slowly walk away from you to go neuter their cats. So I do apologize, but I love this topic. Hahah...
Dang it, I just wasted a bunch of time and effort forwarding that to all my friends.
But, it does help me understand better just how much of our technology gets stolen and how it gets used against us.
Rams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 01-26-2022).]
Dang it, I just wasted a bunch of time and effort forwarding that to all my friends.
But, it does help me understand better just how much of our technology gets stolen and how it gets used against us.
Rams
Oh, the best is the Space Shuttle... and what the USSR did... there's a whole story on that, whether it was intentionally shared (bad schematics) or not. But there are two of them in Russia which are rotting away somewhere.
I just bought this... allows me to hook up an NEC V20 to a Raspberry Pi...
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Oh, the best is the Space Shuttle... and what the USSR did... there's a whole story on that, whether it was intentionally shared (bad schematics) or not. But there are two of them in Russia which are rotting away somewhere.
I just bought this... allows me to hook up an NEC V20 to a Raspberry Pi...
No idea what I'm going to do with it, but it was $20 bucks... so how could I NOT buy it?
I can't begin to describe how excited your purchase got me. Need to go lay back and relax for a while now.
Would love to hear that Space Shuttle story though. I've seen pics of the shuttles the Russians built. Pretty much wasted their time and resources on that.
Rams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 01-26-2022).]
I suspect there's plenty of dancing that went on there. That's what 'diplomacy' has become in the last 1/2-3/4 century. Dancing around the real issues. In modern 'diplomacy', it is often more important to pay attention to what was NOT said.
I suspect there's plenty of dancing that went on there. That's what 'diplomacy' has become in the last 1/2-3/4 century. Dancing around the real issues. In modern 'diplomacy', it is often more important to pay attention to what was NOT said.
I don't remember loving you And I don't recall the things You say you put me through You tell me that you've had A guilty conscience for so long
You say that you walked out on me You say you did me wrong Well, I just don't see how that could be true 'Cause I don't remember loving you
I don't remember loving you You might talk to my doctor He drops by each day at two
I get a funny feeling when I look into your eyes There's something in your smile That gives my stomach butterflies You must look like someone I once knew But I don't remember loving you
I don't remember loving you I heard you mention children Did you say there's one or two? You say I quit my job and then I drank myself insane
You say that I ran down the highway Screaming out your name Now that's not the sort of thing that I would do No, I don't remember loving you
I don't remember loving you I absolutely positively Know that can't be true But everyone I know here in this place Is very strange
If you'll hand me my crayons I'll be glad to take your name In case I run across that guy you knew But I don't remember loving you
I don't remember loving you And I don't recall the things You say you put me through
You tell me that you've had A guilty conscience for so long You say that you walked out on me You say you did me wrong Well, I just don't see how that could be true 'Cause I don't remember loving you
President Joe Biden issued a warning Thursday to any Americans who remain in Ukraine as Russia continues to threaten an invasion: Leave.
"American citizens should leave now," Biden said in an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt.
“It’s not like we’re dealing with a terrorist organization. We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. It’s a very different situation, and things could go crazy quickly,” he said.
Holt asked Biden what scenario could prompt him to send troops to rescue Americans fleeing the country. Biden replied: “There’s not. That's a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another.”
"We’re in a very different world than we’ve ever been*," he added.
Sounds like any American (or anyone else) better grow wheels or wings PDQ because there won't be any Airborne Rangers or Marines coming to get em.
*I guess sleepy Joe Biden has forgotten what the world was like in Oct 1962....
Still 9 days until closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics tho.. after that, Putin owes Xi nothing.
(Would like to hear Cliff P's thoughts on the current situation.. )
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 02-11-2022).]
Sounds like any American (or anyone else) better grow wheels or wings PDQ because there won't be any Airborne Rangers or Marines coming to get em.
*I guess sleepy Joe Biden has forgotten what the world was like in Oct 1962....
Still 9 days until closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics tho.. after that, Putin owes Xi nothing.
No doubt. Collusion between Putin and Xi has never been more evident and why not, Biden has shown he doesn't have the stomach to shed blood even if there's a good reason. The day France takes the lead in negotiating for NATO was the day after the world lost all respect for the US leadership. Putin will take what he wants of Ukraine and Xi will take Taiwan while we sit back and cower. Biden has shown his excellent and bold leadership or lack thereof for the world to see and the world is reacting accordingly.
Just goes to prove this isn't 1903 and we don't have a President Roosevelt in the Oval Office.
