War Games: Russia Takes Ukraine, China Takes Taiwan. US Response?

[beecee]

1 hour ago, J.C.MacSwell said:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/europe/ukraine-russian-prisoners-of-war-intl/index.html

Seems more and more to be the case. Putin might have not so much have overestimated his military's competence, as underestimated the decency of the average Russian soldier.

If humanity is going to survive long term we're going to need to realize we're all cousins, and we're all in this together.

Well said, and pretty close to the truth I suggest.

[SergUpstart]

Moscow. March 14th. INTERFAX.EN - Russia has prepared a payment order for the payment of the coupon on sovereign Eurobonds due on Wednesday, March 16, if foreign banks cannot make this payment due to the freezing of Russia's international reserves, they will pay in rubles, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told Rossiya 24.

And if this payment is not carried out?? Russia 's default ??? Large Russian companies owe $450 billion. Default on these obligations will cause a global financial crisis.

And will the Fed risk raising the rate today??

[Genady]

Residents of Montenegro are not the only people supporting Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are others who understand that indigenous Ukrainians needed help:

Quote

“Russia's attack on Ukraine is natural and reasonable because the Ukrainian government, through its military and police forces, carried out genocide against indigenous Ukrainians in two regions that wanted their own independence.”

Source: Gatra (magazine), March 5, 2022

Papuan Rebels Succumb to Bogus Kremlin War Propaganda (polygraph.info)

[dimreepr]

12 minutes ago, Genady said:

Residents of Montenegro are not the only people supporting Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are others who understand that indigenous Ukrainians needed help:

Papuan Rebels Succumb to Bogus Kremlin War Propaganda (polygraph.info)

What is an indigenous Ukrainian? 

[geordief]

11 minutes ago, Genady said:

Residents of Montenegro are not the only people supporting Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are others who understand that indigenous Ukrainians needed help:

Papuan Rebels Succumb to Bogus Kremlin War Propaganda (polygraph.info)

Maybe Moscow  should start printing Campaign Medals of  Interested Credulity (Dept of Foreign Affairs)

 

What of Fiji?

[iNow]

7 hours ago, SergUpstart said:

will the Fed risk raising the rate today??

No, but in the weeks ahead, yes. 

As for my own update, Biden plans to announce another $1 billion+ in new military aid to Ukraine today, including anti-armor and anti-air systems (according to the WSJ)

[StringJunky]

 A ray of light, maybe:

Quote

Russia and Ukraine hope for breakthrough in peace talks

KYIV/LVIV, Ukraine, March 16 (Reuters) - New talk of compromise from both Moscow and Kyiv on a status for Ukraine outside of NATO lifted hope on Wednesday for a potential breakthrough after three weeks of war.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said negotiations were becoming "more realistic", while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was "some hope for compromise".

The Kremlin said the sides were discussing status for Ukraine similar to that of Austria or Sweden, both members of the European Union that are outside the NATO military alliance. Ukraine's chief negotiator said it would give Kyiv binding international security guarantees to prevent future attacks.

Though the war still ground on with Ukrainian civilians trapped in cities under Russian bombardment, the signs of compromise sent relief through global financial markets. Shares in Germany - Russia's biggest energy market - were up 3.4%.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-20000-escape-besieged-mariupol-uk-says-russian-forces-struggling-2022-03-16/

 

[Genady]

10 hours ago, SergUpstart said:

And will the Fed risk raising the rate today??

Yes. 25 basic points.

[Phi for All]

3 minutes ago, Genady said:

Yes. 25 basic points.

Basis points, which reflect percentage change in value, and each represents 0.01%, so this increase in interest rates is a quarter of one percent.

[Genady]

5 hours ago, dimreepr said:

What is an indigenous Ukrainian? 

Here is a recent demographic and historical information:

Quote

The indigenous peoples are Ukrainians (77.8%), Crimean Tatars (0.5%), Karaites (>0.1%), Krymchaks (>0.1%) — the last three originated in the Crimean peninsula, and Gagauzes (0.1%) originated in Odesa Region.

Indigenous Peoples in Ukraine You May Have Never Heard About (ukraineworld.org)

[Sensei]

4 hours ago, StringJunky said:

 A ray of light, maybe:

Quote

 

Russia and Ukraine hope for breakthrough in peace talks

KYIV/LVIV, Ukraine, March 16 (Reuters) - New talk of compromise from both Moscow and Kyiv on a status for Ukraine outside of NATO lifted hope on Wednesday for a potential breakthrough after three weeks of war.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said negotiations were becoming "more realistic", while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was "some hope for compromise".

The Kremlin said the sides were discussing status for Ukraine similar to that of Austria or Sweden, both members of the European Union that are outside the NATO military alliance. Ukraine's chief negotiator said it would give Kyiv binding international security guarantees to prevent future attacks.

Though the war still ground on with Ukrainian civilians trapped in cities under Russian bombardment, the signs of compromise sent relief through global financial markets. Shares in Germany - Russia's biggest energy market - were up 3.4%.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-20000-escape-besieged-mariupol-uk-says-russian-forces-struggling-2022-03-16/

 

 

Not really..

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/03/15/russia-talks-with-ukraine-only-for-show-says-former-foreign-minister

Andrei Kozyrev ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Kozyrev ) : "Russia talks with Ukraine 'only for show', says former [Russia] foreign minister"

When they talked in 2014, they occupied the Ukrainian lands of Donetsk and Luhansk. The ceasefire was used to replace tired soldiers, provide new personnel, new weapons, supply, fuel, food, etc. and overall victory..

 

Again, the bridge connecting Crimea to the mainland must be destroyed ASAP. Crimea has no access to fresh drinkable water. It receives it from Ukraine. Destruction of the water supply will put Crimea (and the army stationed and attacking from it) in disastrous troubles..

This should have been done two weeks ago. The southern front would have collapsed.

 

[SergUpstart]

6 minutes ago, Sensei said:

Again, the bridge connecting Crimea to the mainland must be destroyed ASAP. Crimea has no access to fresh drinkable water. It receives it from Ukraine. Destruction of the water supply will put Crimea (and the army stationed and attacking from it) in disastrous troubles..

This should have been done two weeks ago. The southern front would have collapsed.

Simferopol reservoir is already filled with water from rain and snow. In addition, there are many artesian wells in the Crimea. Water in Crimea is needed for agriculture, not for the needs of the army.

[Genady]

I hear about Russian journalists and Russian performers. Where are Russian scientists?

Top Russian Ballet Star Condemns War, Leaves Country | HuffPost Latest News

[beecee]

16 minutes ago, Genady said:

I hear about Russian journalists and Russian performers. Where are Russian scientists?

Top Russian Ballet Star Condemns War, Leaves Country | HuffPost Latest News

Heard last night that the American astronaut on the ISS will be brought back by the Russian Soyuz space craft. Not that it would have/could have caused any problems, after all NASA has its own service craft to ferry astronauts and supplies now.

[swansont]

On 3/12/2022 at 9:31 AM, Dropship said:

I can tell you it's just propaganda hogwash because nobody is going to deliberately waste munitions bombing kindergartens instead of military barracks and troop concentrations etc..

This held up well.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/opinions/war-crimes-russia-invasion-ukraine-newton/index.html

[iNow]

On 3/15/2022 at 8:10 PM, J.C.MacSwell said:

Putin might have not so much have overestimated his military's competence, as underestimated the decency of the average Russian soldier.

It also seems that Russian troop morale is VERY low right now since more than 7,000 of them have already been killed in less than 3 weeks (according to conservative US estimates).

[SergUpstart]

3 hours ago, iNow said:

It also seems that Russian troop morale is VERY low right now since more than 7,000 of them have already been killed in less than 3 weeks (according to conservative US estimates).

The main losses are not in the Russian army, but in the people's militia of the DPR and LPR. And in the DPR and LPR troops, motivation and morale are very high.

[StringJunky]

1 hour ago, SergUpstart said:

The main losses are not in the Russian army, but in the people's militia of the DPR and LPR. And in the DPR and LPR troops, motivation and morale are very high.

You need to stop just focusing on the official Russian version of events. 

[J.C.MacSwell]

5 hours ago, StringJunky said:

You need to stop just focusing on the official Russian version of events. 

We wouldn't want Putin to call Serge "scum" or "traitor", or otherwise accuse him of not swallowing the kool-aid...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-putin-warns-pro-western-traitors-ukraine-1.6386960

 

[TheVat]

Vlad may not be pleased with this koolaid antidote: Arnold speaks of the harsh realities to the people of Russia, and weaves in some personal history with his father's WW2 sufferings.

 

[Sensei]

The occupation of South Ossetia ("Georgia") by Russian troops ends:

...soon to be seen from a drone and satellites....

[Sensei]

4 hours ago, Sensei said:

The occupation of South Ossetia ("Georgia") by Russian troops ends:

...soon to be seen from a drone and satellites....

Job for today (for intelligence):

1) identify the cell phones of the boys in the above convoy

2) identify their names

3) call their families

4) call them... the last time.. while they're still alive... Before they are used to attack Ukraine..

 5) destroy the bridge..

Edited March 18, 2022 by Sensei

[Genady]

My apartment door was spray-painted with the word "traitor" when I was readying to leave the USSR back in the 70-s. Somebody somehow knew this, without social media or me advertising this fact. Compare:

Quote

Asked about incidents in which the apartment doors of war critics were spray-painted with the letter “Z” — a sign used to mark Russian military vehicles in Ukraine that has been heavily promoted by the state — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described it as an “emotional" move by Putin's supporters.

Putin likens opponents to 'gnats,' signaling new repression - ABC News (go.com)

[geordief]

19 minutes ago, Genady said:

My apartment door was spray-painted with the word "traitor" when I was readying to leave the USSR back in the 70-s. Somebody somehow knew this, without social media or me advertising this fact. Compare:

Putin likens opponents to 'gnats,' signaling new repression - ABC News (go.com)

More like gnats crawling through his lobes.

 

A BBC report on Abrahamovich last night suggesting he might be Putin's banker.

 

Good riddance(even if he was also  being used for espionage purposes,hopefully)

[Sensei]

1 hour ago, Genady said:

My apartment door was spray-painted with the word "traitor" when I was readying to leave the USSR back in the 70-s. Somebody somehow knew this, without social media or me advertising this fact.

The phones were under surveillance.

Now it's much more advanced.

A user's phone can be remotely turned to microphone on demand when not in use by user. For example, my device is able to detect what is being said from 15 meters away (from the balcony to the kitchen). The location of the cell phone can be tracked the all day long with an accuracy of 20-50 meters, depending on how close the cell-towers are. The modern cell-phones without removable batteries makes it even easier..

I would never get an iPhone and use it as my primary device. It's just plain stupid. They have glued accumulators. Not to mention Pegasus If you don't have iOS 14.8 (released Sep'21) or preferably iOS 15.x (released Sep'21) (where Pegasus's exploit was fixed better than in iOS 14.8, which is still vulnerable if you click a link to hacker's website or get document), my advice is: destroy it (don't sell, don't give your family member - unless you want to hackers steal their money from the bank account or similar pleasures, never ever sell (any mobile) to unknown 3rd party!). Let it use up all the battery power and put it away in the garage, where nobody will find it accidentally and use it without any idea what he or she is doing..

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by Sensei