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

[iNow]

5 hours ago, mistermack said:

Calling it dumb doesn't make it a fact. A specific reply to a specific point might be worth my attention, but I'm afraid it's you that's doing the hand-waving. 

5 hours ago, mistermack said:

I'm amazed you just tamely swallow it. 

5 hours ago, mistermack said:

Are you really that ignorant of what's happened? I consider that an idiotic decision … I'm not going to endlessly debate the bleedin obvious with you. 

 

1 hour ago, mistermack said:

I find your tedious mantra of "can you support your assertions" a bit pathetic. … I'm not here to be your nursemaid… some people, I guess, are determined to struggle even with the obvious.

47 minutes ago, mistermack said:

Do you expect me to [clarify] just for the benefit of people who are pretending to be thick?

31 minutes ago, mistermack said:

it's just tiresome rhetoric, to ask for evidence that cannot possibly exist. 

Thank you for your valuable contributions to this difficult thread on this important topic. It’s been really helpful and is appreciated. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by iNow

[iNow]

1 minute ago, geordief said:

Would it stop the war in its tracks,for example?

I prefer using my powers of clairvoyance on cashing in on the lottery and picking winners in horse racing. 

[zapatos]

2 hours ago, mistermack said:

This is the sort of silly stuff I posted about. How is it NOT obvious, that that is my opinion? And what sort of evidence do you imagine might exist that could establish the matter as a fact, one way or the other? 

I didn't ask you to establish the matter as a fact. I asked for evidence to support your assertion. You could have told us how Putin acted in similar situations, or told us about the article you read that led you to that conclusion. You could have laid out your reasoning. Anything could have been provided. But if all you do is make bold assertions and don't give us any way to gauge if what you say is reasonable, then you are not participating in the conversation. You are just contributing noise.

[iNow]

Yeah. My initial reply there probably didn’t offer this situation the seriousness it deserves. The speed and solidarity of the sanctions seem to have surprised Putin and now he’s likely feeling backed into a corner. 

[StringJunky]

41 minutes ago, iNow said:

Yeah. My initial reply there probably didn’t offer this situation the seriousness it deserves. The speed and solidarity of the sanctions seem to have surprised Putin and now he’s likely feeling backed into a corner. 

He needs to be guided into a face-saving escape route, if he gets really cornered. There's no winning by anyone in this sorry situation, only averting disaster.  

Edited March 4, 2022 by StringJunky

[koti]

9 hours ago, zapatos said:

Can you expand on that a bit? Maybe as social media is not a big part of my life I don't get the significance, but what exactly is the issue? Is it his looks? The fact he is not on Twitter? That he's not flashy enough? I'm truly curious as to how his age is a detriment due to social media.

Social media is almost never focused on merrit, data and fact, it's power comes from generating emotional responses. An 80 year old leader during a war is something easilly exploited. Putin essencially is at war with the US and the rest of the world, Ukraine is just a proxy.

9 hours ago, TheVat said:

Cool.  I will agree as far as Biden is not an inspiring orator.  And he stumbles verbally when he is tired, which 79 year old men can do.  I voted against Trump, and not for putting an elderly man into the world's most stressful and punishing job.  It is what it is, as we say here in these Ununited States.  Cory Booker or Amy Klobuchar wasn't an option, so I had to vote Joe.  He's holding up amazingly well.

 

Agree.

8 hours ago, swansont said:

He fights to overcome a stutter, which isn’t about energy.

True. I'm sure russian propaganda is exploiting that too.

[J.C.MacSwell]

So what is the best way to ensure that Russia's oil and gas sector suffers, and suffers most immediately?

We are approaching a shoulder season where the need for heating and cooling is reduced, but also when reserves have been reduced and when it normally is made up.

Prices will inevitably rise. How do we reduce this benefit to Russia?

How do we, as a coalition in this economic war, share the pain? 

Ideally we would increase, not decrease, taxes on fossil fuels to decrease demand which unfortunately seems fairly inelastic with price. Can our economies handle it? How much reduction in consumption can we handle? How quickly?

Something we should be doing anyway, even without a Putin.

I think a combination of release of reserves, temporary increase in production, and rationing and/or tax increases are in order.

[TheVat]

10 hours ago, Genady said:

I think the spelling should rather be, Фак Путин. I agree either way.

Thanks, yes the Russian U (y) is an "oo" sound, not an "uh," and I should know that.  @String Junky needs accurate teeshirt info.  Now he just needs teeshirt weather. 😀

[Genady]

4 minutes ago, TheVat said:

Thanks, yes the Russian U (y) is an "oo" sound, not an "uh," and I should know that.  @String Junky needs accurate teeshirt info.  Now he just needs teeshirt weather. 😀

Any time.  

[StringJunky]

43 minutes ago, TheVat said:

Thanks, yes the Russian U (y) is an "oo" sound, not an "uh," and I should know that.  @String Junky needs accurate teeshirt info.  Now he just needs teeshirt weather. 😀

It's done and heading my way. 

[swansont]

!

Moderator Note

Technical aspects of the discussion on the reactor have been split

https://www.scienceforums.net/topic/126806-nuclear-reactor-technical-discussion-split-form-war-games-russia-takes-ukraine/

 

 

[Phi for All]

17 hours ago, mistermack said:

I find your tedious mantra of "can you support your assertions" a bit pathetic. You do it all the time, not just to my posts, but to anyone and everyone. 

My posts are like most other people's, a mixture of fact and opinion. If you can't work out which is which, I'm not here to be your nursemaid. I try to make it obvious, I think I DO make it perfectly obvious, but some people, I guess, are determined to struggle even with the obvious.

I'm going to step away from this thread as a poster, since it seems all the mods have been involved.

!

Moderator Note

mistermack, it doesn't present a conflict of interest for me to say that your objection to providing support for assertions you make isn't acceptable here or anyplace else on the site. "Tedious" may be your definition of "rigorous" and "reasoned" and "well-supported", but nobody else here is that sloppy. If you want to keep posting here, you need to follow the rules. 

Some people like to take a conversation to places it's never been. They don't care if it's dirty and uncomfortable and their conversational clothes get filthy. Conversations like that are interesting, and most folks learn a great deal from such discussions. 

Your discussion style, however, doesn't take us into the filth; it starts out with dirty hands, and insists on making everybody else deal with it. Our clothes don't get dirty because we were mucking about in unfamiliar places, but rather because we have to keep refuting the information you refuse to support, and get frustrated when you can't even be bothered to acknowledge it. 

There may not be any overall resolutions to any of our discussions, but most would like to see something close. That's only going to happen if everyone involved is arguing in good faith. 

 

[Sensei]

I think, I have kinda déjà vu.. we saw similar things last year in Afghanistan..

Why should 3rd world country pay for weapons? "Let them just attack us and leave them (weapons) alone on the street"..

 

The only happy are the weapon producers..

..not for a long time..

 

[Moontanman]

Does Putin understand that his nuclear saber rattling is hollow and meaningless? Who is he trying to scare? We may not be in the era of MAD but it is still as insane as it ever was to use nuclear weapons. 

[SergUpstart]

Pushilin announced the bombing of a house in Mariupol by the Azov battalion, 200 people under the rubble

[J.C.MacSwell]

23 hours ago, J.C.MacSwell said:

I think a combination of release of reserves, temporary increase in production, and rationing and/or tax increases are in order.

Elon Musk seems to agree with that part:

Neutral Oil Neutral Gas

If you paid a 100% extra excise tax on the portion of oil and gas payments that went to the Russians, and that extra tax went to Ukraine...at least you could claim you were neutral with regard to your fuel use.

[Alex_Krycek]

10 hours ago, Moontanman said:

Does Putin understand that his nuclear saber rattling is hollow and meaningless? Who is he trying to scare? We may not be in the era of MAD but it is still as insane as it ever was to use nuclear weapons. 

It's only insane to the sane.  

For everyone's sake, I hope Putin still is.

------

Good analysis here also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXKSM8lpqKM

 

[koti]

Regular petrol in Warsaw went up from 5,88 PLN to 6,99 PLN in 48 hours. 

[iNow]

Putin said today that Moscow will consider a declaration of Ukraine as a no-fly zone by any third-party as "participation in the armed conflict." In other words… a declaration of war.

Meanwhile, the US is working to ban import of all Russian oil, possibly permanently. 

Russian oil was about 3% of US crude imported last year, primarily for states like Hawaii or on the coats where shipping oil from other refineries is more of a challenge. 

Edited March 5, 2022 by iNow

[StringJunky]

Climate change adaptations may take a back seat for a while.

[zapatos]

17 minutes ago, StringJunky said:

Climate change adaptations may take a back seat for a while.

Or they may be accelerated. 

[Sensei]

So far Russia lost at least 33 airplanes, 37 helicopters, 251 tanks (as of 4 March, 2022)

They lost twice as many soldiers in 10 days as in the entire 2nd Chechen War... which lasted.. 10 years...

 

[Genady]

4 minutes ago, Sensei said:

So far Russia lost at least 33 airplanes, 37 helicopters, 251 tanks (as of 4 March, 2022)

They lost twice as many soldiers in 10 days as in the entire 2nd Chechen War... which lasted.. 10 years...

 

Where are these numbers from?

[Alex_Krycek]

11 hours ago, iNow said:

Putin said today that Moscow will consider a declaration of Ukraine as a no-fly zone by any third-party as "participation in the armed conflict." In other words… a declaration of war.

Considering how integral sorties are to Russia's campaign, it's hard to see how a no fly zone wouldn't be seen as a declaration of war, considering it would necessitate expelling the Russian aircraft using force.

[koti]

As of March 5th LUKOIL stock dropped 92% and the board released the follwing statement on Saturday morning:

"The Board of Directors of LUKOIL expresses herewith its deepest concerns about the tragic events in Ukraine. Calling for the soonest termination of the armed conflict, we express our sincere empathy for all victims, who are affected by this tragedy. We strongly support a lasting ceasefire and a settlement of problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy"

They changed their attitude significantly and by significantly I mean 180 degrees, it looks like sanctions are working.

17 hours ago, Genady said:

Where are these numbers from?

 

Edited March 6, 2022 by koti