No update today.

Somebody commented during my small break last week that I should try and insert breaks in, say, a day or so every week or two weeks, which I think I will try and do - though they might be irregular (i.e. on different days).

Happy International Day for Biological Diversity!

Links and Stuff

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Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Add to the above list if you can, thank you.

Resources For Understanding The War Beyond The Bulletins

Defense Politics Asia's youtube channel and their map, who is an independent youtuber with a mostly neutral viewpoint.

Moon of Alabama, which tends to have good analysis (though also a couple bad takes here and there)

Understanding War and the Saker: neo-conservative sources but their reporting of the war (so far) seems to line up with reality better than most liberal sources.

Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict and, unlike most western analysts, has some degree of understanding on how war works. He is a reactionary, however.

On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent journalist reporting in the Ukrainian warzones.

Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.

Yesterday's discussion post.

  • SoyViking [he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Even the C.I.A. director, William Burns, has warned of the possibility that Mr. Putin could use a tactical nuclear weapon, even if there is no “practical evidence”

    Russia is going to nuke the Ukraine! Source: Trust me bro.

    Russia is not going to nuke anybody. If they want a bomb with a big boom, conventional weapons can do as much damage as tactical nukes without the geopolitical shock value.

    Nukes are a deterrent that will only be used when the state itself is in danger. Everyone in Moscow and Washington knows that firing their nukes would mean the complete annihilation of both countries as well as of human civilization as such. As long as NATO doesn't do something incredibly stupid, Russian nukes will stay in their silos.

    There are some who would argue for a nuclear response. But there is a wide range of options, and they need not be mutually exclusive. For example, NATO could engage in Ukraine, potentially obliterating Russia’s struggling military.

    That's just a nuclear response with a few extra steps.

    Further, we could confront China and every other nation with a choice much like that George W. Bush gave the world after Sept. 11: You are either with us, or you are with Russia — you cannot be with both.

    And how exactly does he imagine China would react to such an ultimatum? The days of gunboat diplomacy are over. China knows that the US is their adversary and want to see them broken. At best China would tell the yanks to go fuck themselves, severing the US from the factories that produces not only the treats that westoids crave but also literally everything else from t-shirts to steel bridges. It would suck for China to lose US dollars but it would be completely devastating for the US to lose Chinese industry.

    Today, the West represents over half of the global G.D.P.

    How much of this is real stuff that has utility in the material world and how much of it is speculative financial bullshit? If you sever all financial ties the magic of the dollar is dispelled and a bushel of grain becomes infinitely more valuable than a billion dollars's worth of ape jpegs.

    Separating any nation from our combined economies could devastate it. The impact on Western economies could be significant, but the impact on the economies of Russia and its fellow travelers would be much worse. It could ultimately be economic Armageddon, but that is far preferable to nuclear Armageddon.

    Tell me how those sanctions are working out for you. German industry is preparing for gas rationing. If the gas supplies stops, German industry will stop as well and all of Europe will be thrown into recession. Britain is facing real food insecurity and poor Britons can't afford to heat their homes and rely on humanitarian aid for food. Europe is experiencing hyperinflation. Meanwhile Russians have fewer brands to choose from which admittedly disrupts the retail sector but ultimately they have more than enough food and energy to satisfy domestic demands and all the raw materials needed to produce nearly everything themselves.

    You want more ofthat?

    For fuck's sake. Why can't we at least be ruled by sane rational people who doesn't actively try to hurt us?