Threat by Russia to crash the ISS
https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-international-space-station-crash-us-europe-sanctions-2022-2
Could this be done remotely without the crew being able to over-ride? I can't see the international crew volunteering.
Sorry if this is duplicate. i just got here and havent made it thru all 38 pages yet.
As we speak of racism, here is an interesting take on racism/culturalism/bias from Al Jazeer.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/27/western-media-coverage-ukraine-russia-invasion-criticism
Наступне повідомлення НЕ є каное. Якщо ви бажаєте надати допомогу зусиллям України, зв’яжіться з посольством у Вашингтоні електронною поштою emb_us@mfa.gov.ua, якщо ви готові відповісти на заклик взятися за зброю в опорі проти російських противників , зателефонуйте в посольство за номером (202) 349-2963, і вони будуть більш ніж люб'язні, щоб сприяти домовленості, щоб приєднатися до зусиль. Якщо привезти власну вогнепальну зброю до Варшави з інструкціями, як дістатися до України після прибуття, можна організувати вже 4 березня, якщо подорожувати без зброї, прибуття заплановано вже на 2 березня.
I translated for convenience... no personal knowledge re content.
"The next message is NOT a canoe. If you would like to assist Ukraine's efforts, contact the Embassy in Washington by email emb_us@mfa.gov.ua if you are willing to respond to a call to take up arms in resistance against Russian adversaries, call the embassy at (202) 349-2963, and they will be more than gracious to facilitate an agreement to join the effort. If you bring your own firearms to Warsaw with instructions on how to get to Ukraine on arrival, you can organize on March 4, if you travel without weapons, arrival is scheduled for March 2."
fastoldfart said:Threat by Russia to crash the ISS
https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-international-space-station-crash-us-europe-sanctions-2022-2
Could this be done remotely without the crew being able to over-ride? I can't see the international crew volunteering.
Sorry if this is duplicate. i just got here and havent made it thru all 38 pages yet.
The Russian service module Zvezda is what is used to boost the stations orbit as it's slowly pulled towards Earth. Basically he's threatening that maybe they wouldn't do that the next time it's needed. Scott Manly talks about it in his latest video if you are interested. No one would be onboard the station if it were to de-orbit, it is nice that a Soyuz isn't the only ride home now even if they do launch and land in Kazakhstan rather than Russia.
John Welsh said:As we speak of racism, here is an interesting take on racism/culturalism/bias from Al Jazeer.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/27/western-media-coverage-ukraine-russia-invasion-criticism
My wife and I was discussing this earlier today.
This isn't an uncommon thing though. The world look at European countries differently (as superior). Of course if this was a ME or African country we would probably not even have a thread on it. And don't get me started on how accepting countries are for Ukrainians refugees vs those from the ME.
It's like when a white girl or woman goes missing in America. The media coverage for that is way different than for women of color who is missing.
Just how the world and America is and has been for a very long time.
The influx of arms and money to Ukraine has been tough for me to parse. The EU says they are now providing fighter jets, of the kind Ukraine can operate. If you believe twitter they arrived a few hours ago:
https://www.barrons.com/news/eu-countries-to-send-fighter-jets-to-ukraine-borrell-01645994409
I've lost track of how much money is being injected, but there are rumors that Zalensky has raised the pay for soldiers to about 6x the average income.
Lastly, the ECB just said that the EU subsidary of the Russian Central bank is will fail after a run on it's reserves:
Humanitarian relief fund that I know is legit.
Canadian Ukrainian Foundation is well known registered charity.
We were warned at a rally today of an epidemic of fraudulent fund raising sites with believable names. Many justify asking for e-transfer because of urgent needs of the war.
https://www.cufoundation.ca/cuf-ucc-ukraine-humanarian-relief/
First time I've held a protest sign since the 1970s LOL
In reply to adam525i :
Thanks, I'll check out the video
John Welsh said:As we speak of racism, here is an interesting take on racism/culturalism/bias from Al Jazeer.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/27/western-media-coverage-ukraine-russia-invasion-criticism
Thank you for sharing something that should make us all think a little more
I think one thing that has to be kept in mind if Ukraine survives. It's still Ukraine.
I have heard of fast tracking them into NATO. There are reasons why they were not considered a good candidate. They are very similar to Russia in many ways, and one of them is corruption. I am sure Ukraine is pretty well motivated in a similar direction at this point, but once this ends, the corruptions is certainly likely to return. The huge amounts of money and supplies I keep hearing about will be massive targets for the historical corruption and much of that money could be easily diverted from it's intended purpose. A well organized relief organization of course will help, but I am sure lots of money is going to far less targeted efforts.
I don't know if O2 has any insights on this, but I just see great potential for disappointment in results. Who knows, Zelenksy might be able turn around the country, that is essentially what he was elected for, but deep seated corruption can be very difficult to turn off.
In reply to aircooled :
We in the west need to quit getting carried away. NATO could be a bargaining chip with Russia in peace talks.
Also western governments yelling about Putin being a war criminal just backs Putin further into a corner for no gain
yupididit said:John Welsh said:As we speak of racism, here is an interesting take on racism/culturalism/bias from Al Jazeer.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/27/western-media-coverage-ukraine-russia-invasion-criticism
My wife and I was discussing this earlier today.
This isn't an uncommon thing though. The world look at European countries differently (as superior). Of course if this was a ME or African country we would probably not even have a thread on it. And don't get me started on how accepting countries are for Ukrainians refugees vs those from the ME.
It's like when a white girl or woman goes missing in America. The media coverage for that is way different than for women of color who is missing.
Just how the world and America is and has been for a very long time.
See the Yemen war or Myanmar for example.
Ukraine is not a good fit for NATO. The only reason this is desired by Ukraine is because of the mutual defense protections provided by accession, but it would do nothing positive for NATO, and frankly be a strategic liability. With the end of the Cold War, people began to think of NATO in the same way as they EU or OSCE - as clubs that all European countries should be in; this is mistaken and dangerous. Allowing a country into NATO is a huge commitment; leaders should be asking themselves: "Would I take my country into a possibly nuclear conflict to defend X's territorial sovereignty?", because that's what it means. During the Cold War, this was considered a difficult but necessary decision. Now, I think it's an ugly reality that most people have conveniently ignored for thirty years, and are stunned and appalled by the realization that their country could end up in a war to defend a remote corner of Europe. Just imagine if Ukraine had been a NATO member: how would Americans feel about a sudden commitment to high-intensity warfare with a peer-state competitor over an issue most could not explain in a country most cannot find on a map? Sending weapons and imposing sanctions is one thing; launching major offensive operations is entirely another.
It's impossible to say what the end-state of this conflict will be, but I would argue that a permanently neutralized, but militarily capable, Ukraine (think Austria during the Cold War) would serve US and EU interests far better than extending NATO membership (it would also be much more acceptable to Russia, reducing the chances of revanchist sentiment and efforts). It offers fewer guarantees for Ukraine, which surely will press for accession, but extending alliance commitments for the sake of short-term optics is a poor choice. Corruption is indeed a problem there, and would potentially harm alliance credibility from a moral standpoint, but I think it's not the primary factor in making a decision on this.
In reply to 02Pilot :
I wonder if this will make Ukraine push for it less. Because they have seen that the West will stand with them and also that they can hold their own against Russia in conventional warfare.
My understanding is an agreement of neutrality is one of the options on the table for peacetalks tomorrow if those actually go anywhere
The talking heads are panicking about Russian nuke forces going on "alert". If Vlad nukes a non-nuclear country (e.g. Ukraine), Russia is a pariah in the eyes of the world. If he nukes a nuclear country (e.g. France), the western nuclear countries will hold a gun to Russia's head for them to get rid of Vlad. The Chinese won't stand in the way of that.
Yes, it could go sideways, but I'm not worried about nukes.
What would be the implications of EU membership but a commitment to not pursuing NATO membership? Does the EU have a mutual defence pact as a bonus?
One thing I want to know, what kind of notes are the various intelligence agencies around the world taking on Russia, and how is it going to change the political landscape.
In reply to 93EXCivic :
Is it because of primarily racism or economic interest? Most of the world has it's most critical $$$ interests in the European, North American markets. In this case though it is the belief that much more than Ukraine is at stake. Few former satellite countries want any part of Putin's "Glorious Empire" wet dreams. If Ukraine falls their Euro aspirations are done.
Agreed though, we do see it differently when its people we can identify with.
Deranged dicktator Putang is now threatening nuclear Armageddon if we keep up our mean sanctions. He doesn't realize that if one nuke goes off, they all go off, some 8000 plus maybe. If we have to send one nuke their way we are going to send everything we have. What a dumb ass. Worthless Israel is sucking up to him and won't back the US and some 86 other nations in our sanctions against him, China also, who knows where Turkey is. It's time to pick who's on our side and who isn't. Who's a friend or foe. China is siding with Russia about it's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, although the US trade with China must be about 10 to 1 of China's trade with Russia. China needs to consider it's friends and foes wisely.
In reply to Mr_Asa :
One thing I want to know, what kind of notes are the various intelligence agencies around the world taking on Russia, and how is it going to change the political landscape.
I was thinking the same thing. It's too early to really get a clear picture. But if reports are accurate about the struggles that Russia has had already, this previously feared military looks a bit like a paper tiger. The United States can project power all over the world, with mobility and logistics capabilities that are unmatched. Putin fronts like he is in the same league, but can't invade his neighbor without his tanks running out of gas and troops running out of ammo. He would have been better off if he just stuck to talking tough.
Boost_Crazy said:In reply to Mr_Asa :
One thing I want to know, what kind of notes are the various intelligence agencies around the world taking on Russia, and how is it going to change the political landscape.
I was thinking the same thing. It's too early to really get a clear picture. But if reports are accurate about the struggles that Russia has had already, this previously feared military looks a bit like a paper tiger. The United States can project power all over the world, with mobility and logistics capabilities that are unmatched. Putin fronts like he is in the same league, but can't invade his neighbor without his tanks running out of gas and troops running out of ammo. He would have been better off if he just stuck to talking tough.
Reminds me of what I've heard about the old Soviet regime and the smoke blowing system. Factory manager says he made the quota on tanks when he wasn't even provided enough steel because the steel factory manager didn't make all the steel because... How many Russian officers aren't showing up to work anymore after this and how high does it go? Put another way, how many people lied to Putin and how heavy is the spring cleaning in Moscow?
There was the story of the conscripts making the snow square and green, did their training command have records showing they got all that expensive training done? Was the money for ammo spent elsewhere while the records were before forged?
In reply to Boost_Crazy :
Paper tiger is what I keep thinking but then remember they have nukes.
yupididit said:In reply to 93EXCivic :
Most definitely. I've been to a few eastern European countries. And some a super accepting and friendly and some not so much. But if you're Turkish or from the middle-east then you're treated even worse. And to add, I've served with Polish soldiers in Afghanistan and my experience was nothing but positive.
South African, Ethiopian, Ghanaian, Somalian and students from Zimbabwe are also reporting that its mostly Ukrainian guards that are sending them to the back of the queue so that Ukrainians can evacuate first.
While Hungary has officially stated that they would accept 3rd country nationals, the above 100% aligns with my experience here. I would expect similar race-related problems throughout the entire pipeline process (which, if I'm being completely honest, probably only exists so Hungary can be seen as offering a helping hand while not accepting immigrants).
93EXCivic said:yupididit said:John Welsh said:As we speak of racism, here is an interesting take on racism/culturalism/bias from Al Jazeer.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/27/western-media-coverage-ukraine-russia-invasion-criticism
My wife and I was discussing this earlier today.
This isn't an uncommon thing though. The world look at European countries differently (as superior). Of course if this was a ME or African country we would probably not even have a thread on it. And don't get me started on how accepting countries are for Ukrainians refugees vs those from the ME.
It's like when a white girl or woman goes missing in America. The media coverage for that is way different than for women of color who is missing.
Just how the world and America is and has been for a very long time.
See the Yemen war or Myanmar for example.
Syrians here (Hungary) in 2015. The doors weren't exactly open...
Cant say more as there are parallels politically with the US.
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