Pièce de rÊsistance!
Apparently itâs insta-cremation and scattering for Russiaâs dead. Corpses are bad for morale, donât you know
Really cool photo of him with the same swirls on his shirt as on the tank. Very powerful image.
âŚand by shirt, I mean hoodie. And by hoodie, I mean get off my lawn.
Itâs weird that weâve been in the pandemic long enough that I can think that it would have shown more solidarity had Biden and team worn disposable surgical masks then their sharp black (and one white) numbers.
something about windmills and the perfect slice of chocolate cake
Just the US anti-aircraft Stinger and anti-tank Javelin missiles, and Turkeyâs Bayraktar drones have so far shown just how far behind Russia is when it comes to conventional warfare⌠poor Russian logistics notwithstanding. But the UK is now deploying their Starstreak anti-aircraft missile to Ukraine. One report indicates that a number of Ukrainian soldiers have already been trained for its use. Bad news for the Russian air force. In velocity, range, and resistance to countermeasures, the Starstreak is vastly superior to the Stinger. Three delayed explosion penetrator âdartsâ per launch for near guaranteed hits. The video says its speed is âabout Mach 3â. Itâs actually closer to Mach 4. A Mach 4 shoulder-fired missile. But with the Russians now learning how to shoot down the Bayraktar drones (which were being used to take out Russian artillery sites), the war is now more like Ukrainian artillery versus Russian artillery. Now theyâre just pounding each other with shells. I donât want to imagine what Russiaâs militarily will do next to tip the scales their way. (Câmon sanctions!!)
In light of the sanctions, Putin may now be jealously admiring Trumpâs ready access to DEPENDS.
It may have gone a little too far when some hackers think it is obvious that EVERYONE with experience of pentesting or hacking has an âobligationâ to get involved. 
There´s a risk that hacking can escalate things to an unpredictable level, so hackers should probably avoid satellites, nuclear power plants and anything that affects infrastructure.
Destabilized Ukraine and a refugee crisis were probably in the âprosâ column for Putin when planning the invasion.
Not sure about the rest, though. Putin benefited from NATO and EU that he could paint as boogeymen for the domestic audience, but which were actually quite toothless, and whose members were very happily buying lots of Russian gas. Germany who willingly became dependent on imports from Russia being the prime example. So a united West that is actively cutting business ties with Russia and taking defense seriously is not a good thing for Putin.
He probably hoped to avoid that by achieving a quick victory over Ukraine. Remember that it took about 24 hours after the invasion for the EU to agree on any sanctions at all, and several days before it rolled out the more substantial stuff (e.g. SWIFT bans). If during those first 24 hours Russia had achieved if not an outright victory, then at least some tangible progress towards it (taking over some sizeable city, forcing Zelensky to flee from Kyiv, getting some Ukrainian military units or regional governments to surrender), then business interests may have prevailed, Western unity would have failed to crystallize and Russia would have gotten away with a slap on the wrist, much like after the annexation of Crimea.
new yorker has a story on the sanctions package
It would make it easy for any Russian art critics to find him.
Wow. That thread is an eye opener - how long before enough younger Russians turn against Putin?
Galeev argues that people wonât turn against Putin directly, because that would be too big and too difficult. Instead regional separatist movements will grow, but only after regional governors have begun to isolate their regions economically.
Russian economic situation is awful. Itâs a catastrophe which local authorities will be blamed for. What theyâre gonna do? Stock up. Stock as much as possible. Thatâs already happening. Stavropol doesnât have sugar shortage. Why? They donât allow exporting it to other regions
That will be the major factor of Russian collapse. Itâs not that regional authorities will suddenly declare independence. They wonât, at least for now. Itâs that they will act in the best interest of their regions. Because if a catastrophe happens there, theyâll be blamed for it
In acting in the best interest of their regions under the deficit of literally everything theyâll inevitably stock up, thus breaking supply lines and technological chains. With the communication lines deteriorating due to sanctions it will be easier and easier to do
Russia wonât fall because of collective morally justified action. Itâs cohesion will be broken by its own officials aiming to avoid catastrophe in their own region. That will be a de facto economic separatism, political one will come much later
In discussing the collapse of Russia and rise of separatist states on its ruins, many focus on ethnic conflicts and identity politics. Thatâs not completely wrong. Iâll argue however that the main drivers of collapse will be geographic and socio economic
Chinaâs brief invasion of Vietnam isnât much talked about today during the Ukraine crisis. None of the western actors wants to bring it up when they are trying to pressure China over its general fixation on the sanctity of national sovereignty. And Moscow wonât mention it, because it brings back an awkward memory for their friends in Beijing: Chinaâs 1979 venture wasnât really about Vietnam, but about Russia.
