Russia-Ukraine

[yaxomoxay]

There is a small Georgian Orthodox community in my neighborhood. They hold services early on Sundays at an Episcopal church I used to attend. The musical and ceremonial aspects of the services are beautiful. The services, especially for holidays, can last for hours.

I had to learn a piece of music in Georgian for work. Since the language has a completely different alphabet, I had to search for a phonetic guide online to even get started. I spoke to the priest after one of their services, asking for help perfecting the pronunciation of the song (which was to be performed for Georgians visiting America). He was very kind and got his whole family involved in helping me navigate the intricacies of properly pronouncing the text of the song.

After a year of holding their services at the church, the congregation brought a huge Georgian feast to the coffee hour after the Episcopal service to show their thanks. It was delicious, and I learned they had the former head chef from the Georgian embassy prepare it.

It was a great experience to interact with the local Georgian community. I can only imagine how they are feeling today with everything happening in Ukraine.

Thanks for sharing this beautiful story!

 

[User.45]

Two Chinese state-owned banks will restrict financing for Russian commodity purchases, suggesting there are limits to Beijing's support for Moscow as the Kremlin confronts severe economic sanctions over its attack of Ukraine.
Offshore units of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China have stopped issuing U.S. dollar-denominated letters of credit for purchases of physical Russian commodities ready for export, while the Bank of China has also limited funding, according to Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the matter.

Chinese banks restrict lending to Russia, dealing blow to Moscow

Two Chinese state-owned banks will restrict financing for Russian commodity purchases, suggesting limits to Beijing's support as the Kremlin confronts economic sanctions over its attack of Ukraine.

www.foxbusiness.com

(bloomberg's paywalled, otherwise I'd just cite that without Fox)

 

[Macky-Mac]

Chinese banks restrict lending to Russia, dealing blow to Moscow

Two Chinese state-owned banks will restrict financing for Russian commodity purchases, suggesting limits to Beijing's support as the Kremlin confronts economic sanctions over its attack of Ukraine.

www.foxbusiness.com

somewhat surprisingly China abstained on the UN SC vote to condemn Russia today......Russia of course vetoed it

 

[Citysnaps]

Nice to see Tucker Carlson's recent professed love (a bit of an exaggeration) for Putin was picked up by Russia Today (RT.com).

 

[shadow puppet]

That’s more or less the problem. People want X to be true so they avoid questioning X. So easy for misinformation to spread…

Yes, I do get about questioning. Forgive me. Was only trying to find a bit of levity in an otherwise depressing and sobering situation.

 

[User.45]

somewhat surprisingly China abstained on the UN SC vote to condemn Russia today......Russia of course vetoed it

This is one of the more surprising set of events.

Yes, I do get about questioning. Forgive me. Was only trying to find a bit of levity in an otherwise depressing and sobering situation.

Not that it really matters. It's just pornhub. There are other avenues to get some Fs. Ask Russian Warship, she knows.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Reports tonight suggest that Kazakhstan, one of Russia's traditional (and closest) allies (bear in mind that Russia came to the rescue of attempts to remove the current administration in Kazakhstan as recently as January of this year) - and a southern (oil rich) neighbour - is, according to reports, - denying a request for its troops to join the offensive in Ukraine, officials said Friday.

Additionally, the former Soviet republic said it is not recognizing the Russia-created breakaway republics upheld by Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, as a pretext for its aggression in Ukraine.

Interesting, to say the least.

 

[User.45]

Reports tonight suggest that Kazakhstan, one of Russia's traditional (and closest) allies (bear in mind that Russia came to the rescue of attempts to remove the current administration in Kazakhstan as recently as January of this year) - and a southern (oil rich) neighbour - is, according to reports, - denying a request for its troops to join the offensive in Ukraine, officials said Friday.

Additionally, the former Soviet republic said it is not recognizing the Russia-created breakaway republics upheld by Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, as a pretext for its aggression in Ukraine.

Interesting, to say the least.

Sauce:

One of Russia's closest allies denies request for troops

Germany also said it was considering a "targeted" approach to disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT banking system as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Scepticalscribe]

And the reports about Kazakhstan (which is by no means wedded to western nostrums, and, even more telling, actually "owes" Russia in crude Mafia measurements of reciprocity) denying Russia's request are revealing.

To those who think that Russia can be hurt only by the (fierce) application of raw (i.e. military) power: No.

This is important, and others (in the post Soviet space - none of them remotely resembling democracies) may well choose to follow suit.

Cue red faces (at the very least) in Moscow.

It is one thing to try to suppress snotty Slavs (whom you may seek to "eliminate", "annihilate", "obliterate" out of an excess of frustrated - if rejected - fraternal love), but, when never democratic Asiastics (whom you have always despised, deep in your shrivelled Russian imperialist heart) reject you, even when they owe you, well, what can one say.

Life is not fair.

 

[lizkat]

somewhat surprisingly China abstained on the UN SC vote to condemn Russia today......Russia of course vetoed it

Not that surprising to me. China is not ready to disconnect its economy from all the western supply chains and piss off its middle class citizens who have become accustomed to buying western goods. The west has more options in those matters than China does at the moment, and China is also a bit overextended financially in its efforts to expand influence in South America and more lately Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Sure China is watching how the Russia v Ukraine aggression plays out because there could be tips on what the west tolerates and doesn't go for at all, when China next tries to advance its eventual plan to incorporate Taiwan. But they play an even longer game than Putin does, by decades or more, so there's a limit to how buddy-buddy China will be with Russia this time around, pipeline projects notwithstanding.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

somewhat surprisingly China abstained on the UN SC vote to condemn Russia today......Russia of course vetoed it

No, not surprisingly. Not at all.

Might I remind you of Lord Palmerston's - who (for reference) served as British Prime Minister between the years 1855-1858 and 1859-1865 - barbed (almost acerbic, but not inaccurate) observation - which is what China's policy suggests to me, in other words, China is not an ally of Russia's, it is just that they have some interests in common...

Anyway, Lord Palmerston (@yaxomoxay will relate to this) once observed: "We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow."

 

[SuperMatt]

Not that surprising to me. China is not ready to disconnect its economy from all the western supply chains and piss off its middle class citizens who have become accustomed to buying western goods. The west has more options in those matters than China does at the moment, and China is also a bit overextended financially in its efforts to expand influence in South America and more lately Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Sure China is watching how the Russia v Ukraine aggression plays out because there could be tips on what the west tolerates and doesn't go for at all, when China next tries to advance its eventual plan to incorporate Taiwan. But they play an even longer game than Putin does, by decades or more, so there's a limit to how buddy-buddy China will be with Russia this time around, pipeline projects notwithstanding.

Interesting article from the Council on Foreign Relations regarding the tightrope China is trying to walk:

Why China Is Struggling to Deal With Russia’s War in Ukraine

China is one of Russia’s closest partners, but supporting the invasion of Ukraine would seriously damage Beijing’s ties with wealthy democracies and alienate Chinese citizens who oppose the invasion.

www.cfr.org

 

[yaxomoxay]

No, not surprisingly. Not at all.

Might I remind you of Lord Palmerston's - who (for reference) served as British Prime Minister between the years 1855-1858 and 1859-1865 - barbed (almost acerbic, but not inaccurate) observation - which is what China's policy suggests to me, in other words, China is not an ally of Russia's, it is just that they have some interests in common...

Anyway, Lord Palmerston (@yaxomoxay will relate to this) once observed: "We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow."

I am not familiar with Lord Palmerston but yeah, he ain’t wrong.

And yes, it applies to China spectacularly.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I am not familiar with Lord Palmerston but yeah, he ain’t wrong.

And yes, it applies to China spectacularly.

Lord Palmerston's (subsequently well-known, in fact, infamous, if not notorious - because it expressed an uncomfortable truth) quote was the (famous, perhaps infamous) British (realpolitik) response to pointed questions as to why British foreign policy in the nineteenth century wasn't more motivated by ethical, or moral, considerations.

And, it has surfaced frequently in the intervening years - not least because it is all too accurate (and that is not a criticism) - as a sort of political short hand to describe British foreign policy in certain contexts or settings ever since.

Now, on occasion, circumstances decreed that it (foreign policy) was motivated by matters other than crude self-interest, or commercial profit; expanding electoral franchises in the nineteenth century introduced other considerations to the political matrix - the detestation of middle class Britain (and some of working class Britain) for slavery did serve as a bit of a brake on what might have been an instinctive aristocratic preference for the feudal society of the South in the early 1860s.

Nevertheless, I cannot think of a better (or more eloquent) way with which to express Chinese motivation under the current political circumstances.

 

[Macky-Mac]

No, not surprisingly. Not at all.

Might I remind you of Lord Palmerston's - who (for reference) served as British Prime Minister between the years 1855-1858 and 1859-1865 - barbed (almost acerbic, but not inaccurate) observation - which is what China's policy suggests to me, in other words, China is not an ally of Russia's, it is just that they have some interests in common...

Anyway, Lord Palmerston (@yaxomoxay will relate to this) once observed: "We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow."

well not surprising to you then, but perhaps to Putin.....Lord Palmerston's "some interests in common" could just as easily apply as the explanation if China had voted with Russia against the resolution.

It may be that China considered that reaction to the situation wasn't going quite as expected, your info about Kazakhstan as one example, and decided it might be just as well to avoid involvement since Russia was going to cast a veto anyway

The Kazakhstan situation is particularly interesting. I imagine Putin is thoroughly pissed off at them right now

 

[leman]

Kyiv is holding! The heroic lads and ladies of Ukrainian army are doing Gods work.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Every time I open the news or see BBC notifications come up on my iPhone, it’s just unbelievable. Chatting on Teams with some Polish colleagues yesterday and they are very worried. The fact the Russians are actively targeting any civilians they see is shocking and I think there will be war crimes lodged in the Hague after this. Horrendous.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

And, from one of the dying embers of what was once part of an excellent (and well-informed) media in Russia:


"The independent Novaya Gazeta paper said it has been told to stop calling Russia's invasion an "invasion." Vladimir Gerdo / TASS
Russia's communications regulator on Saturday ordered media to remove reports describing Moscow's attack on Ukraine as an "assault, invasion, or declaration of war" or face being blocked and fined.

In a statement, Roskomnadzor accused a number of independent media outlets including television channel Dozhd and the country's top independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta of spreading "unreliable socially significant untrue information" about the shelling of Ukrainian cities by the Russian army and civilian deaths.

On Thursday, Russian leader Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that has killed dozens of people, forced more than 50,000 to flee Ukraine in just 48 hours and sparked fears of a greater conflict in Europe."

So, not an "invasion"?

"An armed intervention", anyone?

 

[User.168]

.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

'No more words!' - Poland football team refuse to play World Cup qualifier against Russia — Metro

The president of the Polish FA has slammed Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

apple.news

Good, good.

Yes, I have just read this.