Russia-Ukraine

[yaxomoxay]

Another interesting news item

WSJ News Exclusive | Saudi, Emirati Leaders Decline Calls With Biden During Ukraine Crisis

The Persian Gulf monarchies have signaled they won’t help ease surging oil prices unless Washington supports them in Yemen, elsewhere.

www.wsj.com

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Another interesting news item

WSJ News Exclusive | Saudi, Emirati Leaders Decline Calls With Biden During Ukraine Crisis

The Persian Gulf monarchies have signaled they won’t help ease surging oil prices unless Washington supports them in Yemen, elsewhere.

www.wsj.com

Yes, I read that yesterday.

Rather short-sighted on the part of both KSA and UAE.

Snubbing Mr Biden is foolish, (especially given the way they had cosied up to his predecessor), and will prove to be counter-productive.

Besides, if you make your living (and fund your state) through the export of natural resources such as oil and gas, now is the time to drop - reduce - slash - prices, in order to ensure continued dependence on this source of energy, for that would slow - inertia, especially if it is the easier option - will usually be chosen over change, which can be painful at worst, and unsettling and rather disconcerting at best, - western velocity re seeking out secure, stable, sustainable energy alternatives.

Or, rather, if you make the status quo too painful, then, western states will be influenced by considerations of energy security, energy prices, and environmental considerations to spur them into supporting and financing research and development into viable change.

 

[Zoidberg]

The other thing to note, is that while Europe's skies are shut to Russian airlines, and Russian aircraft, those of Africa and Asia are not.

Nevertheless, Belarus is the only "foreign" (i.e. international) route currently flown - or operated - by Aeroflot.

I would have expected that flights would have continued to the countries that abstained on the extraordinary UN vote - India? China? - what used to be considered to be Soviet Central Asia?

It seems to me to be significant that Russian airlines no longer fly anywhere in the world (for Belarus hardly counts).

The thing is, with the sanctions, the rubble (pun intended) being what it is, and not being able to pay outside of the country easily, I can't imagine there's many Russians going abroad... Conversely, investment in Russia is going to be annihilated for the next decade at least (no stock market, nationalisation of companies, brain drain, possible sanctions for those who trade with them) so business trips into Russia are probably not very common as of late. If Putin stays and the war rages, no one will want to invest. If he's replaced, there will be some serious turmoil for years to come. What industry they have (even mining) is reliant on exports from modern countries (even China won't cut it for some things). One example from the past is the embargo the Western bloc imposed on high end machinery such as CNC milling machines. They will have to do with what they have for the foreseeable future, and when things start breaking, it will be very expensive and complicated for them to get new machines or replacement parts.

And it's not like Russia is the best tourism destination in early March right before possible civil unrest when people stop getting paid.

A quick search shows that Aeroflot's fleet is composed almost entirely of Airbus and Boeing jets (no idea whether they are leased or owned). If there is serious doubts about their maintenance, ownership, contracts and so on, it would make sense that they try to limit the flights, especially abroad. If the aircraft are leased, Aeroflot won't want them seized or delayed.

 

[lizkat]

Agreed.

For what it is worth, I've met senior Romanians who have told me (privately) that they deeply regret what happened to Nicolae Ceausescu following the Romanian revolution of 1989, for that they (now) believe that he should have been tried (and sentenced) in a properly constituted court of law, rather than face the form of summary justice that occurred at the time

Yes. It would have set a precedent for and useful example of "all due process" instead of reinforcing the notion that things can be settled quickly via impulsive or mob-driven bringing of "justice".

It's not just that revenge is a dish best served cold, it's that letting things cool off may actually produce justice, yet still be seen to intersect with a form of "revenge" when a legal punishment is administered to someone who is tried and found guilty.

Of course there are always going to be people who cannot seem to tolerate the risk that the guilty may escape justice in the interests of protecting the innocent. It's hard to want for a perceived enemy what one would want for oneself, but that's how rule of law is supposed to work.

 

[SuperMatt]

So, NATO will not be delivering fighter jets to Ukraine yet, if at all…

Pentagon rejects Poland’s offer to transfer fighter fleet for Ukraine

The Pentagon rejected Poland's offer to transfer its MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S., who would have then given them to Ukraine.

www.armytimes.com

 

[Zoidberg]

Now that the nazi excuse is getting old, Russian online propaganda has changed their rhetoric to say that the US had covert labs producing bioweapons in Ukraine.

That means Russia is planning on using bioweapons.

Cunning stunts.

 

[Eric]

Now that the nazi excuse is getting old, Russian online propaganda has changed their rhetoric to say that the US had covert labs producing bioweapons in Ukraine.

That means Russia is planning on using bioweapons.

Cunning stunts.

More like Stunning cunts

 

[Scepticalscribe]

More like Stunning cunts

Christ.

Puerile wit?

Please.

 

[Eric]

They just bombed a hospital full of people and are now sniping and using tanks to shoot down civilians just trying to leave the country. Wondering how long we'll continue defending putin from calls of assassination. If the argument is "it could be worse if he's removed" I'm just not seeing how this is possible.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

They just bombed a hospital full of people and are now sniping and using tanks to shoot down civilians just trying to leave the country. Wondering how long we'll continue defending putin from calls of assassination. If the argument is "it could be worse if he's removed" I'm just not seeing how this is possible.

Forever.

We must adhere to the rule of law, or we are no better than those we condemn.

We must model this, and be seen to abide by these principles, and that we, also, abide by, adhere to, and live by them. We cannot - credibly - preach them, otherwise.

More to the point, there must be an objective standard to which we abide by, to which we adhere, which we recognise, and which we are also prepared to be judged by.

The rule of law applies to - or, ought to apply to - all of us, irrespective of what we think, feel, or how convenient - or inconvenient - we think it is, or might be.

Otherwise - if we do not accept that it rules, governs, guides - us - how can we expect that others will accept this principle?

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

They just bombed a hospital full of people and are now sniping and using tanks to shoot down civilians just trying to leave the country. Wondering how long we'll continue defending putin from calls of assassination. If the argument is "it could be worse if he's removed" I'm just not seeing how this is possible.

I‘m sure the Russian propaganda machine is saying all the atrocities are false flag operations by Ukrainians and the west. The main way to detect if an authoritarian leader is lying during a crisis is if they opened their mouth and said it.

 

[Yoused]

Just so you know, if Individual-ONE were still in office, there would have been no talk of sanctions, and this war would have been over in 4 days. So much better. When asked for his thoughts on the Ukraine situation on the Nelk Boys podcast, his sage response was "windmills kill birds".

 

[chengengaun]

it could be worse if he's removed

I think there is no viable choice other than removing him from power. However, this can be done by other means e.g. his subordinates standing up against him, and have a public, transparent resolution to the issue e.g. trial - with some sort of continuity to the operation of the government - though these options are about choosing among the least worst.

 

[Zoidberg]

@Scepticalscribe here's your answer regarding the cancellation of international flights

"Like a deadbeat who hides his car when the repo man comes calling, Russian airlines appear to have absconded with more than US$10 billion worth of rented airplanes rather than let them be repossessed.

After the newest wave of EU sanctions banned not only the sale of aircraft and parts to Russian companies but also access over EU airspace for Russian planes, the country’s airlines responded by absconding with more than 500 planes valued at over $10 billion before they could be repossessed by their lessors. After the newest wave of EU sanctions banned not only the sale of aircraft and parts to Russian companies but also access over EU airspace for Russian planes, the country’s airlines responded by absconding with more than 500 planes valued at over $10 billion before they could be repossessed by their lessors, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Cut off from international markets, supply lines, and aviation insurance providers, Russia’s wings are essentially clipped, which may be why its airlines resorted to withholding more than 500 planes leased to them by foreign firms in order to mitigate their losses.

The news comes after Russia’s aviation regulator recommended on March 5 that all Russian airlines with planes leased from foreign carriers, and not registered in Russia, avoid flying overseas where the aircraft risked being detained upon arrival, according to TASS.

And so Aeroflot, Russia’s flag carrier, as well as the country’s other airlines, halted their international flights after ensuring that their leased aircraft were safely back and tucked away in Russian hangars

In further defiance of the EU sanctions, the Kremlin also advised its airlines to re-register their foreign-owned aircraft, in what is seen as an effort to thwart the revocation of the planes’ certifications, Bloomberg reported."

Russia Absconds with $10bn in Aircraft in Response to EU Sanctions

www.occrp.org

It's a rogue state doubling down.

 

[Eric]

I think there is no viable choice other than removing him from power. However, this can be done by other means e.g. his subordinates standing up against him, and have a public, transparent resolution to the issue e.g. trial - with some sort of continuity to the operation of the government - though these options are about choosing among the least worst.

I think no matter who you are or what position you hold, killing a bunch of innocent human beings warrants a death sentence and a price on your head. In no other society in the world are such atrocities allowed to happen by a single individual like this without consequences, where you'll put a known mass murderer out on the street and say "let's let the system take care of this properly when they see fit".

 

[chengengaun]

Quite an informative video on what will happen to leased Russian airliners.



Direct link

 

[Edd]

I mean, McDonald’s alone closing 800 or 900 stores? That’s 10s of thousands of jobs and it only scratches the surface. It’s going to get real interesting real fast for Putin.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Good editorial piece on today’s WSJ:

Opinion | Russia’s Failure Is China’s Gain

This isn’t another cold war. Due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the world has become more dangerous than it’s been since World War II.

www.wsj.com

 

[yaxomoxay]

I think no matter who you are or what position you hold, killing a bunch of innocent human beings warrants a death sentence and a price on your head.

Morally I don’t entirely disagree, but yours is a very hard line on the sand.

Newly Declassified Video Shows U.S. Killing of 10 Civilians in Drone Strike (Published 2022)

The New York Times obtained footage of the botched strike in Kabul, whose victims included seven children, through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

www.nytimes.com

 

[yaxomoxay]

I mean, McDonald’s alone closing 800 or 900 stores? That’s 10s of thousands of jobs and it only scratches the surface. It’s going to get real interesting real fast for Putin.

Not to be the cynic here, but while it certainly creates some issue, let’s not forget that other countries, including North Korea and Cuba, survive without McDonald’s and with a plethora of western sanctions. If China is truly fueling Russian treasury, I don’t expect riots or such, just some adaptation period. Russia might become the next North Korea, but a much more powerful one.