NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote: 
authoritarianism is the type of dictatorial disease that only understands power and that power exercised over other human beings

they think they have a higher claim on other humans and are willing to use force to get them to submit

it's a long term losing game and it looks like the freer countries around these thugs are waking up to the fact that they're on the menu

i dislike that a huge portion of high tech will be directed toward weapons/military but when bad guys are killing and strong arming others it could seem like one of the safer options

peace

Prayers, good vibes or whatever you do, badly needed for DeltaIndia again:

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds more wounded in mass shelling in rocket strikes by Russian forces on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Monday morning, the Ukrainian interior ministry has said. 

Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said in a post on Facebook:

Kharkiv has just been massively fired upon by grads (rockets). Dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded.

So negotiations start and this is their idea of a negotiating tactic.
Don't know about anyone else, but my instinctive reaction to bullies is to tell them to go f. themselves.

 kurtster wrote:
Kurt, I think you're ignoring Islander's point.

Say you're right, and Russia has an enormous gold reserve.  HOW do they use it?  You can't sell it to yourself, and when you do sell it, you need a way to "get paid".  You can't use banks and exchanges that the world uses.  

Meanwhile, middle and upper-class Russians are losing their shirts.  There is no more money in their system, and the systems that they use daily in Europe are now off-limits.   Russians can not get their hands on currency today. There have been no available Rubbles since last Thursday....all of the printed money is "out" in the hands of Russians hoarding cash.  Putin's biggest threat is the misery his own people are experiencing.

Everyone in the US is up in arms with 7% inflation YOY.  Russia has experienced a 30%+ inflation in a week.  This inflation is solely due to one man's desire to expand his empire, by attacking the families of his own citizens.  

So you're right, Russia has a lot of gold.  How do they use any of it?

 islander wrote: 
Where do you get your information from ?

At one time I was living, breathing precious metals.  Too white knuckle, but I learned an awful lot about commodities along the way and where and how to look for information.  I've been watching how much both Russia and China have been accumulating gold over the past 10 years and how big of a priority it is for them.

Also do not forget that Russia is the 2nd largest oil producer in the world.  They call it Black Gold for a reason.  In case you haven't noticed, the world still runs on oil.  If someone needs energy bad enough, they are going to get it from wherever they can and pay whatever it takes and that would also include policy decisions.  Oh, and FWIW, Putin long ago hardened Russia's power grid against EMP attacks, something that we have failed to even get past talking about who is going to pay for it and do we really need it, yada, yada.  Another story for another time.

Try this.  While dated as far as current holdings, the rest is germane to your claim.

Gold Ownership

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia) is a legal entity whose powers derive from the Constitution of the Russian Federation as well as from federal laws. The Bank of Russia is owned by the Russian Federation. The gold reserves of the Russian Federation are owned and managed by the Bank of Russia.

As per Article 2 of the “Russian Federation Federal Law On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation:

“The authorised capital and other property of the Bank of Russia shall be in federal ownership….the Bank of Russia shall exercise its powers to own, use and manage its property, including the gold and currency (international) reserves of the Bank of Russia.”

Bank of Russia Gold Storage

The Bank of Russia stores two-thirds of its gold reserves in Moscow in a Bank building on Ulitsa Pravdy (Pravda Street), and the remaining one-third of the gold reserves in a building in the city of St Petersburg. Therefore all Russian official gold reserves are domestically held within the Russian Federation.

The Moscow storage vault is known as the Central vault of the Bank of Russia and comprises a space of 17,000 sq/metres, with a storage area of 1,500 sq/metres, and stores both cash and precious metals. The gold stored in this vault is mostly in the form of large variable weight ‘standard gold bars’ which weigh between 10 kgs and 14 kgs (ie Good Delivery bars). The vault also stores some smaller bars (100 grams to 1 kgs bars). The gold bars in the vault are stored in plastic and wooden boxes. In January 2011, the then prime minister Vladimir Putin toured this vault area and was the first Russian prime minister ever to do so.

 kurtster wrote:

But most of that is held outside of the country. And with the current temperament on sanctions it's unlikely they will be able to use all of it. And while that seems like a lot of money, when it comes to running a country at war while trying to shore up your currency, it is probably a few weeks worth.  

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote: 
 kurtster wrote: 
I said Hope.  Reality paints a different picture.  Especially with now adding Sweden and Finland into this.

This really is for all the marbles.  Just ain't no one willing to admit it yet.

Vladimir Sorokin - Putin's endgame isn't Ukraine but western civilisation

Elon Musk says SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service is active in Ukraine with more terminals on the way

 Red_Dragon wrote: 
Yeah, ok.

Russia for First Time Holds More Gold Than U.S. Dollars in $583 Billion Reserves

(Bloomberg) — A multi-year drive to reduce exposure to U.S. assets has pushed the share of gold in Russia’s $583 billion international reserves above dollars for the first time on record. Gold made up 23% of the central bank’s stockpile as of the end of June 2020, the latest date for which data on the breakdown is available, according to a report published late Monday. The share of dollar assets dropped to 22%, down from more than 40% in 2018.

The shift is part of a broader strategy outlined by President Vladimir Putin to “de-dollarize” the Russian economy and lower its vulnerability to U.S. sanctions amid deteriorating relations with Washington. Gold is now the second-biggest component of the central bank’s reserves after the euro, which makes up about of a third of total assets. About 12% of the stash is in yuan.

 OBTW ... Gold has gone up about $100 / ounce the past week.  Floating at around $1900 / oz. USD.  Figure out the gain for the 2400 tons of gold that Putin has.

Russia's economy is likely to be completely tanked in a matter of days.

 kcar wrote: 
I know all about that remark and the context of it, too.

I have to agree.  But you and everyone else are trying to conflate "genius" with approval for his actions.  That is a no go.
.
It is the timing, and as some of us know timing is everything.  The same team is in the WH as when he took Crimea.  Duh.  He has Europe by the balls short hairs with their dependence on his petroleum products.  All that everyone in the West does is talk about the things that they will do, but never actually do.  Hell with Biden's energy policy, we now get something like 10% of our oil from Russia now, too.  Thanks, toe to toe Joe !  From energy independent to helping finance Putin and his evil ways.

“Vladimir Putin doesn’t want me to be president. He doesn’t want me to be our nominee,” Mr Biden said on Twitter on 21 February, 2020. “If you’re wondering why – it’s because I’m the only person in this field who’s ever gone toe-to-toe with him.”

02/21/2020

And you all bought it.  Hook, line and sinker.

We're a bunch of pussies and Putin knows it.  No one wants to do the right thing and stop importing his petroleum because it will cost us more.  I heard that the Italians wanted a carve out for allowing Russia to still buy their luxury goods when sanctions were being discussed.  Germany has been the most reluctant, for obvious reasons.

I don't pretend to know what Putin's end game is, but his timing is perfect as in now or never.  Xi has his back and Taiwan is next.

Oh, and Biden IS Xi's bitch.  We've seen the receipts.  Bye, bye, Taiwan.

War Propaganda About Ukraine Becoming More Militaristic, Authoritarian, and Reckless

 whatshisname wrote:

We can only hope.

Is there any chance one of Putin's own might take him out ?
There must be some around him thinking this thru.
I would have expected Putin to be fronting up to the media surrounded by lots of tough looking guys with tons of color on their chests and crazy hats by now.
Maybe camera shy ?

From what I can gather it seems as if the Russians are getting their asses kicked.

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:

Sounds like about a brigade or regimental combat team... 4,000 to 6,000 troops.
The Russians operate two types of division, to which regiments/brigades are subordinated:

In the immediate future, Russia is dangerous beyond compare.  Putin is a rabid dog.  But like all rabid dogs the danger that he represents, if it is not realized in the near future, has a relatively short shelf life.  Russia is on a course to exhaust itself in almost every way possible and, once exhausted, will not be able to sustain the danger that it threatens today.

The real danger to the world order is China.  Perhaps you have forgotten that during the Olympics, we saw pictures of the Xi Jin Ping alone, watching the ceremonies.  And juxtaposed with the view of Xi was a view of Putin alone, watching the ceremonies.  No other foreign leaders were shown.  Just Xi and Putin, symbolic of the lengths that these two leaders are willing to go to gain advantages for their respective countries.  Make no mistake.  There is no love lost between the Russians and the Chinese.  And make no mistake.  The Chinese will gain more from the Russians than the Russians will gain from the Chinese.  A lot more.

At the moment, while the world watches the fighting in Ukraine, the Chinese are quietly tightening their grip on Asia and South America and Africa.  The Russians are fielding obsolete weapons system (and already paying the price), while the Chinese are continuing to make their military the most modern, most advanced in the World.  Simply put, the more Putin commands the world's attention and resources, the stronger the Chinese become.  

When the dust settles from what is happening in the Ukraine—no matter who wins—China is going to emerge as a military power strong enough to take on the rest of the World, if it so desires.  Within a couple of years, Chinese advances in technology and science will put the Chinese military whole levels above the rest of the world.  While we divert resources and treasure to what is essentially a European crisis, China, instead of being forced to divert resources, will do just the opposite.  It will increase its expenditures, in an effort to accomplish its goal of winning its perceived war without going to war.  Sun Tzu is alive and well in the minds of Chinese strategists.  

While we run in circles, scream and shout, pontificate and exaggerate, natter on and on about this or that, China will simply confront us with a done deal.  War, even a nuclear war, simply won't be possible—Chinese technology and science will see to that.

This is Putin's real legacy: we are rapidly going past the tip-over point with China.  

Maybe we already have. 

Kyiv mayor: reports capital surrounded by Russian forces are false

 kcar wrote:
He's a genius (for Donnie) because by saying so, Donnie can suggest he A)recognizes intelligence, B) is a friend of the smart buy, C) is a better choice to handle him than others.  

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council that
President Putin put Russia’s nuclear forces on alert although he faces
no nuclear threat from Ukraine. “He is under no threat from NATO, a
defense alliance that will not fight in Ukraine. We urge Russia to tone
down its dangerous rhetoric regarding nuclear weapons,” she said.