exactly, you are either with me all the way, even when I commit war crimes, bomb civilians, kill children, or, if you don't, you are a traitor to your own country.
exactly, you are either with me all the way, even when I commit war crimes, bomb civilians, kill children, or, if you don't, you are a traitor to your own country.
exactly, you are either with me all the way, even when I commit war crimes, bomb civilians, kill children, or, if you don't, you are a traitor to your own country.
Greg Miller and Joseph MennSat, March 12, 2022, 9:58 AM·13 min readDA NANG, VIETNAM - NOVEMBER 10: (RUSSIA OUT) Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) holds an iPhone as his spokesman Dmitry Peskov (R) looks on prioir to a bilateral meeting with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte (not pictured) at the APEC Leaders Summit on November 10,2017 in Da Nang, Vietnam. Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived to Vietnam to attends the APEC Leaders Summit. (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images) (Mikhail Svetlov via Getty Images)More
Russian agents came to the home of Google's top executive in Moscow to deliver a frightening ultimatum last September: take down an app that had drawn the ire of Russian President Vladimir Putin within 24 hours or be taken to prison.
Google quickly moved the woman to a hotel where she checked in under an assumed name and might be protected by the presence of other guests and hotel security, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The same agents - believed by company officials to be from Russia's FSB, a successor to the KGB intelligence service - then showed up at her room to tell her the clock was still ticking.
The unnerving encounters, which have not previously been disclosed, were part of a broader campaign that Putin intensified last year to erode sources of internal opposition - moves now helping him maintain his hold on power amid a global backlash over the invasion of Ukraine.
In a single year, Putin had his political nemesis Alexei Navalny imprisoned after a poisoning attempt failed to kill him; pushed independent news outlets to the brink of extinction; orchestrated a Kremlin-controlled takeover of Russia's Facebook equivalent; and issued "liquidation" orders against human rights organizations.
Amid this internal offensive, Putin also moved to bring foreign technology companies to heel. Moscow deployed new devices that let it degrade or even block Russians' access to Facebook and Twitter, imposed fines totaling $120 million on firms accused of defying Kremlin censors, and ordered 13 of the world's largest technology companies to keep employees in Russia and thus exposed to potential arrest or other punishment for their employers' actions - a measure that U.S. executives refer to as the "hostage law."
On their own, these moves were seen as disparate signs of Russia' descent into authoritarianism. But they also laid the groundwork for the Soviet-style suppression of free expression now underway in Russia, much as the months-long military buildup set the stage for the invasion of Ukraine.
Putin's crackdown has accelerated in recent weeks. Facebook and Twitter have been knocked offline by the government for millions of Russians. News outlets that survived state harassment for years shut down this month in the face of a new law imposing prison time of up to 15 years for spreading "fake" news - understood to be anything contradicting the Kremlin's depiction of a "special military operation" unfolding with precision in Ukraine.
To Russian activists, the impact has been devastating.
In describing Vladimir Putin and his inner circle, I have often thought of a remark by John Maynard Keynes about Georges Clemenceau, French prime minister during the first world war: that he was an utterly disillusioned individual who âhad one illusion â Franceâ.
Something similar could be said of Russiaâs governing elite, and helps to explain the appallingly risky collective gamble they have taken by invading Ukraine. Ruthless, greedy and cynical they may be â but they are not cynical about the idea of Russian greatness.
The western media employ the term âoligarchâ to describe super-wealthy Russians in general, including those now wholly or largely resident in the west. The term gained traction in the 1990s, and has long been seriously misused. In the time of President Boris Yeltsin, a small group of wealthy businessmen did indeed dominate the state, which they plundered in collaboration with senior officials. This group was, however, broken by Putin during his first years in power.
Three of the top seven âoligarchsâ tried to defy Putin politically. Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky were driven abroad, and Mikhail Khodorkovsky was jailed and then exiled. The others, and their numerous lesser equivalents, were allowed to keep their businesses within Russia in return for unconditional public subservience to Putin. When Putin met (by video link) leading Russian businessmen after launching the invasion of Ukraine, there was no question of who was giving the orders.
The force that broke the oligarchs was the former KGB, reorganised in its various successor services. Putin himself, of course, came from the KGB, and a large majority of the top elite under Putin are from the KGB or associated state backgrounds (though not the armed forces).
This group have remained remarkably stable and homogenous under Putin, and are (or used to be) close to him personally. Under his leadership, they have plundered their country (though unlike the previous oligarchs, they have kept most of their wealth within Russia) and have participated or acquiesced in his crimes, including the greatest of them all, the invasion of Ukraine. They have echoed both Putinâs vicious propaganda against Ukraine and his denunciations of western decadence.
As Russia plunges deeper into a military quagmire and economic crisis, a central question is whether â if the war is not ended quickly by a peace settlement â Putin can be removed (or persuaded to step down) by the Russian elites themselves, in order to try to extricate Russia and themselves from the pit he has dug for them. To assess the chances of this requires an understanding of the nature of the contemporary Russian elites, and above all of Putinâs inner core. (...)
Above all, for deep historical, cultural, professional and personal reasons, the siloviki and the Russian official elite in general are utterly, irrevocably committed to the idea of Russia as a great power and one pole of a multipolar world. If you do not believe in that, you are not part of the Russian establishment, just as if you do not believe in US global primacy you are not part of the US foreign and security establishment. (...)
MENLO PARK, CAâFacebook made waves this week after announcing they would temporarily be lifting their ban on calls to violence as long as the violence is directed towards Russians. Now in an exciting new update, Facebook will allow users to directly commit actual violence against Russian people with a new "call in drone strike" button.
"As leaders in the tech industry, it's very important to use our vast and terrifying power to connect people, disseminate trustworthy information, and sometimes kill people we think need to be killed," said CEO Mark Zuckerberg. "Since our entire culture decided overnight it's ok to hate Russian people now, we want our users to be able to join in that hatred together. That's why we're proud to add this cool new 'drone strike' button!"
Clicking on the "call in drone strike" button will immediately signal one of Facebook's 10,000 brand-new predator drones to track down and blow up the Russian of your choice. Users with successful kills will receive a special edition Ukraine flag icon to display on their profile.
Facebook has said they will keep the changes in place until the next international hysteria gives everyone a new group of people to hate.
Very publicly. How publicly? In an opinion piece in The NY Times saying Russia needs an “off-ramp” from the highway to hell that is the Ukrainian invasion.
Imma highlight the part that matters. It’s the part where the writer calls Russia an “economic burden” to China.
—
—
But who’s the writer? Probably some hopeful airhead like Tom Friedman, right?
—
Oh.
This a warning from Beijing to the Kremlin, make no mistake. We can quit you, Vlad! You’ve had your fun, now it’s time to declare victory and go home.
Whether it makes any difference is another question.
Well this reaffirms the conclusions I came to a little more than two weeks ago while the talks about sanctions was just only starting in earnest.
kurtster wrote:
rgio wrote:
. So you're right, Russia has a lot of gold. How do they use any of it?
Through the China backdoor, of course. If things go really south on Putin, China might be forced into a sponsorship of sorts with Russia like it has with North Korea.
Do note that while action was taken against Russia via closing down most of its access to SWIFT, trading in oil continues. The only way to stop Putin in his tracks right now would be a total embargo on Russian oil and that is not going to happen. No one has the stomach or will to do that, yet that is what would be required.
And how would we deter China from helping Putin ? Well that would require economic sanctions and possible embargoes on Chinese goods and services. Also unlikely as they, both Putin and the CCP, have created critical dependencies on their products. Let us not forget what Taiwan is in the world of semiconductors. These are both countries with real and active imperialistic postures. The world is at a crossroads. This is where appeasement has led us. The choices are pretty clear. The window of opportunity to make these choices is fast closing.
While the USA has imposed an embargo on Russian oil since I wrote this 2 weeks ago, do note that the terms allows for the continuation and delivery of purchases made prior to the embargo for the next 45 days. Putin still has the money coming in. Biden's embargo was a half measure posing as a full measure.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan says strike near NATO territory âdoes not come as a surprise to the American intelligence and national security communities.â
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan listens during a virtual meeting in the Roosevelt Room on March 1. | Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images
03/13/2022 10:41 AM EDT National security adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday said an early morning Russian missile strike in western Ukraine just 11 miles from NATO territory âdoes not come as a surpriseâ but could present a turning point in the Kremlinâs strategy.
Very publicly. How publicly? In an opinion piece in The NY Times saying Russia needs an âoff-rampâ from the highway to hell that is the Ukrainian invasion.
Imma highlight the part that matters. Itâs the part where the writer calls Russia an âeconomic burdenâ to China.
â
â
But whoâs the writer? Probably some hopeful airhead like Tom Friedman, right?
â
Oh.
This a warning from Beijing to the Kremlin, make no mistake. We can quit you, Vlad! Youâve had your fun, now itâs time to declare victory and go home.
Whether it makes any difference is another question.
YouTube said it would globally block all channels associated with
Russian state-funded media, including RT and Sputnik, citing a violation
of its policy of âdenying, minimizing or trivializing well-documented
violent events.â The company also said it would remove othersâ videos
that violated the policy. It had previously been blocking videos from
state media in Europe.
"Russia has effectively legalized patent theft from anyone affiliated with countries 'unfriendly' to it, declaring that unauthorized use will not be compensated.
"The decree, issued this week, illustrates the economic war waged around Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine, as the West levies sanctions and pulls away from Russiaâs huge oil and gas industry. Russian officials have also raised the possibility of lifting restrictions on some trademarks, according to state media, which could allow continued use of brands such as McDonaldâs that are withdrawing from Russia in droves.
"The effect of losing patent protections will vary by company, experts say, depending on whether they have a valuable patent in Russia. The U.S. government has long warned of intellectual property rights violations in the country; last year Russia was among nine nations on a 'priority watch list' for alleged failures to protect intellectual property. Now Russian entities could not be sued for damages if they use certain patents without permission."
According to the story, "The Kremlin has not issued any decree lifting protections on trademarks. But Russiaâs Ministry of Economic Development said last week that authorities are considering 'removing restrictions on the use of intellectual property contained in certain goods whose supply to Russia is restricted,' according to Russian state news outlet Tass, and that potential measures could affect inventions, computer programs and trademarks."
Plato's cave analogy. Prisoners were deceived that the shadows on the wall were reality while they were created by their captors using puppets between the fire and the wall. Those who ventured outside the cave and returned to reveal the reality of the world were believed to have been struck blind by their exposure to the light when their eyes did not immediately adjust to the gloom and their testimony was dismissed.
This is what has happened to the vaccine discussion:
what typically occurs is a narrowing of vision, a rapid descent into Manichaean modes of thought, the marginalization or suppression of dissenting voices, the abandonment of nuance, and a stubborn focus on victory at all costs. This process seems to be well underway inside Putinâs Russia, but a milder form is apparent in the West too. All told, this is a recipe for making a terrible situation worse.
Just because someone does not want to buy Elon Musk's new car does not make them anti-Elon
This is what has happened to the vaccine discussion:
what typically occurs is a narrowing of vision, a rapid descent into Manichaean modes of thought, the marginalization or suppression of dissenting voices, the abandonment of nuance, and a stubborn focus on victory at all costs. This process seems to be well underway inside Putinâs Russia, but a milder form is apparent in the West too. All told, this is a recipe for making a terrible situation worse.
Just because someone does not want to buy Elon Musk's new car does not make them anti-Elon
