A rival god to Justin?
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To add some levity - during Soviet times the mythical Radio Armenia used to run a Q&A: “What is the difference between the dollar and the rouble. The dollar is backed by gold but the rouble by tanks
Question: Is it true we are on the brink of an abyss?
Answer: No. It used to be true, but since then we have taken a great step forward.
Televangelist Pat Robertson said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “compelled by God” in his decision to invade Ukraine, suggesting that Russia’s attacks are a precursor to an end-times battle in Israel.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...russia-ukraine
Two of Russia’s most prominent oligarchs have spoken out against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in a major turning point in public reaction to the war.
The interventions by billionaires Oleg Derpipaksa and Mikhail Fridman came as police arrested hundreds of people at protests across the country on Sunday against a conflict that has shocked not only the West but also Russians from all walks of life.
Celebrities and some MPs have already expressed their opposition to the bloody invasion but statements on Sunday from Mr Deripaska and Mr Fridman will be a bitter blow to the president, who has long relied on the unshakable loyalty of the business elite.
Mr Fridman, the co-founder of Alfa-Bank, one of the country’s largest private banks, said in a message to staff at his London-based private equity firm LetterOne: “War can never be the answer”. In the message, he said: “I was born in Western Ukraine and lived there until I was 17. My parents are Ukrainian citizens and live in Lviv, my favourite city.
“But I have also spent much of my life as a citizen of Russia, building and growing businesses. I am deeply attached to Ukrainian and Russian peoples and see the current conflict as a tragedy for them both.”
Yeah, they're not even full Russians, so who cares what they think?
Now get out of the way, while the real Russians handle this ridiculous nationalistic problem in Ukraine.
Not to belabor this (too much), but if Fridman was born and raised in Ukraine, and his mother and father are there now dodging bombs, do you think there may be a slim possibility that he's actually more concerned about his parents wellbeing right now than he is about the $$money$$? I'm basing this on the premise that not all wealthy people are as heartless and shallow as you seem to be implying.
It's a safe bet that the oligarchs (all of them) are just as shocked and appalled as everyone else is right now. This includes a large percentage of Russian people who are risking imprisonment (or worse) for protesting against their government. Media coverage isn't as constrained as it was back in the 1920's. Video clips of the protests occurring across Russia are visible and easily accessible to the World.. This simply can't be hidden from public view...denied...or explained away as being a gross exaggeration or fake news. It's simply the truth for all the World to see.
The longer this goes on - the more a diplomatic solution seems impossible. It's starting to become clear that the Free World is simply not going to offer any of the concessions Putin is asking for, and Putin has found himself standing in the middle of a global circle-jerk...isolated from the World (and reality)...with no face-saving exit strategy in sight.
I keep hoping for the best for everyone's sake (including the Russian people), but if someone doesn't stop Putin soon this thing is going to get a lot uglier.
The update below just hit the news:
"Opposition to Putin's war is alive on Moscow's streets. But no trace of it is covered on Russian TV."
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/01/e...ntl/index.html
Russian convoy has stalled again for some reason. Rumors are there's quite a few empty Russian vehicles sitting on the highway as soldiers realized what's up, and decided to nope out of there.
A plunging rouble, flight cancellations and money-transfer difficulties are prompting Russian and European tourists to cancel trips to Thailand, a blow to the Southeast Asian nation’s tourism-revival efforts.
The exclusion of many Russian banks from the Swift payments network has resulted in tour operators running into problems when making transfers, according to Charintip Tiyaphorn, co-owner of Pimalai Resort & Spa in Phuket. Some flights have been cancelled following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and many European airlines are re-routing to get to Southeast Asia, she said.
Russians were the largest group of travellers to Thailand in January and top applicants for new visas under a quarantine-free entry programme relaunched last month. About 1.5 million Russians visited in pre-pandemic 2019 and spent US$3.3 billion, the third-highest source of tourism revenue for the country, according to official data.
Particularly in seaside destinations such as Phuket and Pattaya, it’s common for restaurants, spas and even property developments to have signs in Cyrillic characters in an effort to make Russians welcome in a country that before Covid-19 generated about a fifth of its gross domestic product from tourism.
But war and sanctions have once again disrupted Thailand’s efforts to jump-start the vital sector.
“We received emails from agents and sales representatives in Russia that they may not be able to transfer money to Thailand due to sanctions, so this will have some future impacts too,” Charintip said.
“We are more worried about flights from Europe to Thailand that may have to divert, and this would make it more difficult and costly for European travellers to travel to Thailand.” While the Thai government still expects Russian tourists to turn up, it’s concerned that a weakening rouble may limit their spending, Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy has been experimenting with several revival plans for the sector, which in 2019 attracted 40 million foreign visitors and generated more than US$60 billion. The latest measures were the scrapping of what had been a required second RT-PCR test for travellers and the lowering of a minimum health insurance requirement on Tuesday.
Thailand may lose tourism revenue equal to 0.2 per cent of its gross domestic product in the worst-case scenario of no Russian tourists for the rest of the year, according to Krungsri Research, a unit of Bank of Ayudhya Pcl.
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south...sanctions-deal
Oh dear
And I guess over 150,000 Russians are currently stranded overseas. Can't fly home due to airspace restrictions, and their cards don't work anymore anyway.
I really hope they place their current frustration and anger on Putin, where it belongs.
China has started evacuating its citizens from Ukraine, state media reported Tuesday, amid fears for their safety due to the invasion by Beijing’s ally Russia but also reports of resulting hostility from angry Ukrainians.
And sure enough, a couple hours after Greztky mentioned on his sports broadcast he wanted to see the Russia team banned from the World Junior's, that's exactly what happened.
It's like a national duty to respect Gretzky in this country.
And now Exxon has pulled out of Russia totalling $40 billion in assets, and are in the proces of evacuating employees and shutting down operations such as Sackland.
How does Russia expect to produce all this oil and gas it's so proud of? It heavily relies on Western companies, technology, and skills to run lots of its oil and gas operations. You now have BP, Shell, and Exxon all pulling out.
Hell, my brother even worked on Sackland for several years. Never actually went to Sackland, but from an office in Canada he worked on the project.
No companies can "pull" money right now: because Russia as an answer to sanctions adopted law what nobody can withdraw money from Russia now... investors may only locally "freeze" money now in Russian banks, but can't "evacuate" from Russia. Right now it is for 3 months, but maybe it will be prolonged.
Yesterday here was poll about war. 65% support military operation, 22% against, rest are "I don't know". Putin's supporting rating grew from 64% to 71%.
Yes, because I'm certain Exxon has $40 billion laying around in Rubles.
Nonetheless, losing folks like Exxon, Shell and BP is going to take a hit to Russia's oil and gas sector. Do you think Gazprom will just takeover and begin operating places like Sackland? Not likely, there's a reason all that work got outsourced to companies in the West instead of keeping it solely Russian.
Whatever, enjoy your 20 year long economic depression.
Oh, and S&P downgraded Russia's credit rating to junk status.
I don't think so. Drilling in Sakhalin is over. Now is pumping phase for next 15-20 years. Whole infrastructure is ready. So, nobody is worrying here. Yesterday Gazprom's shares were even in +12% in surplus.
Political pressure will be easy after few months - after Russia got needed results in Ukraine, and investors will come back, because Sakhalin sells gas and oil to China nonstop.
Thanks for keeping us updated.
If 65% of Russians supported the "Military Operation", I wonder how many support the "Military Invasion"
If by chance "Operation" and "Invasion" mean the same thing, can we expect Ukrainian citizens to be running down the streets screaming..."The Russians are operating"..."the Russians are operating"???
Ukraine is European Nigeria: after start of military operation, here in Russia quantity of bank scam phone calls lowered about 95%.
Matt, what is your grade in geography in school? Icebergs??? Ice storms? Skhalin is located just 30 miles to North from Japanese Okinawa island.
https://sakh.online/uploaded/thumbna...1482034154.jpg
That’s a pity. What do Russians do for fun if not teasing scammers?
I hadn’t realised until earlier today that Comrade Putin’s accusations about Ukraine being a neo-Nazi state (so far an accusation no serious country has supported) fail to mention that the President of Ukraine is a Jew, so Putin is saying that a Jew is the head of a neo- Nazi state
So what? Zelensky is just a clown. He has no influence to state ideology. Watch by your own eyes: Jan 1 2021, Kiev
https://youtu.be/8WTEwknp1fo
I think you've mistaken me for someone who cares to validate Russian propaganda for himself. My basic assumption is that all State propaganda - Russia, the USA or Thailand must be taken with a large grain of alt. As I said in a post in response to one you made recently "I am a SCEPTIC"
Published video isn't propaganda. Just google "Bandera day Kiev" and you will see a lot...
By the way: oil $114, gas $2199. Amount of gas what Gasprom sells in EU is almost doubled in comp with 2021.
Napoleon (one of my favourite military strategists), is said to have judged that “the moral is to the physical as three is to one”. The Ukrainians are fighting for their homeland, fired by memories of the four million Ukrainians killed by Stalin’s Great Famine of the 1930s. The Russian soldiers, many from the far east of Russia, have little idea where they are, and are shocked to find themselves not greeted as liberators but told by grannies to “f--- off”.
When criticizing other's geography, it's best to get your own comments right.
Sakahalin is about 30 miles north of Hokkaido, which is known for being bollock freezing cold in winter. Hokkaido is the most northerly of the big 4 islands in Japan.
Okinawa is a tiny little island a long way south of the main Japanese islands. An awful long way from Sakahalin.
As for comparisons between the invasion of Iraq and the invasion of Ukraine, there's one important difference.
Board participants from the countries that invaded Iraq will mostly question and often criticize the decisions of our governments at the time.
The board participant(s) from the country that is invading Ukraine seems to think that the sun shines out of Putin's arse and will blindly support every decision he makes and support every single piece of Russian propaganda.
Some value an open mind and an ability to think independently, without prejudice.