Pasha
Defend Kebab
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User ID: 481
Pasha
Defend Kebab
7hr ago
You can have your way. It serves as a warning to other countries wanting to “insist upon their sovereignty”. Does this make it any better?
Pasha
Defend Kebab
1d ago
Certainly “interesting” (I just wish they stop fighting by then so we never have to find out..)
On the one hand, the naive voice in me says if it wasn’t going to be effective (and they didn’t have a good plan for it) then western governments would surely not waste such a valuable piece of tech. But lol.
On the other hand, the other naive voice says that since it has been announced she’s ago, Russians surely took necessary countermeasures. But again, lol.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
1d ago
I fail to see how this goes against anything I have said.
It’s trivial to observe that due to cultural factors eastern Slavic women have a tendency to easily become gold diggers or prostitutes under certain adverse conditions, while for example Muslim women don’t have this tendency under even more extreme adverse conditions. Your male relatives being prepared to use violence to keep your sexual purity is one of these cultural factors.
This doesn’t distract from my point at all.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
1d ago
For Ukraine, while air defence against drones and cruise misiles is important, keeping Russian bombers away from the frontlines is absolutely crucial. It’s quite clear that Russia can’t mass produce the first in numbers big enough to really win the war. But they have a world class air force and basically infinite supply of bombs to be retrofitted as glide bombs if there is no concern for planes getting shut down.
If the Russian air force gets free rein over the frontline then the war is over. Due to a mix of inherited Soviet air defense (which was quite substantial as Soviet western armies had enormous stockpiles from what I understand), gifts systems from the west and manpads the Russian planes were essentially missing.
This is changing rapidly right now and there is big panic on the Ukrainian side. It should be visible to the leadership that the loss ratios are becoming untenable and the fortifications just can’t stand.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
1d ago
Yes of course. Syria and Afghanistan experienced devastation and migration outflows at a much bigger scale yet you don’t see many Syrian or Afghan prostitutes/gold diggers.
My point wasn’t that this situation didn’t exist before the war. It’s that, this situation exists! It got hyper turbo charged because of the war. It can’t be dismissed as silly propaganda
Pasha
Defend Kebab
1d ago
it serves as a warning to other countries wanting to invade their neighbors
It serves as a warning to other countries wanting to antagonise their much bigger stronger neighbours relying on western support. Your country will be decimated and in the end you will eventually be forgotten for some other geopolitical priority and lose anyway.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
1d ago
The moment Israel got into any danger, Ukraine basically lost this war. Big bad brainwashed trump republicans holding off the aid is just a cope narrative to avoid discussing the real intended beneficiary of the air defense systems. Those systems will never go to Ukraine as they are needed to protect Israel.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
1d ago
Without having much of a stake in this discussion, I can confidently tell you that you can go to any bar in Europe or Turkey tonight and signal some affluence as a man and check for yourself if the rumours about Ukrainian women are correct.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
3d ago
It's a game. Why does it have to be efficient?
Presumably because there is a lot of money in making it so
Pasha
Defend Kebab
3d ago
Have been living in mid-sized city for almost a year. Like it here and will probably stay long term. I really want to learn my way around the city very well. I typically cycle and walk everywhere, and I want to be able to just think of any two points in the city and travel between them without ever checking GPS. Any tips how to achieve this fast?
Pasha
Defend Kebab
5d ago
No I don’t know what you are talking about.
But I lived in poor countries with expensive and intermittent electricity. So I was just referring to what happens in such places.
And good luck with middle class installing Tesla walls when the Chinese stop subsidising your consumption in exchange for all your industrial capacity.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
6d ago
It’s viable if those panels and turbines are produced in Chinese coal powered factories and the US forever prices itself out of any competitive industrial production. It’s pretty damning that the production of renewable electricity generating devices never seems to use renewable energy itself.
Also after many times multiplying your electricity costs, you will still have to deal with blackouts regularly. Which means home generators for the rich and just “dealing with it” for the poor in practice.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
6d ago
People do wear helmets when mountain biking or cycling on racing bikes as a hobby (probably the most popular hobby around) though
Pasha
Defend Kebab
6d ago
I love that I can use a bike as almost an extension of me. No planning, extra equipment or hassle needed, just leave the house unlock and go. It’s just fun and increases my mobility greatly. Carrying a helmet would make this much less smooth and fun.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
6d ago
people are generally riding heavy bikes very slowly in highly protected lanes
It’s true most bikes are pretty heavy. But no people definitely don’t ride them slowly. And highly protected lanes depends very much on where you are. Suburbs or newly built cities yes. On more historical cities not at all. Also virtually nobody wears helmets with e-bikes either. Scooters going in the bike lane have to use helmets since last year though.
Pedestrians weave back and forth with abandon, huge groups take up the whole path, and dogs on leashes dart in front of cyclists at will.
This is my average everyday cycle in Amsterdam city center to be honest.. but it’s not very safe and with kids in tow definitely understandable to be cautious. Don’t you think something like a “bakfiets” would be safer against rolling than a tow?
Pasha
Defend Kebab
7d ago
I feel like I have to join any online discussion about bikes and helmets. But I live in the Netherlands and see about a million kids a day on bikes themselves or towed by their parents. Helmet ratio is probably a couple percentage points tops. And it’s almost always neurotic American expats. Is it really worth ruining the whole experience and habit of biking over a minuscule safety improvement? (Assuming you aren’t cycling through infrastructure unsafe for biking)
Pasha
Defend Kebab
7d ago
Similar experience but I always thought this was due to the types of weed commonly sold changing
Pasha
Defend Kebab
9d ago
Reading Polanyi’s Great Transformation was one of the most mind opening experiences ever for me when it comes to economic history.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
9d ago
I Also have an SE like the other comments (this must be a case study for the type of person who buys an SE). But if I got to choose again I would probably go with the mini models or the latest regular stock iPhone. The total size difference is not that much but you are losing a lot of screen space.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
9d ago
In a similar position. Have stronger personal reasons to buy so I will buy regardless, but really difficult to shake off the feeling that it’s financially a bad decision. Prices are already ridiculous how can they go up any higher?? But then I had the exact same idea 3 years ago and here we are. I just really really hate that housing became a speculation vehicle that can go up or down in value in big unpredictable swings. It must be the most boring low return low risk investment ever
Pasha
Defend Kebab
9d ago
Perhaps a bit cliche but I have never not been totally awestruck walking into the Hagia Sophia.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
15d ago
The US is giving everything Israel demands and more. What can one accuse Biden of not doing to help Israel?
Also an unknown but likely substantial numbers of those hostages have died/will die due to Israeli bombardment and starvation. It might backfire big time if some documents end up leaked tying IDF action to deaths of American passport holding hostages.
Do you normally refuse to entertain any opinions based on your own experiences as long as someone did not go through the trouble of collecting or locating almost impossible to find data? Or is this an isolated demand for rigour you are applying to this specific subject?
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