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StopSpreadingBullshit


				

				

				
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joined 2022 October 04 05:13:18 UTC

				

User ID: 1472

StopSpreadingBullshit


				
				
				

				
0 followers   follows 0 users   joined 2022 October 04 05:13:18 UTC

					

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User ID: 1472

Yes. Why not? Again — Russia specifically targeted power plants and substation.

It's the simplest and most logical explanation. Russians launched almost 100 missiles at power plants and substations across the country, why would Ukrainian purposefully sabotage it? Also it's unlikely that Russians targeted one power plant, but an AA missile fell on another.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamil_Basayev#Abkhaz%E2%80%93Georgian_conflict

In a July 2020 interview, the former Russian Federal Security Service chief Sergei Stepashin admitted that Basayev cooperated with military intelligence while fighting against Georgian government in Abkhazia


And also Russia evacuated Georgian military from Sukhumi and protect Shevardnadze in Poti. Perhaps the absence of a civil war in Georgia or refusal to use army against regions with separatist sentiments would help more than minor excesses and the supply of weapons in the interests of all parties to the conflict.

It were not "minor" excesses. Russian assistance to Abkhaz separatists was extensive and well documented.

But I am not ready to justify desire of Ukrainian government to kill because they did not want to lose some of their power.

Then don't. But if the Ukrainian government did not act on military activity by Russian proxies in Donbass, there would had been another Ukrainian government.

Well, your view of the Ossetian-Georgian and Abkhaz-Georgian conflicts is slightly simplified.

Those are not "complicated" conflicts, just like Donbass War wasn't complicated. Without Russian involvement, most likely Georgia would have won. Basayev was supported by Russians back then (so you aren't correct that Chechens acted fully independently), but Russian support to Abkhaz separatist (both military and financial) was much more wider in scope. They even supported separatist with their air force.

the region that wanted independence from Georgia.

You do know that Abkhazia back then was 50% Georgian by population?

Dude, Flight Radar and smartphones with digital cameras exist, if high profile people move around, it is usually noticed.

Now prove that he is in Israel or Cyprus, and not in Vanuatu.

Obviously he lists scenarios that he prefers and finds probable, and not "aliens wipe out all human life, and the war becomes irrelevant". So it should be "The war will only end [in an acceptable to me and most Finnish people manner]".

This statement is, very obviously, factually untrue

Serious question (please don't take this as an offense — it's not intended as such) — are you autistic? You were the one, I believe, who said that living in Odesa and removing the statue of Catherine was a contradiction. And here you chose the most literal interpretation of this politician's words.

It was described incorrectly then, and you should read on that more

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_equipment_of_the_Armed_Forces_of_Ukraine#Air_defense_systems

Ukraine operates mostly old Soviet equipment for counteracting cruise missiles (Like "Buk"), and no American instructor will pull the trigger for a Stinger or some other Western MANPAD. NASAMS are not yet deployed AFAIK.

Probably though, Americans warn Ukraine when submarines with Kalibrs launch their rockets though. But Russia switched to Iranian drones for strategic strikes in the last week.

that you set up a Google ping for themotte when anything critical of Ukraine pops up

It's false. I read this forum sometimes, but I don't find American culture war that interesting so I rarely post.

Have you considered fighting in the war?

I did. But I have a dependant, and some of my relatives including my father are fighting, so if something happens to us, no one would be able to take care of my underage sister. Plus I don't have military experience, my father has. Also I have relatively lucrative job in IT, and I donate most of my salary to AFU. Make of that what you will.

I know Ukraine is drafting every young man they can find

It's false as well.

Or do you have a desk job with the Ukrainian military that permits you to engage in forums from time to time?

And that is comical. Interesting that people who laugh at conspiracies involving "Russian bots" fall to the same temptation of accusing anyone of being a "glowie", or an "Ukrobot".

At least for now Poles insist it was a Russian missile. Just came in:

https://www.gov.pl/web/dyplomacja/komunikat-w-zwiazku-z-wezwaniem-ambasadora-federacji-rosyjskiej-do-msz

Polish MFA summoned the Russian ambassador.

They'll too take a huge credibility hit if that's indeed a Ukrainian missile.

in less asthetically pleasing ways than most fish

Maybe due to familiarity bias? People see fish rostrums every now and then, but those of insects only in documentaries and books, usually in relatively late childhood.

What oil? There is less oil reserves in Ukraine than in Belarus.

Export of oil and fertilizers is a huge source of Belarus income. Cheap oil and gas from Russia are necessary for those industries to be viable, and are de facto subsidies from RF to Belarus. Lukashenka's regime , despite being much more brutal than Ukrainian even during Yanukovich times, ensured that most enterprises were state owned, and larger share of profits stayed in Belarus (unlike Ukraine, where whole industries got privatized, their owners through lobbying avoided large taxes, and profits were rerouted to tax havens somewhere in Cyprus and later used to buy mansions in Nice).

It's already in PPP terms, cost of living is adjusted for.

OK, I didn't check your link. Anyway, I cannot speak for everyone, but this difference of 20% is pretty negligible in comparison to living in a country where I wouldn't be beaten by riot police if I'd decided to attend an anti-government demonstration. If you post on this forum, you supposedly value such freedoms (yes, yes, Ukraine is far from perfect when it comes to civil rights, but we are comparing Ukraine and Russia, not Ukraine and Denmark).

That Ukrainian oligarchs were enriched during this process does not mean Russia...

Russia was actively corrupting Ukrainian politicians and oligarchs through its gas, check RosUkrEnergo for example, they weren't just passive bearers of gifts like you want them to present here.

...Soviets was evil for providing all these steel mills

Stop this Soviet-built-Ukrainian-industry bullshit. Ukraine, for example, had a major role in developing Russian oil industry in Western Siberia during Soviet times.

That doesn't make any sense.

I phrased it poorly. Many countries like Cuba, Mozambique, India and such were major borrowers from USSR. They went on becoming borrowers from Russia, not Ukraine or any other post-Soviet state.

If Russia gets 75% of Soviet assets and Ukraine 15% but Russia pays all of Ukraine's share of Soviet debt

From a purely mathematical standpoint — not necessary. If the total assets, for example, were 250 bn USD, and the total debt was 25 bn USD, it would be beneficial for Russia to repay those 25 bn instead of Ukraine, in comparison to the scenario of Russian/Ukrainian split of 70%/20%, but Ukraine repaying all of its supposed share (5 bn in this example) themselves. Don't forget that Russia got all the nukes, most of the Black Sea fleet and all other Fleets, Soviet gold reserves, property abroad like embassies etc.

In the thread down below memory palaces are discussed, but I wonder whether there any benefits to mastering mnemonics apart from getting good at memorizing vocabulary, learning trivia, and mastering some tricks like memorizing thousands of digits of pi, or decks of cards?

Most of mnemonic techniques use "encoding" — you associate whatever you want to memorize with an image, or a place. Some knowledge is easily encoded this way: kanjis, for example, can be split into "primitives", those "primitives" can be associated with images, and a story can be constructed around those images. For example, a kanji for "tea" (茶) can be split into "grass" (艹), "an umbrella" (个), and "a tree" (木). The same with the reading — it is phonetically (and in this case, etymologically) similar to "cha" — "tea" in multiple Slavic languages. But even if you don't know Slavic languages, you can associate it with a "chalice" (imagine drinking tea from a chalice), or any other word with "cha" syllable in it.

The same with lists (of presidents, or historical events, or bones in your body) — you construct a dictionary (key:value pair) of sorts, then link it through a story. There are alternative methods — like using acronyms (e.g. HOMES for Great Lakes — Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior), but they still use a hook of some sort.

Also digits — you can associate each one (or even a double-digit number) with an object, and then build a story with those objects. Cards. Names.

Less pliable are mathematical formulas, proofs, formulas of chemical compounds, programming syntax, general concepts and definitions. Sure, you can use the methods mentioned above for it — but it looks unnatural and just not practical; just look at some suggestions here

https://forum.artofmemory.com/t/memorising-maths-formulas/27834/14

At some point you might start thinking whether it'd be worth to construct an intricate series of associations for a single formula, or just to spend 10 minutes over several months using Anki, or even — gasp! solving problems — though, to be honest, I couldn't even memorize the formula for the square or the cube of a binomial back in school despite using it a thousand times, I had to derive it every time. And many would criticize such methods for substituting understanding for rot memorization.

Of course, mathematics, chemistry, programming — all of them already deal with more or less structured information. Knowing that a carbon atom might form only 4 bonds in an organic compound is already sort of a mnemonic. Or the names for standard methods in programming — it's "insert()" and "pop()", not "sldhslfjgfoophs()" and "fhsjhdyfty()". Do you really need tricks to supplement those in-built mnemonics?

Besides, is any of it really relevant in the modern world (apart from learning languages, and maybe some trivia)? In the age of GitHub Copilot and Wikipedia? Sure, you need to memorize the core concepts, but it can be done in sufficient time through the regular studying, practice and spaced repetition. After that, one might think, the memorization brings only diminishing returns. Are successful people in their fields — do they use mnemonics and make a significant effort to memorize things (apart from doctors and lawyers preparing for their exams)?

What are your thoughts?

Are you about that?

https://lb.ua/economics/2014/12/28/290814_donbass_zadolzhal_byudzhetu_bolee_1.html

Forcing Ukraine to pay for amenities it had to buy from Russia, and then had to transfer to Russian-occupied territories?

Also:

The occupying power has the duty to ensure that the adequate provision of food and medical supplies is provided, as well as clothing, bedding, means of shelter, other supplies essential to the survival of the civilian population of the occupied territory, and objects necessary for religious worship (GCIV Arts. 55, 58; API Art. 69).

Luhansk ukrainophobe who rarely interacts with his former compatriots apart from on FSB controlled imageboard tells someone from Eastern Ukraine what's the general attitude of people there. Priceless.

less crime

Check the statistics?

better infrastructure and government

Authoritarian government led by a 70-year old KGB completely detached from reality hyena?

But I think that having the opportunity to choose and not being afraid of reprisals from the SBU

Dude, you live in a country where FSB can just force a kettlebell in your anus in the presence of your girlfriend, because you recited an offensive verse. Lack of self-awareness on some people, geez.

I was thinking about learning this technique, but I cannot find uses for it. So as I understand, it's great for learning ordered lists, and typically the technique is illustrated by memorizing a list of some random words: "sausage", "typewriter", "ball" — a shopping list, essentially. But other than that...

You cannot use it for language learning — other mnemonic techniques are far more useful. Not for memorizing syntax of programming languages. Or mathematical formulas. Or scientific concepts. I guess you can memorize trivia like the list of British monarchs with it? "William II had red hair, so we place a red wig before the TV set, Henry I was titled 'Beauclerc' because he had good education, so we put an academic cap on the toilet seat..."

I understand that you said "emotional-motivational", but I am more interested in scholastic uses for it.

But it's naive to think that the CIA wasn't involved early

If they were involved (I cannot disprove it of course, just as I cannot prove or disprove that Kennedy was assassinated by CIA), it was for certain not at the earliest stages. Even on Wikipedia you can read that it started with some protests by students and activists, organized by a journalist Mustafa Nayem. It evolved into mass protests only after Yanukovich made an unforced error on Nov 30 and brutally suppressed by that time low number of protesters — Russia-style:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6HtbdFfaYUc

Did CIA forced Berkut (riot police) to hit people's heads with police batons?

After seeing that, people got berserk and rioted. Maybe only after that State Department (that we know for sure) and intelligence services (possibly) got involved, but even without them hundreds of thousands people went protesting.

By 2013 situation in Ukraine was already explosive — even Russians, who supposedly know more about Ukraine than some Americans who listen to Oliver Stone, probably don't know the extension of government corruption at the time, Azarov's (PM of Yanukovich) mismanagement of the economy, or e.g. Vradiivka riots (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_Iryna_Krashkova — abuse by police was not something new, and people already demanded police reform; but Yanokuvich led Ukraine to Belarus-style autocracy). You have to live there to understand what happens there. Maybe that's why they thought they'll be met with flowers.

Adjust it for the cost of living which will make the difference negligible (of course, the war made everything costlier, but Russia can make drop a few nukes on Ukraine to make life there completely miserable).

Consider also that if it weren't for Russian aid and debt relief, Ukraine's situation pre-2014 would've been much worse.

Russian "aid" enriched Ukrainian oligarchs, barely anything of it dripped down to the general population, and reliance on Russian gas made investment in domestic production unprofitable. People talking about Russia relieving Soviet debt apparently forget the fact that Russia got most of Soviet assets, but also a lot of countries had debts before Soviet Union — now they had to repay Russia.

Yeah, yeah. Median monthly salary in Russia is around 400-500 USD

https://tass.com/economy/1301957

Just a little lower in Ukraine. Somehow this huge GDP and revenues from exporting raw materials didn't translate in passable living standards for people outside of several large cities.

By the way, how people live in Donetsk and Luhansk now? Good? Did they benefit from all those oil money? I guess people like a former MMM conman made governor, or a former bank robber made military commander did. Can they express their position freely, and not to afraid of reprisals from MGB/FSB, or "podvals"? I guess it's Russia now, life should be great.

I don't think it's fair. When an American politician lies, Americans blame him personally (or maybe his party, like "GOP always lie"). On the other hand, when someone not from the US lies, the blame is put on culture like in your case "post-Soviet leaders always lie, it's because the culture of mistrust yada-yada". I guess it's sort of outgroup homogeneity?

Sure, I'll post about my experiences, and thank you.

the US expanding right into Eastern Europe

Can we put this argument to rest? No one forced Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and the rest of Eastern Europe into NATO. Russia likes to talk about "sovereignty", but evidently it's "sovereignty for me, but not for thee"

Furthermore, the either you are with us or you are against us policy of the US gives countries the option of either submitting and becoming vassal states or being more or less blockaded.

That's false — Turkey, Brazil, Vietnam and many other countries are neither American "vassals", not they are blockaded (though I object to the use of the term "vassal" to the US-aligned countries)

The Soviets didn't base nukes on Cuba.

Americans didn't base nukes in Poland either (despite Poles expressing their desire to have them there).

Just because a country is invited doesn't mean they have to.

So why do you deny their agency? They didn't have to, but they DECIDED to join.

Well, this is definitely not true for Donbass or Melitopol.

Where we see both people who are ready to kill in order to NOT be Ukrainians and people who are generally loyal to the Russian government.

Did you read it on Grey Zone?

EDIT: you can argue about Donbass (never been there), especially LDNR. But I lived for a long period of time in a small town on the coast of Azov Sea, an hour-long drive from Melitopol, I generally know attitude of people there.