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Post by Kapitan on Nov 21, 2020 18:37:19 GMT
The first of three interesting videos of the travelogue of early ('30s) Soviet-era Russians visiting the US. Very interesting.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 21, 2020 23:47:55 GMT
Cool. Added to watchlist.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 1, 2020 19:32:30 GMT
Somewhat counter-intuitively scary thing: by successfully intercepting an ICBM (test obviously) from a naval destroyer, the era of relative nuclear stability may have ended, according to this interesting column.
The gist is, we have since the early days of nuclear warheads been in a stalemate of sorts, understanding any strike would result in mutual destruction. This column argues that isn't true anymore if we can destroy inbound missiles, which could lead to a scary new era when you combine it with the risks of several nuclear treaties being allowed to expire by the Trump administration and the increase in so-called tactical nuclear weapons.
Every so often I read something else that reminds me in an era of people freaking out over kneeling before sports events, proper pronouns, or whether social scientists or "hard" scientists are the bigger racists, we actually have serious problems in this world that almost nobody gives the time of day to...like our ability to destroy the majority of the species in very short order, even (most likely) by mistake.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 1, 2020 20:54:55 GMT
Impressive achievement! It kind of boggles my mind. And, not gonna lie, I'm glad it was us! (Which wasn't 100% clear by your post.) Much like the initial nuclear arms race, this isn't a race you want to lose.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 1, 2020 20:59:54 GMT
Impressive achievement! It kind of boggles my mind. And, not gonna lie, I'm glad it was us! (Which wasn't 100% clear by your post.) Much like the initial nuclear arms race, this isn't a race you want to lose. I agree: if it was going to happen, it's hard not to feel like your team ought to be the one to do it. Granted, I'm sure plenty of people around the world don't agree. But also, these are defensive weapons systems. So while it has offensive implications (in preventing or reducing the mutual destruction threat), it is irrelevant unless we're attacked.
But I do think the only reasonable path forward is going back to bilateral or multilateral nuclear disarmament. The lapsing of these treaties and ramping up of creating new nuclear weapons strikes me as absolutely insane.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 5, 2020 4:33:22 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 5, 2020 14:04:54 GMT
Really interesting! I've got a good book by that writer, "The American Politial Tradition and the Men Who Made It." (1948, 1973)
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 8, 2020 2:05:17 GMT
Former head of the Israeli space dept. says Americans and Israelis are working in secret cooperation with aliens, including in an underground Mars base. I did not expect to hear that this year, but hey, why not...
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Post by B.E. on Dec 9, 2020 15:28:32 GMT
Former head of the Israeli space dept. says Americans and Israelis are working in secret cooperation with aliens, including in an underground Mars base. I did not expect to hear that this year, but hey, why not...
Well, now we know...
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 18, 2020 16:35:11 GMT
The Russian government has apparently (virtually) struck again, and more substantially than initially thought.
It is hard to imagine what Putin has in mind, exactly. Any direct confrontation with the United States short of nuclear war (in which everyone loses) ends with Russia losing. While still a regional power, certainly, they're a shell of their peak USSR-era glory with a limited and weak economy and a pathetic little corrupt man in charge who is so obviously criminal as to have overseen the overhaul of governmental policy to ensure he never leaves office (and thus will never be charged for the crimes of which he's guilty).
So, what? Are they poking the bear just for fun? Trying to see how much they can get away with (and stealing information in the meantime)?
The failure of Russia to establish itself as a legitimate world citizen after the fall of the USSR is one of the great tragedies of recent history. The government's mismanagement, corruption, and brutality against its own citizens has been sad to watch. The Russian people deserve much better.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 18, 2020 16:45:51 GMT
A grave risk to the federal government? That is VERY alarming. (I had read about the breach a few days ago, and it seemed bad, but I'm much more concerned now.)
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 18, 2020 17:04:42 GMT
A grave risk to the federal government? That is VERY alarming. (I had read about the breach a few days ago, and it seemed bad, but I'm much more concerned now.) My guess is that they're referring to future possibilities more than results of these hacks. That the risk is their ability to access so many different departments' and companies' systems as opposed to having gotten in and poked around. But for now we don't know for sure (and considering the secrecy our government insists on and Russia's likely ongoing denials, we probably never will).
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 19, 2020 14:06:08 GMT
Sec. Pompeo became the first member of the Trump administration to publicly say Russia was behind the aforementioned hacks. Previously only anonymous sources, think-tank security experts, and other elected officials such as senators and congresspeople have placed blame publicly. The president hasn't made a statement yet; considering his famous affinity for Mr. Putin, it will be interesting to see whether he does, and if so, what he says.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 23, 2021 14:22:21 GMT
These are people with something to protest. These are brave protesters, not like the coddled, partisan, made-for-TV "heroes" in this country. These are people who haven't had any real say in their own governance--in fact, who have seen their say decrease dramatically--in the 20+ years of Putin's reign, a reign that will never end (if he can help it) so he will never have to face justice for his crimes against his own people. (You can always spot a dictator because he tries to lengthen his term in office beyond existing rules; and it's always to avoid punishment for his crimes.)
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 23, 2021 17:17:34 GMT
These are people with something to protest. These are brave protesters, not like the coddled, partisan, made-for-TV "heroes" in this country. These are people who haven't had any real say in their own governance--in fact, who have seen their say decrease dramatically--in the 20+ years of Putin's reign, a reign that will never end (if he can help it) so he will never have to face justice for his crimes against his own people. (You can always spot a dictator because he tries to lengthen his term in office beyond existing rules; and it's always to avoid punishment for his crimes.)
The number being reported now--just a couple of hours later--is more than 2,100 Russian citizens arrested.
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