Sunday, August 14, 2022
Saturday, August 13, 2022
Patrice Lumumba
Apparently, there is a Patrice Lumumba Highway in Bakhmut, Ukraine and Russians are marching along it. At one time, there was a Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow. Some communist relatives offered to recommend me to that University. It is now
On the strategy behind bombing nuclear power plants in Ukraine
Strategies of bombing power plants from four to twelve minutes. Apparently Russians are disconnecting the power to Ukraine from Zaporozhye power plant and connecting to Crimea. The idea May Beto make that power plant useless and also create nuclear buffer area. But there are also some other nuclear power plants in western Ukraine and it seems to be beginning of a dangerous game of threats, bluffs and counter bluffs. There is also a discussion by Alexander Mercouris https://youtu.be/lyJh6ZNm6ZQ but he seems to have missed some of the above points.
Friday, August 12, 2022
An interesting dance from ‘Two Moon Junction’
I saw a similar dance in Toledo, Ohio in 1988. The song is by Loria Jonzun and is titled ‘Trance’.
From a book on Asimov’s life
A quote from the book by Davidson “A key theme of Lynn Margulis's career would be "symbiosis"—the cooperation of life forms for mutual benefit. This insight would spur her to revive an old idea that modern cells are assemblages of formerly inde- pendent cells. For example, the little mitochondrion that energizes your bodily cells was once an independent cell itself, but it discovered a life of greater safety and leisure within bigger cells than in the liquid jungle outside them. Likewise, the bigger cell benefited from its acquisition of mitochondria, which greatly enhanced its energy reserves. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours: this is an emerging theme of evolutionary theory, a far cry from the "nature red in tooth and claw" mythology that haunted the Victorian imagination. Sagan and Margulis's relationship was symbiotic, too. He introduced her to biology, explained its basic genetic concepts to her, and had biological contacts (via his relationship with Muller) that might have eased her entry into a biology program in the University of Wisconsin graduate school.”
Another:
One of Lynn Margulis's relatives, the witty Nobel Prize-winning physicist Sheldon Glashow, observed after Sagan became a TV celebrity that Sagan's youthful persuasiveness had "convinced [Lynn] to study biology rather than English." Slyly, Glashow added: "Lynn is possibly,Indeed, in strictly scientific terms, she would become more distinguished than he. She would win admittance to the National Academy of Sciences, which, having a num- ber of members who shared Glashow's attitude but less of his subtlety, would somewhat awkwardly reject Sagan's candidacy.
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
A long discussion on Ukraine at Roundtable
One of the better discussions. All the participants seem pro-Russian. The discussion is wide ranging from politics both local and global to what various groups of people in Ikraine feel.
Tuesday, August 09, 2022
Needham question again?
Chinese History of Science and technology: The rediscovery of the Chinese history of science This author attributes it to Mongolian invasion and rule.
Monday, August 08, 2022
Trash?
Don’t call them trash: Romance novels celebrate female pleasure and aspiration.
“..…..Victorian era enshrined the idea of marrying for love. At her middle-class core, Hallett writes, she wanted “a man who possessed charm and animal force as well as cash”—the perennial dream espoused most memorably in the fiction of Jane Austen. In 1892, at the age of 28, spinsterhood on the horizon, she married Clayton Glyn Jr., a sportsman from a respectable English landowning family and a bon viveur who would, before too long, gamble away everything he’d inherited and proceed to do much the same with his wife’s very substantial earnings from her work.”
Digging a hole to China
Nancy Pelosi in Taiwan saying she has a connection with China and Taiwan because;"When I was a little girl, I was told at the beach if I dug a hole deep enough, we would reach China. So, we've always felt a connection there."
Sunday, August 07, 2022
The courtesans of Bombay 1983
Aboutonehourfifteenminutes. Smaller segments are also available on YouTube
Friday, August 05, 2022
Thursday, August 04, 2022
The Hidden Truth about the War in Ukraine (via Naked Caitalism)
“On 20 January 1991, before the independence of Ukraine, the Crimeans were invited to choose by referendum between two options: to remain with Kiev or to return to the pre-1954 situation and be administered by Moscow…. 93.6% of Crimeans agreed to be attached to Moscow….
On February 26, 1992, the Crimean parliament proclaimed the “Republic of Crimea” with the agreement of the Ukrainian government, which granted it the status of a self-governing republic. On 5 May 1992, Crimea declared its independence and adopted a Constitution….
….on 17 March 1995, it [Ukraine] forcibly abolished the Crimean Constitution. It sent its special forces to overthrow Yuri Mechkov, President of Crimea, and de facto annexed the Republic of Crimea, thus triggering popular demonstrations for the attachment of Crimea to Russia. An event hardly reported by the Western media.”
Wednesday, August 03, 2022
General Antoine Martinez on the Ukraine crisis
From a comment in Moon of Alabama(https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/08/ukraine-mines-missiles-warcrimes-and-a-warning-to-zelenski.html#comments):
On the Internet there is an article by French Brigadier General (retired) Antoine Martinez, Ukraine-Russia conflict: From fantasy to reality, from illusion to disillusionment. Most of what he says won't surprise barflies, but if your neighbours and friends (and mine) think you've been brainwashed in the Manchurian candidate way, you can ask them if General Martinez has been too.
The article recalls that « the operation launched on 24 February by the Russian president is not the starting point of this conflict but is a logical continuation of a war prepared by the United States. »
General Martinez recalls the comments made in December 2014 by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko against the inhabitants of the east of the country:
"We will have work and they will not. We will have pensions and they will not. We will have benefits for pensioners and children, they will not. Our children will go to school and day care, their children will stay in the cellars...And that's how, that's precisely how we will win this war!"
He asks the question whether the Russian operation was foreseeable or not, and relates the sacking of the head of the French military intelligence (Direction du Renseignement Militaire, DRM), who thought that the Russians would not attack.
According to General Martinez, the DRM was right in its own way because the Russian intervention was improvised:
« The military operation (...) was not, in fact, launched on 24 February by Vladimir Putin but on 16 February by the Ukrainian army, which began shelling the civilian population of the Donbass, putting Vladimir Putin in front of a difficult choice. The massive increase in fire against the population of Donbass from that date onwards indicates to the Russians that a major offensive is imminent (...) This is, in fact, an organised provocation - which could, moreover, be qualified as a war crime (bombing of civilian populations) - intended to push Russia to the brink by intervening. In order to be convinced, but is it surprising, the American president, Joe Biden, announced on 17 February, with a Machiavellian assurance, that Russia would attack Ukraine in the next few days. He is obviously right, since the situation will evolve according to the written scenario. »
« (...) It is not a question of taking over Ukraine, nor of occupying or destroying it. This operation was launched as a matter of urgency on 24 February, eight days after the start of the massive bombardment of the civilian population of Donbass, which preceded the assault by Kiev's forces by a few days. This is why it has been called a special operation because it is not a classic high-intensity war against an intractable enemy but rather an operation to liberate a friendly population (Donbass) that has been martyred for eight years in the deafening silence of the Western leaders and media.
This is why Russia has decided to commit only 12% to 15% of its soldiers, without calling on its immense reserves and without declaring a partial, let alone general, mobilisation. The operation is, in fact, being conducted with a numerical inferiority of 1:2, whereas experts admit that the ratio of forces on the ground required in the offensive phase should be 3:1, or even 5:1 in urban areas.
In this context, the offensive towards Kiev could only aim at fixing the Ukrainian troops elsewhere than in the Donbass: "We must always bear in mind this principle of the balance of power. With 1:1 or 1:2, it is out of the question to engage in urban combat. »
General Martinez points out (rightly so IMO)« the immense responsibility of France and Germany in the present situation with their renunciation or their lack of will - and this for eight years - to follow and ensure the application of [the Minsk] agreements whereas they were the guarantors. »
(Machine translation via DeepL)
I let you discover the rest of the article (in French, use a translation software):
Posted by: Leuk | Aug 2 2022 15:22 utc | 7
Tuesday, August 02, 2022
Update from Alexander Mercouris
As Russia Advances in Donbass Crisis Heats up in Kosovo; EU/UK Major Retreat on Russia Oil Sanctions
Monday, August 01, 2022
Sunday, July 31, 2022
Saturday, July 30, 2022
Some Covid news from Australia
Three myths about COVID-19 — and the biggest challenge that lies ahead “So what's my plan, now that I know the risk of heart problems and other poor health outcomes is just as high on a second or third infection, and in the absence of a vaccine to stop BA.5 infection?
I'm dropping my COVID hubris and donning a mask.”
Thursday, July 28, 2022
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Monday, July 25, 2022
Sunday, July 24, 2022
Saturday, July 23, 2022
Thursday, July 21, 2022
Monday, July 18, 2022
Coronavirus reinfections
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01914-6 ‘
One coronavirus infection wards off another — but only if it’s a similar variant’
Sunday, July 17, 2022
Saturday, July 16, 2022
Americans advised to leave Ukraine
Is mentioned as the evidence that the war won’t stop anytime soon. Serbian President Vucic: “I know what awaits us. As soon as Vladimir Putin has done his work in Seversk, Bakhmut and Soledar, after reaching the second line Slaviansk-Kramatorsk-Avdeevka, he will come up with a proposal. And if they [the West] don’t accept it, – and they won’t – all hell will break loose.” It seems that this has become an existential threat to both Russia and America.
Dmitry Orlov speaks
Old way, new way He comments several times in the discussion, seems to be an acerbic old man.
Friday, July 15, 2022
Another update from military summary
A discussion of the Himars threat by Lonewolf in the comments here https://thesaker.is/sitrep-operation-z-back-to-hot-steel-rain/#comment-1121839
Thursday, July 14, 2022
The rule of nihilists
Xi Jinping’s speech from January 2013 by Branko Milanovic in Globalinequality blog.
“Two points are worth highlighting. Xi’s interpretation of the end of the Soviet Union, and his accent on ideology.
Xi sees the break-up of the Soviet Union and the end of the CPSU as the result of “ideological nihilism”: the ruling strata have ceased to believe in the advantages and the value of the system, but lacked any other ideological coordinates within which to situate their thinking. (Incidentally, I have noticed that when I recently read Andrei Kozyrev’s, Yeltsin’s minister of foreign affairs, book of memoirs, reviewed here;the book is striking by its total absence of any ideology.)
Here is Xi: “Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate? Why did the Communist Party of the Soviet Union fall to pieces? An important reason is that in the ideological domain, competition is fierce! To completely repudiate the historical experience of the Soviet Union, to repudiate the history of the CPSU, to repudiate Lenin, to repudiate Stalin was to wreck chaos in Soviet ideology and engage in historical nihilism. It caused Party organizations at all levels to have barely any function whatsoever. It robbed the Party of its leadership of the military. In the end the CPSU — as great a Party as it was — scattered like a flock of frightened beasts! The Soviet Union — as great a socialist state as it was — shattered into pieces.”
The lack of belief in the system stemmed from the failure of the Soviet Union in the economic arena, and inability to propose a system of participation in the decision-making that appealed to, or was acceptable to, most of its population. The roots of the debacle were both economic and ideological. Once the party loses the control of the ideology, Xi argues, once it fails to provide a satisfactory explanation for its own rule, objectives and purposes, it dissolves into a party of loosely connected individuals linked only by personal goals of enrichment and power.”
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Friday, July 08, 2022
Reviving old mango trees
Girdling technique “Girdling or ring-barking refers to the removal of a complete ring of the bark from a stem, branch or trunk. A horticultural method, it forces fruit-bearing plants to produce bigger and sweeter fruit.
Using a clean, sharp knife, an inch-long ring of the bark is cut away and the section is treated with a paste made of geru mitti and pesticide to prevent infection. If done correctly, these repairs will provide a path for critical sugars. In time, the tree will grow new layers that will cover the cut. Shah performs the girdling procedure around Diwali when the humidity level is around 70 per cent.
According to Shah, girdling should be performed on trees that are aged 35 years and above and on branches that are at least 15 to 20 ft above the ground. “The branch should have a minimum girth of 30cms,” he says.“
𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘇𝗲𝗯'𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗵
French tourist Bernier writes that when Aurangzeb was a child, Shah Jahan appointed a scholar, Mullah Saleh, to be his teacher. Once Aurangzeb Alamgir’s education was complete, Mullah Saleh submitted a thorough report to Shah Jahan that the prince had access to all sciences, different languages and he has strengthened his mind with political philosophy. Shah Jahan was happy and rewarded Mullah Saleh with agricultural lands near Kabul. He happily accepted and settled there. Many years passed before Mullah Saleh heard the news of the first civil war and then the victory of his student Aurangzeb Alamgir.
When he learned that the war was over, he hurried to Delhi. He hoped that in the reign of his disciple he would be counted among the nobles of the kingdom. Arriving in Delhi, he reached out to Princess Roshan Ara and other elites to facilitate him to the King’s court. For three months, Aurangzeb was unaware of the presence of his former teacher in a crowded court. When Aurangzeb Alamgir came to know about his arrival, he summoned him separately. At that time he was accompanied by only a few close advisors. One of Aurangzeb’s companions later narrated this story.
𝗔𝗨𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗕’𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗥
Sir! What do you expect from me? Is there any justification in your asking that I, in my capacity of a famous ruler of the world, should take you into my court? May be your request would have been reasonable if you had imparted education to me in proper way. A student, who receives good education, should respect his teacher as he respects his father. But, what have you taught me?
Firstly, you taught saying that Europe means a small island called Portugal, that the king of that country alone is great, in the next position is the king of Holland and then comes the king of England. You also said the king of the France and Spain are like the petty rulers in our country and that the King of Mughal dynasty is greater than all those Kings, that they are the emperors who conquered the whole world and the kings of Persia, Uzbek, Tartar, China, Eastern China, Pegu, Machina, will shiver at the mere mentioning of the names of Mughal emperors.
Ah! You have taught excellent history and Geography, indeed! Instead, you should have taught me about the different countries in the world and their varied interests, the strengths and weaknesses of those kings, their war strategies, their customs, religions, Government policies, the advantages, History, progress, downfall, what disasters and blunders had led to great changes and revolutions-you should have taught me all these things.
I did not learn anything from you regarding the great men, who established the Mughal empire. You did not teach me anything about their life histories. You did not teach about the policies and the strategies that they followed to achieve glorious victories.
You wanted me to learn how to read and write Arabic. You wasted much of my time on something, which cannot be mastered unless I worked hard for ten to twelve years. Perhaps, in your opinion, it is a great thing if a prince becomes a great linguist and a perfect grammarian. May be you thought this esteem is enhanced by learning other languages and foreign languages instead of learning his mother tongue, the language of his people and the languages of neighboring states! Infact, he does not need these languages. Time is quite precious during the childhood for the people like me, who belong to the royal family, since we have to shoulder so many responsibilities. There is an urgent need to learn many things during the limited time that is available to us. You have wasted all my time in teaching Arabic for such a long time, which was boring activity. Study of an Arabic was tragic event in my life. It was useless pursuit. I had to learn it with extreme reluctance. It has even blunted my intellect. (Persian was the official language at that time). Don’t you know that happy childhood memories are preserved forever, that thousands of things can be learned which makes everlasting impression on the young minds and that because of their influence, he can be mentally prepared to take up greater responsibilities? Is it not possible to learn the laws, prayers, and sciences in our mother tongue instead of learning them in Arabic?
You have told my father Shah Jahan that you would teach me philosophy. I distinctly remember it. For several years you have fed my mind with half knowledge of many things which would not satisfy me. All that fanciful stuff is not at all useful to human society. It is very difficult to understand them but very easy to forget. I cannot say how long you had taught me that kind of speculative knowledge. I could only remember that those ugly and horrible vocabulary which could surprise and confuse even the most intelligent people. Ignorant egoists like you, who would like to hide their bad qualities, must have created such words. By listening to such bombastic words, we should think that you are knowledgeable and omniscient! We should think that those wonderful words contain some wonderful inner meaning, which could be understood only by scholars like you!
You should have trained me to be a person with analytical thinking. You should have taught me the techniques of being a person of equanimity and imperturbable mind! You should have told me the laws and grandeur of the universe and the fundamental principles of life. You should have filled my mind with this kind of practical philosophy. Had you done these things, I would have shown you same kind of reverence that Alexander showed to his teacher Aristotle. I would have helped you more than that.
Instead of raising me to the skies with flattery, you should have taught me the essentials of being a good king. You should have given me the knowledge of a king’s responsibilities towards his subjects and their responsibilities towards the king.
You should have foreseen that a day would came when I should use the sword in the battle with my brother. You should have taught me how to lay siege to a town and rally the soldiers who are scattered in confusion.
However, I learned all these things from others, but not from you.
Therefore, now you must go to your village. I will not help you in any manner. Let not the people know who are you. Lead the rest of your life as an ordinary citizen.
Post Credit: Ali Haider
Thursday, July 07, 2022
Yves Smith on Ukraine
The Coming Sanctions-Induced Economic Tsunami?
“Today I am risking being too glib, but my excuse is aspiring to meet the Einstein standard, “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.” It’s not hard to see that as rough as economic conditions are now, they are set to get worse. And it’s not hard to see that despite the considerable blowback from the sanctions against Russia, the West is not going to relent.
Here’s a simple baseline forecast. Russia wins in Ukraine. The West may try to define it somehow as not a victory, but it’s hard to see how Russia does not take the entire Black Sea coast plus Ukraine east of the Dneiper by the end of the year, and I hazard to guess sooner, say October-November. What Russia decides to do with the western part is path dependent and so in play (consider how possible military coup/Zelensky flight, Democratic November wipeout, rising political strife in Europe, Poland deciding to get expansionist could all factor into Russian decisions).”
Wednesday, July 06, 2022
Putin’s oligarchs
It is not clear to me what his economic policies are though they seem successful at the moment. He does not seem to be a communist. John Helmer Indi tea that he is soft on oligarchs. Here is a post which is linked by Larry Johnson, I think Meet Russia’s Oligarchs, A Group Of Men Who Won’t Be Toppling Putin Anytime Soon
Tuesday, July 05, 2022
Near future In the Ukraine war, quagmire
“On the other side, Russian progress on the ground and the intensifying attrition of Ukrainian forces offer no incentive to halt the war and simply settle for its original, probably minimal war goals of ‘denazification’ and ‘demiitarization of Ukraine and seizing all Donbass up to the administrative borders of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions – the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR and LNR) as they are regarded in Moscow, Crimea, and Donbass – in support of their independence recognized by Moscow three days before its invasion. Every inch of territory Moscow seizes beyond the former ‘occupied territories’, as regarded by Kiev, including the additional Donetsk and Luhansk regional territories makes implementation of a ceasefire and withdrawal more complicated. They also make Kiev less likely to negotiate in the short- to mid-term, in lieu of an almost inevitable existential threat to the Ukrainian state such as it exists. By that time there will be a rump Ukraine territorially, a decimated Ukraine economically, and an unstable Ukraine politically.” from Avoiding a Russian Quagmire, the Improbable Ukrainian Peace, and the Risk of Direct Russo-NATO War
Another https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/06/how-to-lose-big-in-ukraine/
Monday, July 04, 2022
Some celebrations
From a comment in Saker’s blog: Some videos for today.
The Victory Banner was raised over the LPR town of Belogorovka, completing the liberation of 100% of the LPR’s territory:
https://rutube.ru/video/88b869e04652d0c1d263640b252b16d6/
Chechen troops greeted in liberated Lisichansk:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/vINfmtTZ8GEe/
Another video showing the people of Lisichansk greeting their liberators:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/94jjm1PKsvRj/
Abandoned Kiev regime trenches near Lisichansk:
https://rutube.ru/video/ab0bb32efc8b899be6ec4e5cb4f449dd/
Shows troops clearing out Lisichansk:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/juUD8B2VKzz3/
Russian artillery taking out a US-supplied M777 howitzer:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/CEwg2RAJJEZS/
US mercenaries admit to suffering casualties in recent video:
Friday, July 01, 2022
Russia gives up snake island
Russia makes 'goodwill gesture' to alleviate food crisis
May be this is one of the differences between the sides. Russia is prepared to cut its losses and proceed Whereis Ukraine seems unwillining to give up untenable positions.
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
About dollar hegemony and possibilities of a multipolar world
“Why the Ukraine Crisis Will Make Little Difference to Dollar Supremacy” There is as lso a long discussion by Yves Smith. Check the discussions in the comments too.
See also the related post https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/06/g7-aims-to-hurt-russia-with-price-cap-on-oil-exports.html
Lavrov discusses the Wagner Groupon an interview
Sergey Lavrov: We have discussed the Wagner Group a number of times with those who are interested in this topic. Wagner is a private military company that has nothing to do with the Russian state. We explained this to our French colleagues, too; they started to get nervous when the Wagner Group agreed with the Mali government to provide security services. Back in September 2021, my esteemed colleague Jean-Yves Le Drian, as well as Josep Borrell, said directly that Russia had no business in Africa, neither as a state nor with private military companies because Africa is the EU and France’s zone. This is what they said to me almost word for word.
Saturday, June 25, 2022
The twilightof empire
It seems that the US is in a spot of bother with its economic hegemony in decline. The economic balance is shifting east leaving the US and it's European vassals behind. The rest is a desparate group of nations with different religions and ideoligies. So the institutions to hold these together have to evolve with no one dominant power with a precedent from the west of breaking rules obligations and institutions. It may be a few decades before as my semblance of order returns.
The Twilight of empire by John Michael Greer
Thursday, June 23, 2022
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Astrakhan
Is the name of a city on Volga which may become more important in Russia’s transit eastwards. A discussion here of the name https://thedreamstress.com/2012/01/terminology-what-is-astrakhan/
See also St. Petersburg sets the stage for the War of Economic Corridors
Monday, June 20, 2022
My friend Nagisetty Venkateswara Rao
My last communication with Rao Nagisetty was on March 22. He has Parkinson's and it has been increasingly difficult to communicate. His mind is still sharp and once in a while he would send messages. One of his messages from March 22:
That is quite generous of you. My memories of your parents and brother are with me. I have fond memories of you. I don't know what will happen to these memories hereafter but for now they keep me warm.
......
I have known him since 1954 -56 when we were classmates. Then he went to Andhra University and I to Madras. We were also colleagues in TIFR for a few years. He was the best in our class but he wore it with some deprecation and charm. He is very warm hearted and personally very kind to me during difficult periods. In the mid eighties I found myself without a job in USA. He arranged a summer job for me in Toledo. I was difficult, did not get along with his wife and had health problems. He used to take me to doctors and gave me lifts to the university when I could not walk. My family was in Austin and it was a difficult period. He saw me through with great kindness and affection. He also persuaded the university to try to hire me. He almost succeeded and I heard that the department was ready to offer me a job but the university president decided to hire a cook. The university kindly invited me later to give special lectures.
Unfortunately I was intolerant when I noticed any sort of dogmatism or high self esteem and cut him off a few times. But he took it his stride and tolerated me. It is not clear whether I will ever see him again. In one of his last communications, he said that he was planning to leave by December.
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Friday, June 17, 2022
"This non Russia-sanctioning G8, he added, is 24.4% ahead of the old one, which is in fact the G7, in terms of GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP), as G7 economies are on the verge of collapsing and the U.S. registers record inflation.
The power of the acronym was confirmed by one of the researchers on Europe at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Sergei Fedorov: three BRICS members (Brazil, China and India) alongside Russia, plus Indonesia, Iran, Turkey and Mexico, all non adherents to the all-out Western economic war against Russia, will soon dominate global markets.
Fedorov stressed the power of the new G8 in population as well as economically: “If the West, which restricted all international organizations, follows its own policies, and pressures everyone, then why are these organizations necessary? Russia does not follow these rules.”
The new G8, instead, “does not impose anything on anyone, but tries to find common solutions.”" from
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Foreign fighters in Ukraine
https://youtu.be/2ZRJiKlHoms Is a bit detailed and boring but ‘considered’ reliable, it says that there may be about 600 foreign fighters in Severodonetsk. According to other reports, it is a cauldron now. A general discussion here https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/ukraine-the-situation-june-13/.
Monday, June 13, 2022
The end may be nearing
Ukraine’s high casualty rate could bring war to tipping point fromThe Guardian. This and similar reports discussed
By alex christoforou.Sunday, June 12, 2022
Ukraine daily update from Asia Times
Update June 11 Asia Times is initiating a near-daily Ukraine war situation report based on multiple military and think tank sources. It’s our unvarnished bid to cut through the propaganda and misinformation of all sides that contribute to the fog of war.
Saturday, June 11, 2022
On Soviet Union
The truth is far from the stories told by both the Ukrainian nationalists and Putin. The Soviet Union was the most advanced attempt at addressing national oppression, racism and discrimination at a country-wide level. Among many other things, the USSR was the first nation to engage in widespread affirmative action at levels no country before or since has reached.
.....
All of the various issues mentioned here of course merit fuller discussion. However, it’s possible to draw some broad conclusions. Firstly, the USSR embarked on the greatest experiment the world has ever known to draw peoples together across national boundaries for collective uplift. They eliminated the pogroms, allowed many languages to grow and bloom, put real resources behind promoting national cultures and made it a top national priority to place people from the formerly oppressed nations into positions of influence and power.
Secondly, they did this in the context of raising the living standards for the entire country far above what they had been in tsarist times, above every nation in the developing world, and achieved a rough parity with the most advanced nations on Earth with remarkable speed.
Two Jesuits who introduced modern education in India
Two Jesuits who introduced modern education in India Fr, Racine was my teacher, sitting on his right in one of the photographs Professor V.Krishnamurthy an excellent teacher and whose lectures kindled my interest in mathematics.
Friday, June 10, 2022
Odessa in the sights, possible future developments
according to some pro-Russia commenters
https://youtu.be/guWCJDXfKisThursday, June 09, 2022
Wednesday, June 08, 2022
Tuesday, June 07, 2022
About the possibilities of a global famine
Seems a bit farfetched to me. To see whether there is any thing in it, one has to look at various thinktank reports of previous years. Some of the he commenters link to such reports like https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR3063.html
Michael Hudson: Is US/NATO (with WEF Help) Pushing for a Global South Famine?
Sunday, June 05, 2022
Russian business affected by war
“Everything is gone”: Russian business hit hard by tech sanctions
Branco Milanevic thinks that Russia may be prepared for such difficulties:
Friday, June 03, 2022
Western media reports on Ukraine and Russia
How Russia, And Putin, Are Weaponizing, Losing And Running Out Of ... Everything has been mostly negative but there seems to be some changes As sanctions fail to work and Russia's advance continues, Western media changes its tune on Ukraine
But both Ukraine and Russia seem to lack enough young people due to migration and low birthrares. So how long these temporary advantages and disadvantages last is not clear. It is not clear what the two countries in terms of long range projects in education, science and research and increasing the percentage of younger people. Some feel that China's one child policy for several Dec as des will put it at as serious disadvantages in another decade or so.
Thursday, June 02, 2022
Situation on the ground in Ukraine.
According to this video site which seems pro-Russisn, the next part of the campaign in the Ukraine East may be tough for Russians because of the terrain and entrenched positions Military summary and analysis. He gives an instance where Russians had to retreat once before and in many places, the situation seems similar. Russians may have to change their tactics.
The analysis of Alexander Mercouris, which is more broad and geopolitical, seems more optimistic of Russian progress https://youtu.be/FKvM4k8Dm9A. The first is about 20 minutes long and the second almost an hour.
Has the world passed “peak agricultural land”?
Has the world passed “peak agricultural land”? From MR with a link to an article by Hannah Richie https://ourworldindata.org/peak-agriculture-land
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