Japan is seizing the moment:
Fumio Kishida, Japan’s prime minister, said that southern Kuril Islands are a sovereign part of his country, and not part of Russia, which has controlled the group of islands since 1945.
Speaking in the Diet earlier this week, Kishida told lawmakers the Kuril Islands are “original territories of Japan”.
The islands have been a point of controversy between Japan and the Russia for decades. Moscow took control of the islands after World War II in 1945.
Putin’s girlfriend Alina and their four children go into hiding in luxury chalet in Switzerland
In recent years, the Japanese government had refrained from referring to the islands as its “original territories” in order to avoid upsetting the Russian government.
However, following the global anti-Moscow sentiment since the invasion of Ukraine, the Japanese government has reinstated its historic claim on the islands.
Everyone has seen the bully is weak and their conventional forces are shit, and people are not scared anymore. This is particularly troubling for Russia because:
1.) Japan and the United States has bilateral defense agreements.
2.) The US has defense agreements with most of Europe and many other places
3.) Russians can’t afford a two front war much less the one they have now and are stressed in other places they have gotten themselves involved in like Syria.
4.) Japan is in a better position to defend those islands
5.) Japan actually has a pretty amazing Navy, where the Russian navy is old cold war shit and a couple vanity projects they can’t really afford.
Again, this is Adam’s gig, but no matter what the eventual outcome in Ukraine is, there is a going to be a global re-ordering because of Putin’s folly.
I expect China to do what China always does. Sit by and root for injuries. Which, were I China, I would do, too. Where as the American memory lasts til about 15 minutes after we take the yellow ribbons off the trees or the “Never Forget” sticker peels off the car or we trade it in, and the European memory last decades and decades, the Chinese memory lasts hundreds of centuries. So I expect them to simply make vague and conflicting statements while condemning US actions and waiting for this all to end and then simply filling the void filled by American and European industries that will no longer be welcome in a diminished Russia and buy Russian oil for dirt cheap. it will be like Trump’s idiotic trade war with China, except China will be one offering to sell shit and trade with Russia, instead of every other country rushing to trade with China and our soybean farmers and producers getting fucked by Trump.
Not to mention, we’ll probably have our hands full dealing with all the weapons we are shipping into Ukraine that have now fallen into the wrong hands.
I also expect these insult like what Japan is doing right now to further drive Putin mental and make him more violent and erratic, and the people of Ukraine will bear the brunt of that anger for now.
Acts of Kindness: Just Doing Their Jobs
bbleh
Putin’s folly.
A phrase destined for the ages.
Baud
But still voting for Trump.
dr. luba
Saw this (Sakhalin) a while ago….hours? Days? I’ve lost track. All runs together since the 24th.
Anyway, China has been eyeing the Russian Far East for a looooooonnnnnnggggg time. Russians don’t want to live there, Chinese do. Putin has been allowing Chinese farmers to do so. What could possibly go wrong?
bbleh
… filling the void filled by American and European industries that will no longer be welcome in a diminished Russia and buy Russian oil for dirt cheap.
And y’know what? Fine. The total Russian economy is roughly the size of Texas’s, and it’s not like their current trade with China is zero. The effect on Chinese GDP probably would even be detectable. Probably. And if the Chinese get some Russian oil for cheap(er than they were getting it), okay; they can get the Iranians and Russians into a bidding war. It ain’t gonna help Russia (or Iran). And frankly, if it helps to wean the West off cheap oil, it’s not a minute too soon.
Please let’s just avoid nuclear war, okay? Thank you.
NotMax
FYI.
From the same link.
dr. luba
@NotMax: Why would an Armenian name his restaurant after Pushkin? Just curious
It’s not like Armenians are unknown in southern California……
Brachiator
Isn’t this kinda how Russia is trying to justify seizing Ukraine?
Chacal Charles Calthrop
“Let them hate, so long as they fear” stops working once people realize they don’t need to be afraid.
As for Russia & China, Muscovy got their start as tax collectors for their Asian overlords:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Grand-Principality-of-Moscow
Looks like everything old is new again.
CROAKER
Endeavor to Persevere
oldster
” Not to mention, we’ll probably have our hands full dealing with all the weapons we are shipping into Ukraine that have now fallen into the wrong hands.”
Ilhan Omar mentioned this recently, and I’m afraid you are both right. Tens of thousands of Stingers and Javelins and other US, UK, Swedish, etc. small precision guided missiles are being flooded into a chaotic environment where lots will go on to the black market. The more that Putin loses, the less he’ll care about the security of commercial aviation.
After a few Delta commuters and Ryan Air short hops are shot down, I think the whole world may be a no-fly zone for awhile.
And I *still* think it’s the right thing for us to do right now, because Putin must be defeated.
But there will be blowback. There always is.
NotMax
@dr. luba
He’s a fan?
It’s easy for Americans to pronounce and to remember?
;)
Sebastian
just wanted it seen printed twice.
bbleh
@oldster: Oh come on! Everything worked out just fine in Afghanistan, dinnit?
(And you’re both right, of course; the alternative is worse, and we just need to be aware of all the consequences of our present actions.)
NotMax
@NotMax
Now wondering what steps, if any, the owners of the Russian Tea Room (adjacent to Carnegie Hall in NYC) are taking.
/semi-snark
Martin
@Brachiator: No. These islands were seized by the USSR after the end of WWII. Japan has never formally ended their conflict with the USSR from WWII, and these islands are why. Understand, the USSR didn’t declare war against Japan until the day before we bombed Hiroshima – it was purely a land-grab by them.
Russia formally recognized Ukraine as a sovereign nation and never made any formal claim otherwise. Japan has been saying consistently for going on 80 years that those islands were illegally taken.
Dan B
@dr. luba: My brother’s family hosted an exchange student from Sakhalin, Anastazia. Her father built the airport and the oligarchs took it. She stayed at my house near the Broadway area which has lots of young people. She fell in with a disreputable guy who seemed to be on drugs. We managed to get her back to Russia by some trickery.
Martin
@NotMax: West coast dock workers union has said they refuse to unload any Russian cargo. So no exceptions to the embargo here for the time being.
And west coast dock workers are the chads of the union world. If they say they aren’t doing something, they aren’t doing it. Those folks don’t fuck around.
Sebastian
@NotMax:
This might affect World of Warships. Dang
Hilbertsubspace
I told someone that any country that wants a piece of something Russia is squatting on, now is the time. I was only half joking.
Japan is not joking, and Russia (Putin) doesn’t have a friend in the world right now, not even China.
bbleh
@NotMax: Haven’t you heard? They sent armored columns through Grom’s (big open spaces, total soft target) and straight into Morton Williams, “the breadbasket of 57th Street.”
The whole block is outraged, of course, but they don’t want to risk open conflict. That can escalate to the Zoning Board, and then, well …
randal m sexton
I also really like ‘Putin’s folly’. Nice turn of the phrase.
Tractarian
????
Dan B
@NotMax: We had a favorite restaurant near us that served modern Mediterranean food. It was named El Greco after the Greek painter who lived in Spain. People stayed away claiming they didn’t like Greek food which is due to the poor Greek restaurants in Seattle. We could not convince friends that it was Italian, Spanish, Greek, and French.
schrodingers_cat
Illhan Omar is going to vote against banning Russian energy imports. I am curious to see who will be making excuses for her vote and who among the Ds joins her in voting against the ban.
Martin
Some of the finer consequences are coming into view. You might have missed the absolute shit show in the nickel exchange the other day when some Chinese trading house got called on an $8B loss trying to short the metal.
Ukraine and russia mine a lot of the stuff, and it’s an important component for batteries. So we’re currently caught between a lack of liquidity in the oil market as we shut down Russias output and also a lack of supply of nickel to make batteries to enable us to use less oil.
Back on the semiconductor front, neon is a key resource for the lasers used to make semiconductors and Ukraine exports something like 90% of the worlds supply, as well as a lot of other noble gasses. We’re gong to have to tip up some new supplies before those reserves run out. It’s not a terribly hard problem to solve – there’s a number of ways to handle it, but it’ll increase prices and take a little while.
I’d speculated about the relative lack of use of precision guided munitions in Ukraine. One possibility is that Russia is afraid to use them because they probably can’t make any more if the US makes good on their threat to shut Russia out of even the Chinese semi market. Taking those down would probably only leave some Israeli capacity capable of making what Russia needs, and I’m guessing Israel is pretty easy to roll up on that front, if they aren’t already (not wanting Russian munitions going to Iran).
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Tractarian: I’m guessing a cut’n’paste with a link to another story?
But I’ve read that elsewhere, they have two sons and two daughters; also that one or both of Putin’s acknowledged daughters live in Amsterdam
Old Dan and Little Ann
@NotMax: I heard somerhing extra stupid on the radio this morning. Americans are confusing Poutine (yummy) restaurants with Putin.
Jager
@Baud:
He paid them off. “records from the Department of Agriculture find that subsidy payments to farmers ballooned from just over $4 billion in 2017 to more than $20 billion in 2020 – driven largely by ad hoc programs meant to offset the effects of President Trump’s failed trade war.”
Baud
@Jager:
Ah, thanks. Now that makes sense.
Dangerman
Speaking of falling into the wrong hands, I really hope Russian Strategic Forces are shitloads better than their conventional forces. Al-queda might pay in something better than rubles, which should be well on its way to dogshit (/the big short)
Freemark
It’s still early but this looks like the Ukraine invasion will bite Putin hard. 70% of Russia’s fighting forces are in Ukraine. Japan wants its islands back. Vladivostok, or possibly soon to be known again as Haishenwai, was taken from China only 160 years ago. Pretty sure China would really like it back. Georgia would like its land back. Kazakhstan and Belarus are ready to bubble up at any time. And the Chechens may be cowed now but I wouldn’t take any bets that they won’t get antsy if Russian forces are not available to re-bomb their cities and a few more war criminal generals are killed.
SiubhanDuinne
Given the many, often heated, conversations we have had over “Ukraine” vs. “the Ukraine,” I must say “the Russia” struck me as very funny!
debit
@schrodingers_cat: Where in the article did it say she was voting against the ban? I only saw that it said she was against dealing with the Saudis.
Martin
@schrodingers_cat: I don’t think she’ll bring many, if any along, since she’s making a point about Yemen that the Democrats have mostly not cared about.
I tend to agree with her, though. If banning Russian oil means funneling that money toward the war machine destroying Yemen, then we’re basically just admitting that killing/war crimes against Europeans is worse than killing/war crimes against non-Europeans. And that’s bullshit.
The US doesn’t need Middle East oil. The US could prohibit export of US petroleum unless domestic needs are met, suspend the Jones act for this national security issue, and we wouldn’t need to import any oil, or maybe a bit from Canada/Mexico. There are valid logistical issues, but the US imperative should be reducing use, not making up for the shortfall from some other war crimes committing nation.
ian
@schrodingers_cat:
The article the tweet links to does not make the claim that she is going to vote against banning oil imports.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/ilhan-omar-hammers-biden-over-204422205.html
SamIAm
@schrodingers_cat:
If you took less than the time that you spent posting that smear and followed the link to the news story you’d find out she isn’t voting against the ban:
Baud
@Martin:
The Russian sanctions aren’t about killing or war crimes. They are about the Russian that to Europe.
Jager
@Dan B:
My pal Gary’s grandson plays Jr hockey in Penticton, BC. he has an oligarch’s kid as a teammate. The Russian bought his kid a 1.5 million dollar house and a new Range Rover to drive. Gary’s grandson lives in a basement apartment with another teammate and drives a 9 year old Volkswagen. The Russian is a nice kid, pretty good player too. Gary’s grandson is headed to the University of Wisconsin this fall, he doesn’t know where the Russian kid will be going. He’s close to aging out of Juniors.
Spanky
@Freemark:
Are you saying that steppes will be taken?
AndoChronic
@schrodingers_cat: So happy Don Samuels is running against her.
FelonyGovt
@NotMax: Aww, I’m sorry to hear that about Pushkin restaurant in San Diego. I’ve eaten there several times and really enjoyed it. And I knew the owners weren’t Russian ( I thought they were Georgian, but I guess Armenian) and were opposed to the invasion.
bbleh
@Spanky: * rimshot *
SamIAm
@AndoChronic:
Did you read the story AndoChronic? Schodenger’s Cat is pushing disinformation.
schrodingers_cat
@debit:Try this link where she says that she is going to vote against the ban.
Roger Moore
@dr. luba:
Maybe he’s an Armenian, but he’s serving Russian cuisine and chose a Russian name for his restaurant to advertise it. It’s not that outlandish. Armenia has cordial relations with Russia, and there are a fair number of partially assimilated Armenians living in Russia. Hey, this is America! We have Mexicans running Japanese restaurants, and Koreans running taco trucks. What’s so weird about an Armenian running a Russian restaurant named after Pushkin?
debit
@schrodingers_cat: Thanks for the link. I’m a constituent, so I’ll be calling her office tomorrow.
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
FWIW
More at the link SC gave.
schrodingers_cat
@debit: You are welcome.
Meanwhile Trevor Noah is platforming a BS artist from India. who is also a RWNJ.
Gary K
@Hilbertsubspace:
But it is trolling…
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
What’s the Save Soil movement he’s pushing?
Mike S
It’s all fun and games until the physically ill, mentally unstable sociopath decides to launch the nuclear tipped missiles.
Baud
@Mike S:
That’s how I felt during the Trump years.
debit
@AndoChronic: Not to derail the conversation, but finding out that he supported the guy who blew into town with tons of money from PACs and republicans doesn’t comfort me.
PJ
@oldster:
These weapons are being transferred to the Ukrainian government. Where do you get the info that they are going to the black market?
MagdaInBlack
@SamIAm: It appears you are wrong.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: No clue but the guy is bad news. My Indian Twitter mutuals who are environmentalists loathe him. He is pro-Modi, involved in many shady land deals Plus his wife died under mysterious circumstances.
Doug R
@Freemark:
https://twitter.com/MrGeorgeWallace/status/1496599704309665792
Baud
@PJ:
Things get lost in the fog of war.
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
He’s obviously got a good agent.
CROAKER
Cause apparently there are free range DUPA
https://balloon-juice.com/2022/03/09/war-for-ukraine-update-14-5-interim-update-for-housekeeping-purposes/
Ohio Mom
About ten years ago, I was a parent representative at a year long training program at our Children’s hospital for college students studying allied health fields (e.g., OT, PT, audiology, genetic counseling, etc.) and planning to work with children with disability.
One of the themes was cultural competency and one of the speakers on this topic was a local doctor originally from China.
In addition to addressing Chinese immigrant culture (there are two main groups, the desperately poor restaurant workers and the comfortable professionals) and Chinese folk medicine (for example, don’t be surprised if one of your future patients is covered with ring-shaped marks from being cupped), he worked in that China is patiently planning to eventually take over the world. It was a jarring note in an otherwise anodyne presentation.
I am old enough to know that nothing revolves around me but really, I am not in the mood for World War III. It’s all I can do to keep functioning on the face of climate change.
Uncle Cosmo
FTR & FWIW, surnames ending in -ian or -yan are nearly always of Armenian origin. I picked up this factoid as a teenage chess addict, when Tigran Petrosian was world champion.
(NB A minor character in Thomas Pynchon’s pun-riddled second novel, The Crying of Lot 49, is an aerospace engineer named Mark Fallopian – and the author makes a point of noting he is of Armenian descent, for which he gets mad props from me. FWIW TCOL49 is easily the most accessible of Pynchon’s oeuvre, takes all of maybe 90 minutes to read, & if you like atrocious puns you are guaranteed to larf your apse off.)
Jager
@Baud:
My farmer relatives got bags of cash.
Gin & Tonic
@schrodingers_cat: Didn’t see you last night – my DIL got her IR1. Only 932 days.
Gin & Tonic
Kropacetic
@schrodingers_cat: Says she’s concerned with the effects it will have on Russian citizens. It will have a negative impact on our citizens too, people’s willingness to endure it notwithstanding.
Let’s not pretend this is an easy decision. There’s a reason it took Biden weeks to call for this. Her purely symbolic vote definitely isn’t a cause to re-raise the banners for your tedious war on the left.
Geminid
Reuters reports that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov has arrived in the Turkish city of Antalya, preparing to meet tomorrow with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba.
Antalya is a resort city on Turkey’s southern coast.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Baud:
/rubs temples/
Hosted by The Intercept’s chief Tara Reade Correspondent Ryan Grim and Kim Iverson. I guess the void left by RT has to be filled somehow.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: The best money can buy from his ill gotten gains.
Baud
@Jager:
I should have bought some farm land.
schrodingers_cat
@Gin & Tonic: What is IR1? Is it like the approval of change of status when you go via = the consular application route?
oldster
@PJ:
The govt of Ukraine will never knowingly give them to the black market.
But they will distribute them to hundreds of combat units, some of which will lose them. Some will be picked up by Russian forces There’s a lot of chaos in battle.
Incidentally, I am sorry to hear Ilhan Omar is saying stupid shit about other issues. I can agree with one thing she says (that Cole said, too,) while disagreeing with her on other statements.
PJ
@Kropacetic: She thinks it’s better for Russia to continue its war unimpeded rather than have Russian oligarchs, industry, and citizens squeezed by economic sanctions.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I saw that. I thought he was with the Intercept. Is he with The Hill now?
Gin & Tonic
@schrodingers_cat: It’s a visa – Immediate Relative? It’s the unconditional one, for 10 years. The “regular” is the CR-1, good for two years.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
When does she arrive?
PJ
@oldster:
But isn’t this what happens any time a country goes to war? Or maybe Heller was making up that stuff about US officers selling supplies on the black market in Catch 22?
Mike S
@Baud: Me too and I am pretty sure he would nuke us in CA since he lost by 4 and then 5 million votes here.
But I seriously doubt that Russia has any safeguards against a Putin launch.
schrodingers_cat
@Gin & Tonic: Ah thanks! So when does get her permanent resident card? Congratulations to you and your family and of course her
ETA: OK so she got her Green Card. I went through a completely different process to get the GC hence the confusion.
Baud
@Mike S:
Yeah, I think their safeguard is hoping there’s a general brave enough to shoot Putin.
oldster
@PJ:
So we’re agreeing now: in wars, stuff winds up on the black market.
Jager
@Baud:
He actually farms, a bunch of people who lease their land got plenty of cash too.
Ken
You would have been bidding against Bill Gates, who is the largest private owner of farmland in the United States. Which makes me wonder how much he got in Trump subsidies.
Gin & Tonic
@Baud: We have a family event in CDMX the first weekend in April, so presumably right after that.
raven
@oldster: so what
Gin & Tonic
@schrodingers_cat: She’ll get the GC once she gets to the US.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
?
bbleh
@PJ: Oh nonsense. She’s focused on the Saudi regime and its war with the Yemenis, there’s a link to the Ukraine war and Russian oil because Saudi is still the world’s “swing producer,” the link gives her a “hook” to get the Saudi/Yemeni story in the news, and she thinks it’s worth the political blowback to do this and get the publicity. It’s political opportunism, which is hardly an unimpeachable motivation, but it’s still a long way from thinking “it’s better for Russia to continue its war unimpeded.”
Dan B
@oldster: Omar seems to feel that oil money will get to average Russians. More like extreme trickle down
She’s right about not getting money to MBS but it’s a big bridge to cross to connect the two.
Baud
@Ken:
I like to think of it as Bill Gates bidding against me.
Gin & Tonic
Ukrainian Channel 5 is reporting that the US is moving two Patriot systems to Poland.
whomever
@Ohio Mom: I work in computing which has a lot of Chinese immigrants. It’s interesting to see their take on certain things, for example they know SOMETHING happened in Tiananmen square but don’t know what.
Occasionally politics bubble up; another co-worker of mine who is Taiwanese (and therefore has zero patience for the PRC) mentioned getting private mail from Chinese co-workers about how he shouldn’t criticize the “fellow” Chinese when mentioning even mildly negative stuff about the mainland.
Dan B
@Gin & Tonic: Anything to the Baltic states?
I guess it would not matter if the missiles were close to the Baltics.
Cacti
Russia has a fearsome nuclear arsenal.
But its conventional military power is looking like a paper tiger.
Good at beating up on smaller, poorly armed opponents, but getting shot to hell by top of the western weapons and weapons systems.
Geminid
@Jager: On a farming radio show, I heard a guy from an agriculture watchdog group report on their analysis of those “emergency” crop payments triggered by Trump’s trade war. He said a large portion went to LLCs or individuals with addresses in gated golf communities and cities like San Francisco or Minneapolis. These people hardly ever see a tractor, much less drive one.
craigie
@Spanky:
Excellent
Kropacetic
@PJ: Omar’s statement upon the initial invasion reads
Agree with her decision or not, her concerns are valid. She prefers more targeted sanctions. Average citizens in Russia and across the West will be paying the cost of this.
Im fully on board, but I have no problem with one of the couple hundred Representatives in Congress standing for this argument, as long as they’re generally supportive of the effort against Russia.
Baud
@Cacti:
I’ll be interested down the road in seeing how much of it is equipment vs. lack of planning vs. low morale vs. corruption.
Mallard Filmore
@whomever:
I used to work for a Chinese owned company. Some workers here did not speak English. Most had no problem going back to China when the shop was closed.
YouTube has plenty of videos from reputable sources of Tiananmen Square if your colleagues want to watch.
Kalakal
@Baud: It wouldn’t surprise me if it turns out the equipment is basically ok but very badly maintained, and that it’s the other factors you mention that are a much bigger problem for them
Ohio Mom
@whomever: That they haven’t googled (or admitted to googling) Tiananmen Square is telling.
PJ
@Kropacetic: I don’t agree with this guy’s takes on everything (at least with regard to the US and the West) but a lot of his thoughts about Russia are convincing. Here he argues that sanctions can bring down Russian industry, which will bring the war to a halt, which will bring Putin down.
https://twitter.com/kamilkazani/status/1501676859741904898
Kropacetic
@PJ: I don’t doubt it. Like I said, I’m on board with these sanctions and would love if they drove some good outcomes. But let’s not pretend there’s no cost or try to stamp out every bit of dissent like we were common Republicans.
debbie
@Gin & Tonic:
I saw that earlier. One of the replies said the students’ attendance was mandatory, though they seem more enthusiastic than being made to attend might warrant.
Kattails
@Tractarian: Me too. Also, Madeline Albright described Putin as being so cold as to be “reptilian”. As a woman, I cannot fathom being the girlfriend of such a person, much less pushing out four children for him. He has what a reformed junkie I knew years ago describe as “dead man’s eyes”.
Morzer
@Kattails:
Well, it’s amazing what some people can endure for a luxurious lifestyle. Wonder how those remittance payments are going though….
Morzer
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/mar/09/ukraine-news-russia-war-ceasefire-broken-humanitarian-corridors-kyiv-russian-invasion-live-vladimir-putin-volodymyr-zelenskiy-latest-updates#block-622961078f0806dde1f8b7aa
AndoChronic
@SamIAm: Still happy he’s running against her. He’s always been my guy here in Mpls. We lost his council seat due to depopulation after the tornado here on the Northside in 2011. Glad he’s back in action.
TeezySkeezy
@Kattails: After Putin, plenty more Russians in the FSB with those eyes to take his place.
AndoChronic
@SamIAm: P. S. Yes, I did read tbe initial link. It also looks like the initial assessment was accurate anyhow. She’s my rep. and I’ll call her office tomorrow re: my disagreement.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Uncle Cosmo: William Saroyan (and his son Aram) are the Armenians most familiar to me. My Name Is Aram is set in Fresno, which had a large Armenian population. I just googled Armenians and Fresno to see if that is still the case, and it is, but apparently, there are Armenian communities all over So Cal now, with the population of Glendale being 40% Armenian (!).
Captain C
Kamil Galeev had an interesting Twitter thread on the sanctions, and how they can succeed, and what some of the follow-on effects will be for Russian industry and brain- and hand-drain over time:
oldster
@Morzer:
“Americans are donating thousands of sets of body armour and millions of rounds of ammunition in response to Ukraine’s pleas for military support.”
Millions of rounds? What decent American doesn’t have that many in their basement?
Jokes aside, I am glad that people are opening their wallets and armories for the Ukrainian people.
Jager
@Geminid:
Exactly
Kropacetic
@oldster: So if we’re resigned to losing stuff to the underground market, one would hope they have a plan to maintain an edge with this as a factor. This war has clearly demonstrated our side’s edge in intelligence and strategy. Or so it looks from here.
AndoChronic
@debit: Not sure what that’s all about. Samuels has always been great for the city and the Northside in particular, even out of his council seat. One of the best leaders in Mpls. this 4th gen. resident has seen.
trnc
Has Biden made a statement about not demonizing Russians in the US? If not, that may help a little. One of the things I give W credit for is clearly discouraging violence against Muslims in general.
Kropacetic
@trnc: Counter example; Trump’s demagoging against China, especially during the pandemic, and general promotion of political mob violence.
oldster
@Kropacetic:
“…one would hope they have a plan….”
I do hope they have a plan! Because, my hope is certainly not a plan.
During the 90s, some of the Stingers in Afghanistan got bricked after falling into the wrong hands because the batteries wore out. But that was a simpler, pre-web time.
Now that terrorists are a lot better at electronics, is there some other technical fix that will keep the Heathrow flight safe from rogue missiles? I don’t know. I hope the good guys have a plan!
Kropacetic
@oldster: Just sayin if people can see at home from their armchairs…
trnc
It wasn’t in that link, but google is your friend.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ilhan-omar-says-she-ll-vote-against-a-bill-to-ban-russian-oil-citing-the-devastating-impact-on-the-russian-people/ar-AAUO7yx
trnc
Yes, he’s the counter example on everything. He is truly the first person for whom I could identify zero redeeming qualities.
mainmati
@dr. luba: Not exactly the case. I used to work in the RFE in the ‘90s and, unless things have gone rapidly “south” there, both Khabarovski and Primorskie krais have large Russian populations. Forestry, fishing and some mining. Yes, the Amur River, which is a really long border between the two countries used to be a flashpoint and sometimes is in Primorskie but Russians aren’t going anywhere from there.
I also worked on the environmental review of Exxon/Mobil’s (and partners) Sakhalin 1 petroleum project. Extraordinarily beautiful and ecologically sensitive site. I wish they would just shut the project down altogether.
prostratedragon
@NotMax: There’s a similar place in Chicago around the corner from Orchestra Hall. Last time I passed by was, oddly, on Feb 24. Looked pretty quiet.
YY_Sima Qian
Japan grabbed the South Kuril Islands during its own phase of imperial expansion in the 2nd half of the 19th century & the 1st half of the 20th century, much like the Ryukyu Kingdom, Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, Taiwan, Korea & Manchuria. Before that, the area was grabbed by the Russian Empire from the Qing Empire, whose nominal suzerainty included all of Sakhalin Island.
Actual attempt by Japan to retake the South Kuril Islands, or China to take eastern Siberia, when Putin is up against the wall, is likely courting nuclear fire. The Japanese PM is simply taking a rhetorical shot (& reiterating long held position) at a moment of opportunity.
There is also this persistent myth that China wants to retake the Russian Far East. Chinese migrant workers used to go to Russian Far East for seasonal work. Some have rented farmlands from Russian owners, but very few have put down roots there. If anything, fewer Chinese migrants have been going to the Russian Far East for seasonal work over the past few years, due to the deteriorating economic situation there. They are staying home in Manchuria. Even though Manchuria is China’s own rust belt suffering from depopulation (as young people decamp south for warmer climate & better opportunities), it is positively vibrant & dynamic compared to the Russian Far East. Yes, there are vast natural resources in the Russian Far East, but they are not necessarily cheap or easy to exploit. China can access those resources by paying for them, rather than risking nuclear war by taking physical possession. The Russian Far East has also been a major resource drain for every regime in Moscow, why would China want to take that on? Turning Manchuria around is already a massive undertaking.
Only people in China dreaming about eastern Siberia is a tiny ultranationalist fringe, suppressed by state censors.
Urza
@oldster: I don’t think its widespread yet, but its possible to put in chips that will brick the weapon with a remote signal. They would be hard to remove without destroying the weapon.
oldster
@Urza:
I like the sound of that.
I’m no expert, so i don’t know how you do that without making them vulnerable to being disabled by the bad guys when the good guys need to use them. But if the problems can be overcome, then it’s worth installing the safeguards.
Any reason to think they are currently installed in the tens of thousands being sent in now?
WaterGirl
@Gin & Tonic: I’m a day late, but yes, yes it does. Good think Putin wants to de-nazify Ukraine. //