War in Ukraine


I read somewhere that Russia set up some measures to hold the value of the Ruble. Since they seemed to work today they relaxed them a little (interest rate from 20% to 17% , and allowing transactions that were forbidden these last weeks or something like that). And then the ruble fell a little (or I thought I read a little).
 
Remember the Spain U-turn on West Sahara ? I just read more on it, and it looks like not only will Algeria raise gas prices just for Spain (and increse export to Italy, who has been more wise to not betray the Polisario), but the Algerian military are planning November operations at the border with Morocco, together with Russian, Egyptian, Pakistanese and Khazac troops. One notch more towards WWIII.
https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Au...ampfzone-in-die-Sahara-6669640.html?seite=all
 
tv2oorfaqyt81.jpg
 
And yet we still fork over a billion a day for their oil. Talk about lack of commitment to Ukraine.
It's not like we're helping Ukraine if we immediately stop importing all oil and gas and our economy collapses because we can't do anything without a source of power.

Alone the fact that we start turning away from Russian gas and oil (slowly) does hurt them a lot in the long run.
I think it's something Putin did not expect.
 
What would really help is reduce use of gas and oil, not bring them from elsewhere. No longer buying RUssian gas to get it from USA fracking, burning lots of gasoil to bring it across the atlantic, and having to build bigger infrastructure to regasify it onshore while methane lasts is wasteful.
Methane is finite, it leaks and causes more greenhouse effects than CO2, and gives CO2 when burnt. We should invest in renewable alternatives. And reduce consumption (less travel/commuting, better isolation, trains instead of highways, etc.). So that eventually we don't depend on Russia nor on the USA, Algeria, etc.
And the same for oil. A tanker just sank in Tunisia and if it leaks it'll be a disaster.. Fewer flights, more public transport, living without a car, fetching parcels from post-offices or depots instead of door to door deliveries...
If we just buy fossil fuels from elsewhere we won't be helping Ukraine. We'll buy from place X instead of Russia, so place X won't sell some amount to Y instead, to sell it to us. Then Y will buy it from Russia. Russia will get their money anyway, and we will still be dependent on someone. And if we go for biofuels, we'll end up starving. Ideally we should be able to produce oil from waste plastic and methane from CO2 for whatever uses we can't replace, but that seems too expensive today (in money and energy).
 
Giving up cars and postal delivery is waaaaaaaay too much of a sacrifice. And not realistic because both can be sustainable.
 
Giving up cars and postal delivery is waaaaaaaay too much of a sacrifice. And not realistic because both can be sustainable.
I don't think they can be sustainable, so the sacrifice, big or small is going to come anyway.
 
My post is delivered by a lady with trolly on foot. Or were you suggesting I pick up my junk at source (usually the Amazon fulfillment center) by public transportation? What if we all did that? Great idea...
 
If the lady goes all the way on foot, then that's sustainable, if you can pay her justly. But I was speaking of parcels, and if she needs to carry a few big parcels she'll probably need more than just the trolley.

I was suggesting you go once in a while (weekly) to town, city centre or commercial area in your borough or village and in the same trip you use to buy groceries, or do any other errands, you pick up your parcels, instead of having a van drive to your door for every single parcel, then maybe not finding you home and having to do another trip another day. Your post office or depot shouldn't really be any far from your home, so if you need public transportation that's already a symptom of bad postal service (maybe because there are too many curier services and they each have their depots further apart than if ti was just one). But if you don't like the monopoly of traditional post service, I don't have a problem with those couriers that have deals with local shops to drop your package there.

The point is that the van can drop several packages at once at some place that they're sure will be open during reasonably many hours, so not needing one trip per package, not needing return trips when the recipient doesn't open the door, and not needing so many stops and restarts. And the recipient doesn't need to be tied home all the morning because the courier should come. The recipient also doesn't need the address being known by so many people and companies. Not all recipients need to share my preferences, but the externalities of the current door to door system will someday kill it.

But I no longer know wehther I'm on topic. Maybe I better leave it at this.
 
An vague news article about a Russian-made drone exploding in Croatia:
 
An vague news article about a Russian-made drone exploding in Croatia:
Air crash investigators have pulled most of the drone’s remaining parts from a large crater it created on impact, including a partly damaged black box that should reveal the drone’s flight path.
Do they really put black boxes in air bombs ?
 
Yes, they could, I'm no expert, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say almost anything can carry a black box.
But anyone you possibly want to drop a bomb on can be defined as your enemy. Why would you want to put (or leave) a black box on a bomb? So that your enemy can tell the flight path, drone characteristics, or base the attack came from in case something fails and the bomb doesn't explode or the black box somehow survives?
I can think of a reason you might want to put a black box on a bomb drone, not a good reason, but reason nonetheless. If you set up a false flag attack, you can put a prerecorded black box in the bomb to make it seem like it came from wherever the false flag belongs. But is even that credible ?
I have no idea if the drone was Russian, Ukranian or what.
I also don't know why you need a black box on a reconaissance or spying drone either, or in anything unmanned that is not a test prototype. But then, if you're going to recover the drone, then maybe you want the flight data recorded in case you want to keep learning from the experience or clarify any problems. Far fetched, but borderline sensible. But in a device meant to destroy itself and then some ?
 
Note that the city is turning off the hot water and heating in public buildings, people can still use hot water at home.
 
Back
Top