https://twitter.com/CanadianUkrain1/status/1517040544710594560
Putin looks terrible.

"Threatening early nuclear use in a NATO-Russia conflict may be the best way to protect Europe from Putin’s recklessness."
https://warontherocks.com/2022/04/russias-invasion-of-ukraine-and-natos-crisis-of-nuclear-credibility/

If strategic nuclear weapons were used, and it was Russia vs. Western Europe and America, what would Russia's first salvo look like? Would they launch everything they have at once, or launch their nukes in waves? What kind of defenses do we have? What would our response look like?

Thanks for the link!

Shouldn't governments work to end this particular kind of exploitation? — frank

About 4 years ago, there was almost a border deal: Trump would have gotten $20 billion for border security, and Democrats would have gotten DACA protections. Trump's base got wind of it, and there were howls of protest, so the deal fizzled.

I blame Republicans for being intransigent on the issue of what to do about undocumented people already here, and I blame Democrats for the border crisis. I understand where the Republicans are coming from: xenophobia. I don't understand the Democrat's reluctance to police our own border.

Russia seems to be getting a little irritated at our arms shipments to Ukraine.

Also:
Defence of Ukraine
@DefenceU

Ukraine government organization
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine reminds the russian navy that the Black Sea straits are closed for entry only. The part of your fleet that remains afloat still has a way out.
https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1514941186397683715

I think the uploaded mind would act like a person and swear it's conscious, but there would be no way to actually verify if it is or not. If the original isn't destroyed in the process, you would have two things (I guess each one is a person) that swear they're conscious.

In the case of the organic-brain one, I guess we continue to assume it's conscious, but what do we assume about the digital-brain one? If it's being simulated on a computer, then you have a situation where if you have enough electronic switches (or Q-bits?) and turn them off and on in a certain way, you have...the subjective experience of a sunset?...the pain of stubbing a toe?...the taste of chocolate ice cream? Can conscious experience be created that way? If I just put enough logic gates together and manipulate them in certain way(s), voila! conscious experience? That seems absurd to me.

The Moskva has now sunk, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. — Olivier5

:lol:

I thought this was interesting:
https://geopoliticalfutures.com/time-for-putins-hail-mary-pass/

If that's true, why didn't NATO accept Russia as a member back in 2000? — Manuel

Here's a good article on that:
https://time.com/5564207/russia-nato-relationship/

Remember that Trump said quite a few times that NATO was "obsolete". And he was elected! And NATO members have been skimping on their defense spending. That is not an organization that is spoiling for a fight with Russia.

Contain China? Where? They're going to some areas in the South China Sea, but are surrounded by countries with fire power.

Let's keep it that way. China's system is evil and repressive. The more enemies it has the better.

But from a "realpolitik" perspective, it makes sense. — Manuel

I don't think it does. I think Putin knows NATO is not a threat to Russia. The Western countries would love for Russia to get its act together and work with them to contain China. Putin tried for the easy land grab and came up short.

You have a valid point that America has not been a vey good neighbor.

Ask Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, in fact all of South America. — Manuel

Ask them what? Why they're desperately trying to get in to the U.S.? Why do you think so many people in those countries are fleeing to America? Because it's so awful?

You would rather live in America than Russia. You would rather have America as a neighbor than Russia. America (and the other NATO countries) are not perfect, but having them on your doorstep is not even close to having Russia on your doorstep.

What does that have to do with anything? Like at all?

Clearly the US, but that's immaterial to this. — Manuel

What country would you rather have as a neighbor? Russia or the U.S.?

Which country would you rather live in, Russia or U.S.?

What?

Oh, then let Russia put a base in Mexico in Canada, no problem. — Manuel

Russia, as they've shown with this invasion and nuclear saber rattling, is a threat to the world, and esp. their neighbors. I wouldn't want to live near them. Would you?

NATO is not a threat to Russia, and Putin knows it.

Putin knew NATO had no intention of threatening Russia militarily. He wasn't worried about that. He felt it was time to raise Russia's global profile. — frank

Exactly right.

which is why they are against NATO encirclement and what I see as the main reason for Russia to start the recent war. — Benkei

I think the main reason is Putin wanted a big chunk of Ukraine (or the whole thing) and thought he could walk in and take it.

As I said before, I don't engage with you because you're not an honest debater.

The Nazis were definitely wrong. Im not so sure "We" are right. The world is not so black and white. — Merkwurdichliebe

Sometimes it is.

That's what Hitler thought about the Jews. — Merkwurdichliebe

It's what we thought about Hitler's high command (some of them) at Nuremberg. We were right, the Nazi's were wrong.

Everyone has a right to exist. — FreeEmotion

Some people need to be put down for what they do.

Any such definition must take into account not just sex but gender. — Fooloso4

If Jackson started identifying as a male, wouldn't we have to refer to her as "Mr. Jackson"? You would then have the bizarre sentence: Mr. Jackson was the first black woman Supreme Court Justice.

I said he continued the war that Ukraine started by refusing to accept Crimea and Dombas right to self determination. — boethius

If you think about it hard enough Russia is the real victim here! Do you ever stop and listen to yourself?

In the sense they were both expressions of empire and the countries propping them up responsible for millions of death across the world. Sure. Pick your favourite mass murderer. — Benkei

There's no difference between Stalin and FDR? You don't really believe that, do you?

:up:

Do you think there's a moral equivalence between NATO and the Warsaw Pact?

Again, no threat to USA, Australia, Germany or France of Italy and most Western nations, of the war spilling over. — boethius

The war could turn nuclear, which is a very serious threat to the Western nations (and the world). Everyone on the planet has a stake in what's going on in Ukraine.

We're not talking about levels of resources here, but an authoritarian government limiting free speech. — Christoffer

That is really the central point, isn't it? The idea of government, using all its powers, to suppress certain types of speech is chilling. Shades of 1984.

Someone asked a seasoned bank robber why he robbed banks. "Because that's where the money is", he replied. — unenlightened

America is very rich, that's true.

Why do you think so many people try so hard to get into America?

I would argue the fine-tuning problem in cosmology leads to a disjunctive: either god(s) or a sufficiently large multiverse exist. Since the evidence for the existence of a sufficiently large multiverse is very limited, it is rational to choose the god explanation over the multiverse explanation.

:up:

Think of it this way perhaps. Before Trump, the brakes on fossil fuel had already been tampered with. By the time Biden got in the driving seat, even the steering wheel had been removed. — apokrisis

I've reconciled myself to the fact humans won't prevent the coming climate change. Maybe there'll be a tech miracle that pulls our chestnuts out of the fire, or maybe it won't be as bad as we think it will be.

Biden's tapped the strategic reserve to release a million barrels a day to try and reduce gas prices. We became fracking kings under Obama. The Democrats only pay lip service to environmentalism.

Interesting read:
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-april-3