old salt wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 9:16 pm
Chips for supercomputers ? The Yale Prof was talking about chips for manufacturing cars & refrigerators, although the Russians should be able to make both without chips for domestic consumption. I wish I could buy a new car without a computer that didn't make the yellow service engine idiot light come every time the O2 sensor sneezes. The $600 mechanic full employment light.
Russia can get the old generation stuff the analogy would be similar to the old iPhone 4s, sneakers and other stuff that can’t be liquidated and we subsequently send it down to Africa and South America. China is going to need the good stuff for its own account.
old salt wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 9:16 pm
Chips for supercomputers ? The Yale Prof was talking about chips for manufacturing cars & refrigerators, although the Russians should be able to make both without chips for domestic consumption. I wish I could buy a new car without a computer that didn't make the yellow service engine idiot light come every time the O2 sensor sneezes. The $600 mechanic full employment light.
Georgia: Whose Country Is It Anyway?
Parliamentary majority wants closer regulation of foreign-funded NGOs.
Washington and Brussels object.
A second Color Revolution in the offing?
by Rod Dreher, Mar 8, 2023
In the country of Georgia, Parliament is considering a bill that would require NGOs that get over 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents. The bill passed today, over a threatened presidential veto. There were protests on the streets. And lo, a top Color Revolutionary herself weighed in last week:
Samantha Power @PowerUSAID
Georgia’s proposed foreign agent laws gravely threaten Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future and the ability of Georgians to fulfill their own economic, social, and other aspirations. I call upon the Georgian Parliament to drop these proposed laws.
If you follow the link to the news story, you’ll see that the Georgian president opposes the bill because it would hurt European integration. But what business is it of Europe or the US as to whether or not Georgia wants to regulate the activities of foreign-funded NGOs in its own sovereign territory? This bill might not be wise — I don’t know enough about the details to say — but it’s not at all surprising that countries see how Washington and Brussels use soft power through NGOs to manipulate the political processes in those countries, and want to protect themselves from it. I wrote at TAC the other day about how the aptly named Power showed up in Budapest last month to announce a $20 million commitment to fund initiatives in Hungary clearly aimed at undermining the democratically elected government of Viktor Orban.
From another story:
The US Embassy in Georgia called the legislation "Kremlin-inspired" and said it was incompatible with the country's desire to join the European Union. "Today is a dark day for Georgia's democracy," the embassy said in a statement, adding that the legislation raised questions about "the ruling party's commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration".
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the draft legislation would be a tremendous setback and "would strike at some of the very rights that are central to the aspirations of the people of Georgia", BBC reported.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the draft law was a "very bad development" for the country and could seriously affect its ties with the EU.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have said the legislation would impede rights to freedom of expression and association in the country with onerous financial reporting requirements.
“The 'foreign agent' bills seek to marginalize and discredit independent, foreign-funded groups and media that serve the wider public interest in Georgia," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Who defines “the wider public interest in Georgia”? The bill is backed by the majority party in the Georgian parliament, which has enough support to override a presidential veto. Who is more representative of the “wider public interest” there: lawmakers democratically elected by the public, or foreign governments and NGOs? These people think they have the right to go into a country and work to undermine its democratically elected governments, its laws, and its cultural traditions -- and anybody who tries to stop it is a stooge of Putin. Are we looking at the beginning of a Second Rose Revolution?
Georgia wants to join the EU and NATO. The new proposed law would make that more difficult, it is claimed by the US and EU, who want Georgia to join the EU and NATO. I have no strong opinion about Georgia and the EU, except to warn the devoutly Orthodox Christian nation -- one that I am very eager to visit as a religious pilgrim -- that Brussels will try to eradicate laws and policies based on Christian faith convictions. (Ask Hungarians and Poles about LGBT and family matters.)
As for NATO, one certainly sympathizes with Georgia’s fear of Russian imperialist power, but how can it possibly be a vital national security interest of the United States to be committed to fighting World War III on behalf of a Caucasus nation whose capital, Tbilisi, is slightly farther east than — wait for it — Baghdad?
Re: All Things Russia & Ukraine
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 3:01 am
by old salt
Interesting comment about Hungary in the comments to this article.
From my own generalized understanding of Hungarian society and history, I conclude that Samantha Power’s mission will not only fail, but spectacularly backfire, since there are no significant national divisions in Hungary to exploit currently. The situation is quite the opposite: there is broad national consensus, which Westerns don’t seem to want to grasp. Furthermore, the Hungarians are a bit angry and disappointed about the civilized overlords, and would welcome the chance to spiritually unite against their unjust dictates and suddenly appearing proconsuls.
The country’s philosophy is guided by the mission of healing the wound of Trianon as much as possible, however possible. We have tons of Magyar minorities living outside our shrunken borders. Up to a quarter of the nation doesn’t live in Hungary, and it feels aggrieved. But unlike the Russians, we don’t resort to war. Unlike the Irish and the Basques and Kurds and Arabs and many others, we haven’t resorted to terrorism. However, we do have a national problem that calls for answers. Currently, we have taken the step of granting dual citizenship to Hungarians outside of Hungary. It sure would help if the EU as well as America paid a little more attention to a civilized and heroic people who have been condemned to live in FIVE COUNTRIES as war reparations, or something. We didn’t even cause the war, and we got punished harsher than the Germans. Then the Soviets crushed us. Okay? Read some Hungarian history, because it’s enlightening, and listen to Hungarian music, because it’s wonderful and lively and infectious. Try Hungarian food and wine. Then, when you’re ready, modern Hungarian politics await, as well.
There is no revolution coming to Hungary. Magyars haven’t had a proper domestic social upheaval since the peasant revolts of the Middle Ages. Every famous revolution of ours has been against an occupying power. Outsiders know they can’t really split the Hungarians, which is precisely what our frenemy overlords have tried to do with Trianon. So, our main goal is to prove their efforts a failure, and spiritually stay united, holding on to our culture, language and history, even if we don’t live in the same mother country.
Therefore, whoever can best strategize about that overwhelmingly prominent national goal will lead Hungary. So, if America wants to help with that, great. But if it does not want to help, if instead it wants to displace the leader of the country, who is approximately five times as popular as any of his nearest rivals, who best articulates the Magyar id, then good luck, Joe Biden and Sam Power. You will fail, because the Hungarians are irrepressible, and currently we’re coiled like a spring.
Note well, all this is not Hungarian irredentism against our neighbors, it is just the case of a humbled nation getting up off the mat.
Georgia: Whose Country Is It Anyway?
Parliamentary majority wants closer regulation of foreign-funded NGOs.
Washington and Brussels object.
A second Color Revolution in the offing?
by Rod Dreher, Mar 8, 2023
In the country of Georgia, Parliament is considering a bill that would require NGOs that get over 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents. The bill passed today, over a threatened presidential veto. There were protests on the streets. And lo, a top Color Revolutionary herself weighed in last week:
Samantha Power @PowerUSAID
Georgia’s proposed foreign agent laws gravely threaten Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future and the ability of Georgians to fulfill their own economic, social, and other aspirations. I call upon the Georgian Parliament to drop these proposed laws.
If you follow the link to the news story, you’ll see that the Georgian president opposes the bill because it would hurt European integration. But what business is it of Europe or the US as to whether or not Georgia wants to regulate the activities of foreign-funded NGOs in its own sovereign territory? This bill might not be wise — I don’t know enough about the details to say — but it’s not at all surprising that countries see how Washington and Brussels use soft power through NGOs to manipulate the political processes in those countries, and want to protect themselves from it. I wrote at TAC the other day about how the aptly named Power showed up in Budapest last month to announce a $20 million commitment to fund initiatives in Hungary clearly aimed at undermining the democratically elected government of Viktor Orban.
From another story:
The US Embassy in Georgia called the legislation "Kremlin-inspired" and said it was incompatible with the country's desire to join the European Union. "Today is a dark day for Georgia's democracy," the embassy said in a statement, adding that the legislation raised questions about "the ruling party's commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration".
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the draft legislation would be a tremendous setback and "would strike at some of the very rights that are central to the aspirations of the people of Georgia", BBC reported.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the draft law was a "very bad development" for the country and could seriously affect its ties with the EU.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have said the legislation would impede rights to freedom of expression and association in the country with onerous financial reporting requirements.
“The 'foreign agent' bills seek to marginalize and discredit independent, foreign-funded groups and media that serve the wider public interest in Georgia," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Who defines “the wider public interest in Georgia”? The bill is backed by the majority party in the Georgian parliament, which has enough support to override a presidential veto. Who is more representative of the “wider public interest” there: lawmakers democratically elected by the public, or foreign governments and NGOs? These people think they have the right to go into a country and work to undermine its democratically elected governments, its laws, and its cultural traditions -- and anybody who tries to stop it is a stooge of Putin. Are we looking at the beginning of a Second Rose Revolution?
Georgia wants to join the EU and NATO. The new proposed law would make that more difficult, it is claimed by the US and EU, who want Georgia to join the EU and NATO. I have no strong opinion about Georgia and the EU, except to warn the devoutly Orthodox Christian nation -- one that I am very eager to visit as a religious pilgrim -- that Brussels will try to eradicate laws and policies based on Christian faith convictions. (Ask Hungarians and Poles about LGBT and family matters.)
As for NATO, one certainly sympathizes with Georgia’s fear of Russian imperialist power, but how can it possibly be a vital national security interest of the United States to be committed to fighting World War III on behalf of a Caucasus nation whose capital, Tbilisi, is slightly farther east than — wait for it — Baghdad?
Always love to read something by Dreher...
Dreher prefers Hungary over America
I realize that it's popular in some circles to condemn those who promote western liberal ideas in "White Christian" countries which are dominated by autocracy or, as Orban calls his brand, "illiberalism", but let's think about that for a moment...
What's clearly going on, IMO, is white Christian nationalism...very illiberal...
Re: All Things Russia & Ukraine
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 9:21 am
by cradleandshoot
There are reports that Russia is being forced to use 1950s vintage T54 tanks that have been mothballed for decades. I can only imagine what thoughts run through the average Russian tanker when he is told to drive this ancient chitbox in a combat environment of state of the art anti tank weapons. What is next for the Russians? They must still have some T34s stashed away somewhere.
Re: All Things Russia & Ukraine
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 9:45 am
by MDlaxfan76
cradleandshoot wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 9:21 am
There are reports that Russia is being forced to use 1950s vintage T54 tanks that have been mothballed for decades. I can only imagine what thoughts run through the average Russian tanker when he is told to drive this ancient chitbox in a combat environment of state of the art anti tank weapons. What is next for the Russians? They must still have some T34s stashed away somewhere.
Indeed, this is why it's entirely possible that the Russian military will eventually turn tail and leave Ukraine in a rush. Threatening to kill those who refuse to fight can only work for so long...even when the threat is very real and done over and over again...fighting for one's home and family is another thing entirely; for that, any weapon is appreciated...
cradleandshoot wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 9:21 am
There are reports that Russia is being forced to use 1950s vintage T54 tanks that have been mothballed for decades. I can only imagine what thoughts run through the average Russian tanker when he is told to drive this ancient chitbox in a combat environment of state of the art anti tank weapons. What is next for the Russians? They must still have some T34s stashed away somewhere.
Great film…watched it with a Baluchi friend from grad school.
Re: All Things Russia & Ukraine
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 5:30 pm
by old salt
MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 8:58 am
I realize that it's popular in some circles to condemn those who promote western liberal ideas in "White Christian" countries which are dominated by autocracy or, as Orban calls his brand, "illiberalism", but let's think about that for a moment...
What's clearly going on, IMO, is white Christian nationalism...very illiberal...
You are obsessed with your paranoia about White Christian Nationalism.
Hungary is a western democracy & member of NATO & the EU.
Do you deny that they are a representative democracy & that Orban represents the views of the majority of their population ?
Do you support USAID $ being spent in a NATO ally nation to subvert the policy of their democratically elected government ?
What % of the US population knows their tax $'s are being spent on this ?
In a scathing speech receiving global attention, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni tore into one of her colleagues this week for evincing something less than zeal in support of Europe’s efforts to help Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion.
If Italy were to “stop” its support for Ukraine, Meloni said, Rome would tacitly condone the invasion. Moreover, such an initiative would be entirely at odds with the pursuit of “peace” on the European continent. “That doesn’t mean not working for a peace plan,” she explained. But, Meloni asked, “can you tell me what the conditions are to open a negotiating table?”
“Do you believe … we should or shouldn’t first of all ask Russia to stop the hostilities and withdraw troops from Ukrainian territory? Do you think that Ukraine’s borders should be reviewed and how? Do you think the territories it occupied and on which it held a referendum of self-determination should be given to Moscow or not? That’s what I’d like to hear if we’re talking seriously about peace. Otherwise, what is being done is propaganda.”
Meloni added that her more “irresponsible” colleagues advocate policies that would sacrifice “a sovereign nation” and “a free people” as well as “international law.”
Italy’s prime minister doesn’t just talk a good game. This week, Meloni vetoed a deal that would allow the Russian tech giant Yandex to assume control over an Italy-based cloud-services provider. Her government has approved arms transfers to Ukraine including sophisticated air-defense systems, and she has proposed the recognition of Stalin’s Holodomor atrocities as a “genocide.” Meloni has even savaged her predecessor and former boss, Silvio Berlusconi, for blaming the invasion of Ukraine on Volodymyr Zelensky’s refusal to accept the legitimacy of Moscow’s forceful capture of the Donbas.
All this must be profoundly confusing for the members of the Western foreign-policy establishment who insisted that Russia was the “big winner” of the election that Meloni’s coalition won.
That was the view expressed by Italian journalist Mattia Ferraresi in Foreign Policy, who dismissed Meloni’s “resolute anti-Putin stance” as a conviction that wouldn’t withstand the pressures of coalition politics. After all, she had to contend with parties composed of “Kremlin apologists” and moderates who “just can’t help justifying Russia’s aggression.” But contend with them she has.
Ferraresi’s skepticism was mild compared with the knee-jerk reaction to her election from Western journalists. To them, Meloni’s center-right populism was a façade that imperfectly concealed her affinities for outright “fascism.”
Meloni’s election was “part of a long tradition of white womanhood being central to fascism,” The Intercept’s Natasha Lennard opined. Okay, maybe she wasn’t a card-carrying national socialist, but she’s doubtlessly “fascist-adjacent,” the Guardian’s Van Badham insisted. Indeed, Meloni’s rise opened her eyes to the revelation that women can be “evil or just as hopelessly sh** as men.” NBC News characterized Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party as an organization “with neo-fascist roots,” which haunt it still even if Meloni herself broke with her coalition on the subject of Putin’s aggression. Meloni “comes from a post-fascist cultural background,” one Italian professor told the BBC, and she’s only softened her views in public to “build her credentials to be a legitimate candidate for prime minister.”
As Michael Brendan Dougherty chronicled, Meloni’s program was not fascist, fascism-curious, or fascism-adjacent. It just wasn’t leftist. From the first minute, Meloni failed to live down to her leftist critics’ expectations of her. Moreover, when it comes to Italy’s support for Ukraine’s defense, the Italian leader demonstrated that her coalition is beholden to her and not the other way around. Meloni is owed an apology, though that won’t be forthcoming. The chastened silence of her hysterical critics will have to suffice.
MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 8:58 am
I realize that it's popular in some circles to condemn those who promote western liberal ideas in "White Christian" countries which are dominated by autocracy or, as Orban calls his brand, "illiberalism", but let's think about that for a moment...
What's clearly going on, IMO, is white Christian nationalism...very illiberal...
You are obsessed with your paranoia about White Christian Nationalism.
Hungary is a western democracy & member of NATO & the EU.
Do you deny that they are a representative democracy & that Orban represents the views of the majority of their population ?
Do you support USAID $ being spent in a NATO ally nation to subvert the policy of their democratically elected government ?
What % of the US population knows their tax $'s are being spent on this ?
In a scathing speech receiving global attention, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni tore into one of her colleagues this week for evincing something less than zeal in support of Europe’s efforts to help Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion.
If Italy were to “stop” its support for Ukraine, Meloni said, Rome would tacitly condone the invasion. Moreover, such an initiative would be entirely at odds with the pursuit of “peace” on the European continent. “That doesn’t mean not working for a peace plan,” she explained. But, Meloni asked, “can you tell me what the conditions are to open a negotiating table?”
“Do you believe … we should or shouldn’t first of all ask Russia to stop the hostilities and withdraw troops from Ukrainian territory? Do you think that Ukraine’s borders should be reviewed and how? Do you think the territories it occupied and on which it held a referendum of self-determination should be given to Moscow or not? That’s what I’d like to hear if we’re talking seriously about peace. Otherwise, what is being done is propaganda.”
Meloni added that her more “irresponsible” colleagues advocate policies that would sacrifice “a sovereign nation” and “a free people” as well as “international law.”
Italy’s prime minister doesn’t just talk a good game. This week, Meloni vetoed a deal that would allow the Russian tech giant Yandex to assume control over an Italy-based cloud-services provider. Her government has approved arms transfers to Ukraine including sophisticated air-defense systems, and she has proposed the recognition of Stalin’s Holodomor atrocities as a “genocide.” Meloni has even savaged her predecessor and former boss, Silvio Berlusconi, for blaming the invasion of Ukraine on Volodymyr Zelensky’s refusal to accept the legitimacy of Moscow’s forceful capture of the Donbas.
All this must be profoundly confusing for the members of the Western foreign-policy establishment who insisted that Russia was the “big winner” of the election that Meloni’s coalition won.
That was the view expressed by Italian journalist Mattia Ferraresi in Foreign Policy, who dismissed Meloni’s “resolute anti-Putin stance” as a conviction that wouldn’t withstand the pressures of coalition politics. After all, she had to contend with parties composed of “Kremlin apologists” and moderates who “just can’t help justifying Russia’s aggression.” But contend with them she has.
Ferraresi’s skepticism was mild compared with the knee-jerk reaction to her election from Western journalists. To them, Meloni’s center-right populism was a façade that imperfectly concealed her affinities for outright “fascism.”
Meloni’s election was “part of a long tradition of white womanhood being central to fascism,” The Intercept’s Natasha Lennard opined. Okay, maybe she wasn’t a card-carrying national socialist, but she’s doubtlessly “fascist-adjacent,” the Guardian’s Van Badham insisted. Indeed, Meloni’s rise opened her eyes to the revelation that women can be “evil or just as hopelessly sh** as men.” NBC News characterized Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party as an organization “with neo-fascist roots,” which haunt it still even if Meloni herself broke with her coalition on the subject of Putin’s aggression. Meloni “comes from a post-fascist cultural background,” one Italian professor told the BBC, and she’s only softened her views in public to “build her credentials to be a legitimate candidate for prime minister.”
As Michael Brendan Dougherty chronicled, Meloni’s program was not fascist, fascism-curious, or fascism-adjacent. It just wasn’t leftist. From the first minute, Meloni failed to live down to her leftist critics’ expectations of her. Moreover, when it comes to Italy’s support for Ukraine’s defense, the Italian leader demonstrated that her coalition is beholden to her and not the other way around. Meloni is owed an apology, though that won’t be forthcoming. The chastened silence of her hysterical critics will have to suffice.
"What % of the US population knows their tax $'s are being spent on this ?"
Wouldn't the real question be: "What % of the US taxpayers knows their asz from a hole in the ground?"
Maybe the same percentage that knows how risible the House Repubs stated plan to cut spending would be?
Re: All Things Russia & Ukraine
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 10:34 am
by MDlaxfan76
Yes, I'm very, very concerned with White Christian Nationalism and its ally, Authoritarianism. I believe these should be anathema to those who actually understand the highest virtues of "Western Civilization", and I believe that we are in a world-wide competition to be the value system that drives the world forward in progress. Much akin to the competition versus communism, and the competition with fundamentalism.
We cannot compete, effectively, with any form of Authoritarianism, if we embrace the form found in illiberal White Christian Nationalism.
But as to US AID, perhaps Salty should take another look at their policy programs and mission. Yes, Hungary's hard right government, their oppression of a free press, oppression of women's rights, their attacks on gender, race and religion, are not in line with the values US Aid promotes in the rest of the underdeveloped world. I don't know how much US AID is involved on the ground in Hungary, but I agree with Samantha Powers condemnation of the recent proposed law that would effectively criminalize organizations that are funded in part from from the West, as Russia has done.
Re: All Things Russia & Ukraine
Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 9:08 pm
by old salt
The Biden Admin's plan to meddle in the internal affairs of our Central European allies :
