COVID19 Factors We Should Consider/Current Events

[Jovan Dragisic]

Links/Articles/Reports/Analysis?

Without those this sounds like HOPIUM that's being smoked. Yes, the blogger Navalny has his followers, but remember where he was trained and you'll realize he's just a plant we (the US) hope to use sometime down the road for repeat of the Maidan.
Beyond that Russian blogger, you've got those St. Pete and Moscow council members who voted to chastise Putin, who are really just kook outliers, like the San Francisco Town Council, a point Ritter made coherently in one of his recent videos.
There is no visceral dissent against Putin that is not an astroturf movement: just look at the election results, time after time.
If you (plural) cannot provide evidence to back up why or how Putin is "on the ropes" domestically, but nevertheless feel in your guts that he's a fading influence, I guess that's OK: everyone has their version of reality that they cling to, myself included. But now let's run through how awful it will be for the Russian people, and indeed the rest of the world, if our country manages to gift "liberal democracy" to the Russians, Maidan-, Libya-, Cuba-, Iraq-, or Kosovo-style.

FFS, we are conjecturing. What is wrong with that?

[GammaFlat]

Links/Articles/Reports/Analysis?

Links/Articles/Reports: I clicked on one link in my first search and found an article citing 20-ish dead Russian oligarchs (in the last year but mostly after the start of the Ukraine invasion). Some "suicides", some murdered with families, and some "accidents".

Analysis: Wikipukia says, "In chess, a queen sacrifice is a move that sacrifices a queen in return for some compensation, such as a tactical or positional advantage."

Alas, chess is not an American national pastime.

[Yngvi]

Putin is in a political hot mess in Russia.
Many highly placed Russians want his head on a pike (some are dying for thinking that way). It is in Vlad's best interest to take Russia's leverage (pipeline valve) away (much like burning the ship that got you there).
His internal detractors would love to take him out, negotiate forever on some deal with Ukraine and make nice with Europe - "Oh Vlad was so bad and he'd be happy to make nice with Ukraine if he were available, and we of course will help Europe in its time of energy need with our handy pipeline".
That option is now off the table. Vlad is now much more safe. Not even Vlad's internal detractors would rat him out for taking out the pipeline. Once exposed, they'd be dealt with and due to the new circumstances, all of Russia is (now) more committed to being alienated.

This is one of the most inane non-covid posts I have read on here.

Here's an alternative theory, and it's not far fetched at all:

Nordstream | The LawDog Files

"In my experience when anything involving energy-industry hydrocarbons explodes … well, sabotage isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. And honestly, when it comes to a pipeline running natural gas under Russian (non)maintenance, an explosion means that it’s Tuesday. Or Friday. Or another day of the week ending in “y”."

This is a possibility.
Good lesson as to why politicians should know better than to make threats of disabling or destroying the infrastructure of other nations, unless they really mean it.

[cmdrfunk]

I'm not sure Russia has that capability or expertise but the US certainly does as the Seals aren't yet transgender.

Army’s First Trans Officer Indicted for Spying for Russia
https://archive.ph/sEGdK

[smokeyjones]

And it's official, the guy who went in to save Ukraine from NAZI's has now decided to steal 15% of the fucking country. Nothing to do with taking out NAZI's or terrorists. Nothing to do with demilitarization of Western assets. Nothing to do with protecting their own border. A straight up invasion and land grab. Pricks also shot missiles at civilian targets trying to escape the insanity.

[Subby]

The pipeline is attached to Russia, they already have the tools to send a mechanical device through the entire length of it.

How would one get a solid and bulky sled like device into a pipeline designed for liquid and ensure it travelled hundreds of kilometers accurately without disrupting the flow of gas or anyone noticing the disruption?

Re Nordstream 1:

I posted that it was fine a few pages back, I was just assuming that it was intact. I didn't realise till later that it had also been attacked. Both pipelines are down.

IMO Poland and USA are the two most likely culprits as it's in their best interests, and they are logistically most able to do so in terms of capabilities and location. Poland does not want Germany and Russia co-operating as historically that has led to bad outcomes for Poland.

Interestingly enough those two countries make me think back to "The next 100 years" by George Friedman which is a geopolitical analysis and potential forecast. In it the next world war was between the US and Poland who was the most likely ally against an axis of Germany, Turkey and Japan. It was predicted to kick of around the 2040's or so, but what pushed Poland to the US orbit and away from Nato was German/Russian co-operation over energy.

[Jovan Dragisic]

Btw, did anyone catch the ridiculous masks at the accession signing ceremony in the Kremlin?

[wal]

I don't know about you all, but I'm going to eat more steak in the immediate future.

No you won't, because red meat is unhealthy for the environment as beef produces methane, a green house gas, you will be able to buy tofu however to cook on your BBQ. When the green folk control what energy you can use, they will also tell you what to eat, unless of course you know someone who grows there own meat. Have you tried under ground mutton?

Feeding seaweed to cows: Our livestock methane research lights up – CSIROscope

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

In case some of you missed it, Karl-Peter Griesemann died at the beginning of September while piloting his private jet. His wife and daughter also died in the accident.
I'll let you the pleasure to discover who he was, and what's the line of business of his company.

IPB

[anticausal]

Because my chronically contrarian mind can’t leave well enough alone, something ELSE to consider, from a very thoughtful fellow:

Important Ukraine War Update - by Charlemagne - NeoReactor

Everyone expected this mess to be over in two weeks; eight months later, this might be why.

Finally, a pro-Ukie take that wasn't completely retarded. Some of the claims seem odd, but it was refreshing. Thanks for posting.