perestroika

joined 2 years ago
[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Forensic note: if a person is blindfolded while shot, the blindfold will limit where blood sprays. If you have a deceased person with a gunshot wound to their head, but half of their their face is clean, you conclude they were blindfolded.

[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 15 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (3 children)

First of course, it's disrespectful to make insinuations to a sovereign country about whom they may vote into office.

Secondly, Trump doesn't have authority to give loans.

He's probably trying to deceive Argentinian voters with false hope of generous loans (which have to be paid back, I should note).

However, in the US, financial decisions are made by Congress. Certainly on the scale of tens of billons. The president has discretion to move far smaller sums.

[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

According to the latest that I've read, these "Gerbera" type drones ("Shahed imitators" but dangerous enough to do damage) carried an extra fuel tank that isn't found in Gerberas that fly in Ukraine.

Seems like a deliberate test of response.

I think the response of shooting them down was correct. I hope that a minimum of information about operating procedures leaked during work. I hope the shootdown was cheap (e.g. planes or helicopters using autocannon instead of missiles) because Gerberas are cheap, dirt cheap.

Some additional message needs to be figured out by NATO countries and communicated (more likely via practical action, since talk is cheap) from which a conclusion of "let's not do it again" would be read out in Moscow. Preventing a few oil tankers from reaching St. Petersburg to load Russian oil might be one option.

Also, the question of "what's on our menu for countering dirt cheap weapons" needs to be asked in many countries, and likely has been being asked for a while now. My bet: air-dropped unpowered glide vehicles that intercept a drone. No motor, just enough velocity and altitude from the fighter (or farmer) which brought them.

[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 23 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

A side note: by banning social media apps, the government also cut off communication with emigrees earning money in foreign countries.

So, power tried entrenching itself, and power also tried f*cking with a critical part of the Nepalese economy, and then cops used violence.

Currently the military is trying to enforce a curfew. As much as I've been told, they aren't shooting violators at the moment, but telling them to go home.

As far as I know, the central offices of all 3 branches of government + a whole lot of other stuff got burnt down.

[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Thank you for the advise, I acted upon it too.

For those who don't know: the Hind Rajab Foundation is the Palestinian equivalent of the Simon Wiesenthal Center - and just as necessary in our time. They take legal action to bring likely war criminals to trial.

[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)
  • step 1: target a hospital
  • step 2: kill journalists as by-catch
  • step 3: kill rescue workers in a double-tap strike

I don't know what will be done about it, but I would like something to be done that stops Israel from proceeding and eventually forces them to give up Netanyahu for trial.

[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 11 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

A reality check:

Fuel Shortages Hit Russia’s Far East as Ukrainian Strikes Take Refineries Offline

My assessement: economically, Russia is very exhausted. Living conditions over there have objectively worsened. Inflation is so high that countries with a normal-sized police force would experience rioting (Russia has about 4 times more cops per citizens than a normal country, so it doesn't).

Meanwhile, the weapons industry is of course booming and has gained lots of new knowledge. I'm not sure if the leading country in drone technology is Ukraine or Russia, but others are quite clearly bogged down in bureaucracy or lazy due to no perceived threat. Financing that industry is however close to falling apart.

Considering inflation (the same money is worth less) and the exhaustion of its sovereign wealth fund (saved up oil revenues) and considering that Ukraine is apparently enforcing a ban on oil refining in Russia (13% of refineries down in one month), Russia might have to reduce its military budget next year, despite not wanting to. (It has already reduced most other budget lines.)

Population has been reduced by emigration (those who could bailed out when it started), war deaths (about 1M men considered expendable are now dead or injured) and lack of births (people lack optimism about future). In fact, population data likely haven't looked so miserable since the 1990-ties, for which reason publicaton of data was reduced.

Ukraine is, of course, experinecing the same kind of misery, but other European countries have enough resources to keep it functioning.

This could drag on for long, but would end if something broke. It would be far better if the agressor broke.

[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 7 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Just don't let him become a president-for-life. If someone becomes president-for-life, the way to end their presidency unfortunately involves ending their life.

[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 2 points 8 months ago

Glad to see it reversed. It was shortsighted.

[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 3 points 8 months ago

Sad, but informative reading. The article explains why it wasn't by accident.

[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Speculation:

  • Xi is losing power because his health is deteriorating
  • some members of the military loyal to him have been purged
  • as with the CCP, nothing is transparent, so nothing is predictable
  • some claim (or maybe hope) "maybe power will be handed to Wang Yang" (who doesn't seem a fan of iron-fisted central rule), but more likely that is wishful thinking
[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Disclaimer: I'm not a medical person, but I did learn some biology 20 years ago. I'm not competent enough to give a firm opinion, but I'll try to guess a bit.

  • all the listed cancer types affect internal organs
  • I notice that skin cancer isn't rising
  • I notice that esophagal, mouth and gastric cancer are not listed (but liver cancer is)
  • I conclude that risk of cancer hasn't risen equally for all cancers
  • I guess that toxicity from alcohol or tobacco is not involved, but could play a small role
  • several organs involved in digestion are listed, one should look at what people eat & drink
  • several reproductive organs are listed, one should look for dysregulation and hormonal unbalance

Overall, I would recommend to look for clues in these directions:

  • is there a shift in food / beverage types?
  • is there a shift in food / beverage processing (e.g. towards ultra processed)?
  • is there a shift in packaging (e.g. different metal for cans, different plastic or more plastic for trays)?
  • is there a shift in food preparation (e.g. different cooking methods)?
  • is there a shift in calorie intake or gut microbiome (e.g. bacterial species that produce toxins that eventually cause cancer)?
  • is there a chemical contamination of food or beverage sources?
  • is there a shift towards sedentary lifestyle?
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