Russian Invasion

[LesPalenik]

Belarus adhering strictly to Russia's official parlance.

Authorities in Belarus have arrested and detained Mark Bernstein, one of the top editors of Russian Wikipedia, according to local publication Zerkalo. Bernstein was reportedly accused of violating the "fake news" law Russia passed in early March by editing the Wikipedia article about the invasion of Ukraine. Under the new law, anybody found guilty of what the country deems as false information about the Ukraine invasion — remember, the Kremlin calls it a "special military operation" — could be imprisoned for up to 15 years.

It was the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of Belarus (GUBOPiK) that had arrested Bernstein, The Verge reports. The publication says his social media accounts, Wikipedia handle and workplace were shared on GUBOPiK's public Telegram channel before he was taken in. A video of his arrest was also posted on the channel, along with a photo that accuses him of "distributing fake anti-Russian information."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mark-bernstein-russian-wikipedia-pages-detained-in-belarus-104102452.html

[LesPalenik]

If you want a taste of small and vindictive minds, you should see how some cultish Elon Musk worshipers react online when anyone dares to criticize or fails to pay appropriate homage to their messiah! They never forget and they never forgive any perceived transgressions!

It's only been in recent months that I became aware of the existence of this online cult of personality, but they can be wicked and unrelenting!

You are absolutely right, there are plenty of wicked and vitriolic posts by small and vindictive minds on both side of spectrum. Each anti-Musk and anti-Tesla tweet is usually straightened out by hundreds of his followers. Personally, I prefer to follow knowledgeable and open-minded commentators.

[TechTalk]

You mean he'd do the right thing before trying anything else?

S

He'd do the wrong thing and try nothing else.

That is inevitably followed by claims of unprecedented success, blame shifting, or complete denial; dependent upon the resulting outcome.

[TechTalk]

I prefer to follow intelligent and open-minded commentators.

I prefer not to follow any commentators, including those that are intelligent and open-minded, because they too posses the capacity for being stupid, narrow-minded, and utterly wrong — myself included, as the taste of shoe leather reminds me from time to time. Given enough time, enough introspection, and a frequent enough view of one's own foot in one's mouth; it's possible to conclude that no individual and no ideology is worthy of being followed. There are ideas and individuals that may merit our attention and consideration, but they need to be kept at enough distance to see them clearly and completely.

Some degree of doubt and skepticism are always worthwhile; as long as those aren't carried to extremes that result in a distorted perspective or undue cynicism. It is following extreme paths that give us bipolar societies in which things are constantly being distorted and stretched out of all proportion to reality.

Living in this post-truth, speed-of-internet, funhouse-mirror-world of instant information and misinformation is a bitch for any honest person to navigate these days. It's why people turn to ideology for simple answers to complex questions and embrace demagogues to get the confidence, certainty, and security they need to keep going.

We are living through serious times, but it's probably best not to take any individual's current perception or perspective—including our own—too seriously.

[TechTalk]

Each anti-Musk and anti-Tesla tweet is usually straightened out by hundreds of his followers.

The fact that any perceived criticism or insufficient recognition is deemed to be "anti-Musk and anti-Tesla" which needs to be "straightened out by hundreds of his followers" is precisely the bizarre phenomenon that I've witnessed online. You've summed it up well. Very weird!

[PeterAit]

Paraphrasing Winston Churchill - Biden will always do the right thing, but only after he has tried everything else.

And what else did he try before? C'mon, we are waiting.

[LesPalenik]

And what else did he try before? C'mon, we are waiting.

Initially, he didn't try much and he didn't try hard enough. On Feb 24, he sanctioned just 2 Russian banks and 5 oligarchs.
On another front, it took him over one year before he acknowledged Tesla's status as the nation’s largest producer of electric vehicles - for the first time in his presidency.  That acknowledgment came a month or two after he declared GM and its CEO, Mary Barra as the leaders on the EV field.

The economic sanctions announced by Mr. Biden on Tuesday against Moscow are limited, targeting a pair of Russian banks, VEB and Promsvyazbank, and five Russian oligarchs with ties to the Kremlin and Putin.

Feb 24: "If you look at where the U.S. is on the sanctions escalation ladder, it's on rung three of 10 right now," said Chris Miller, an assistant professor at the Fletcher School of Tufts University and co-director of its Russia and Eurasia Program. When comparing the economic measures the U.S. has imposed on Russia thus far with penalties targeting Iran, Miller said "we're nowhere close to Iran-style sanctions."

President Joe Biden publicly acknowledged Tesla for the first time in his presidency on Tuesday, noting the company’s status as the nation’s largest producer of electric vehicles.

Biden’s mention of Tesla came during a speech to promote American companies expanding the nation’s EV infrastructure. It was sandwiched between shoutouts to legacy automakers General Motors and Ford Motor, as well as smaller EV companies Rivian Automotive and Proterra. Biden had avoided mentioning the company so far as president, a decision White House aides say is driven by his perception that Tesla is anti-union

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-sanctions-biden-aggressive/
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/08/biden-acknowledges-teslas-ev-leadership-despite-musks-criticisms.html

[TechTalk]

Initially, he didn't try much and he didn't try hard enough.

What plan of action are you suggesting? What would the cascade of responses and counter-responses from all sides look like?

[TechTalk]

On Feb 24, he sanctioned just 2 Russian banks and 5 oligarchs.

"just 2 Russian banks and 5 oligarchs"...

U.S. Treasury Announces Unprecedented & Expansive Sanctions Against Russia, Imposing Swift and Severe Economic Costs - February 24, 2022

United States Acts in Tandem with Partners and Allies to Maximize Consequences for Russia, and in Show of Unity Against Invasion of a Sovereign State. Top Ten Russian Financial Institutions Now Under U.S Restrictions; U.S. Ready to Impose Additional Major Costs.

https://home.treasury.gov/Unprecedented & Expansive Sanctions Against Russia-Swift and Severe Economic Costs

Summary Excerpts. Details at link above...

The United States took significant and unprecedented action to respond to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine by imposing severe economic costs that will have both immediate and long-term effects on the Russian economy and financial system. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today imposed expansive economic measures, in partnership with allies and partners, that target the core infrastructure of the Russian financial system — including all of Russia’s largest financial institutions and the ability of state-owned and private entities to raise capital — and further bars Russia from the global financial system. The actions also target nearly 80 percent of all banking assets in Russia and will have a deep and long-lasting effect on the Russian economy and financial system.

Building off of President Biden’s initial sanctions announcement this week, today Treasury is taking action against Russia’s top financial institutions, including sanctioning by far Russia’s two largest banks and almost 90 financial institution subsidiaries around the world. Treasury is also sanctioning additional Russian elites and their family members and imposing additional new prohibitions related to new debt and equity of major Russian state-owned enterprises and large privately owned financial institutions. This will fundamentally imperil Russia’s ability to raise capital key to its acts of aggression. These actions are specifically designed to impose immediate costs and disrupt and degrade future economic activity, isolate Russia from international finance and commerce, and degrade the Kremlin’s future ability to project power....

[LesPalenik]

What plan of action are you suggesting? What would the cascade of responses and counter-responses from all sides look like?

I would have suggested to go full with sanctions and weapon shipments right from the start of the "Special Military Operation". Something like what Trudeau and Scholz did.
Anyway, as I said in the initial post, he did the right thing after all, and imposed later a much more extensive package of sanctions.

[TechTalk]

More summary excerpts... Details at link above... "just 2 Russian banks and 5 oligarchs"...

Targeting Russia’s Two Largest Financial Institutions

Treasury is taking unprecedented action against Russia’s two largest financial institutions, Public Joint Stock Company Sberbank of Russia (Sberbank)and VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company (VTB Bank), drastically altering their fundamental ability to operate. On a daily basis, Russian financial institutions conduct about $46 billion worth of foreign exchange transactions globally, 80 percent of which are in U.S. dollars. The vast majority of those transactions will now be disrupted. By cutting off Russia’s two largest banks — which combined make up more than half of the total banking system in Russia by asset value — from processing payments through the U.S. financial system. The Russian financial institutions subject to today’s action can no longer benefit from the remarkable reach, efficiency, and security of the U.S. financial system.

Correspondent and Payable-Through Account Sanctions on Sberbank

Today Treasury is imposing correspondent and payable-through account sanctions on Sberbank. Sberbank is uniquely important to the Russian economy, holding about a third of all bank assets in Russia. Sberbank is the largest financial institution in Russia and is majority-owned by the GoR. It holds the largest market share of savings deposits in the country, is the main creditor of the Russian economy, and is deemed by the GoR to be a systemically important financial institution. Within 30 days, OFAC is requiring all U.S. financial institutions to close any Sberbank correspondent or payable-through accounts and to reject any future transactions involving Sberbank or its foreign financial institution subsidiaries. Payments that Sberbank attempts to process in U.S. dollars for its clients — with examples ranging from to technology to transportation — will be disrupted and rejected once the payment hits a U.S. financial institution...

Full Blocking Sanctions on VTB

OFAC has imposed full blocking sanctions on VTB Bank, Russia’s second-largest financial institution, which holds nearly 20 percent of banking assets in Russia. VTB Bank is majority-owned by the GoR, which deems it to be a systemically important financial institution. This will sever a critical artery of Russia’s financial system. By imposing these sanctions, assets held in U.S. financial institutions will be instantly frozen and inaccessible to the Kremlin. This is one of the largest financial institutions Treasury has ever blocked and sends an unmistakable signal that the United States is following through on its promise of delivering severe economic costs.

[PeterAit]

Initially, he didn't try much and he didn't try hard enough. On Feb 24, he sanctioned just 2 Russian banks and 5 oligarchs.
On another front, it took him over one year before he acknowledged Tesla's status as the nation’s largest producer of electric vehicles - for the first time in his presidency.  That acknowledgment came a month or two after he declared GM and its CEO, Mary Barra as the leaders on the EV field.

Could yo9u POSSIBLY be more petty? You seem to have no inhibitions about embarrassing yourself on this group.

[TechTalk]

On another front...

Yes, another front opened up today in the Russian war against Ukraine...

From NPR...

Yes, Elon Musk did just challenge Putin to a fight

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is offering to fight Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that if he wins, Putin will have to withdraw his military forces from Ukraine.

“I hereby challenge Владимир Путин [Vladimir Putin] to single combat,” Musk tweeted, using Cyrillic in an apparent bid to make sure Putin understood him. He added, “Stakes are Україна” -- Ukraine.

The tweet quickly gained wide notice and a bit of backlash, as critics accused Musk of using a catastrophic event to draw attention to himself through outlandish statements.

But the billionaire insisted that he is serious, going so far as to direct a follow-up tweet at the Kremlin with the question, “Do you agree to this fight?”

Musk has previously sided with Ukraine in its war to repel Russia’s invasion, including sending terminals to set up his Starlink satellite-based internet service in Ukraine.

* Personal Note to Elon... Love what you've done with moving electric vehicles forward and with SpaceX. Love the Starlink internet service to help Ukraine. But... it doesn't entitle you to trivialize the tragedy happening to the people of Ukraine by making it about you.

[kers]

This lady working at the Russian channel  1tv.com shows this sign during the news:
" you are being lied to here ... "

She has parents from both Russia and Ukraine and says : go demontrate!; they cannot lock us all up...
She apologizes for the lies she has told the people in the past when working for the Russian news.

[LesPalenik]

And what else did he try before? C'mon, we are waiting.

Could yo9u POSSIBLY be more petty? You seem to have no inhibitions about embarrassing yourself on this group.

I suggest, you educate yourself more thoroughly in the current affairs. First you ask for more information and then when you don't like the facts, you resort to personal attacks. I try to provide information which might be of interest to some readers, but I'm not here to get into silly and unproductive pissing contests. Instead, I will continue to follow closely the development in Eastern Europe and try to make some extra bucks which I can contribute to Ukrainian cause.

[PeterAit]

On another front, it took him over one year before he acknowledged Tesla's status as the nation’s largest producer of electric vehicles - for the first time in his presidency.  That acknowledgment came a month or two after he declared GM and its CEO, Mary Barra as the leaders on the EV field.

Aww, did poor widdle Elon get his feelings hurt?

[PeterAit]

I suggest, you educate yourself more thoroughly in the current affairs. First you ask for more information and then when you don't like the facts, you resort to personal attacks. I try to provide information which might be of interest to some readers, but I'm not here to get into silly and unproductive pissing contests. Instead, I will continue to follow closely the development in Eastern Europe and try to make some extra bucks which I can contribute to Ukrainian cause.

It's not that I don't like the facts you presented, they are indeed true. But they are petty and irrelevant. The sanctions business has been explained here by others. The Tesla snub was just politics, Biden playing to his base. Big whoop. Hence I called you petty. It's not a personal attack, just a description--like calling Danny DeVito short.

[LesPalenik]

It's not that I don't like the facts you presented, they are indeed true. But they are petty and irrelevant. The sanctions business has been explained here by others. The Tesla snub was just politics, Biden playing to his base. Big whoop. Hence I called you petty. It's not a personal attack, just a description--like calling Danny DeVito short.

In my original post, I aimed to say that Biden is a good man, but sometimes too slow to take the right action.
You are right, Peter. Biden's Tesla snub was indeed petty and irrelevant especially when compared to Russia's war. But saying on the national TV that GM is the EV leader when in reality they are at the very bottom, is on the same scale of lies, as Russian TV broadcasting that the atrocities in Ukraine are carried out by Ukrainians, not by Russians. Many people who are not familiar with the real situation, may believe such stupid lies when they hear it from their president on TV. Let's hope for better and more truthful news.

[digitaldog]

In my original post, I aimed to say that Biden is a good man, but sometimes too slow to take the right action.

Slow and steady (and taking time to be on the same page with our allies) is IMHO, a better approach than being impulsive like, well you know who. 

[TechTalk]

...saying on the national TV that GM is the EV leader when in reality they are at the very bottom, is on the same scale of lies, as Russian TV broadcasting that the atrocities in Ukraine are carried out by Ukrainians, not by Russians....

I don't know what you believe Biden said, which specific event you're referring to, or in what context you think the comments were made, but... they are not "on the same scale" as "atrocities in Ukraine". Those are so far apart, they're not even in the same planetary orbit for cryin' out loud!