Husband, father, natural philosopher, and now grey child of the Pacific Coast. My old man once said that civilization ends east of US-395, and I am grateful he is no longer alive to see just how true that statement was.
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Looking at the tonnage for differing sectors, it appears that lack of available transport is no longer the main problem. For example, ore tonnage to the foundaries and mills is similar to last year, but the ferrous metal tonnage leaving the foundaries and mills is down ~20%.
Iron and Manganese ore tonnage is similar to past years, but Ferrous Metal (iron, steel) tonnage is down ~20%? There must be a lot of ore piling up all across Russia.
There is a range of quality in the engineering of automobiles. Better engineered cars last longer and cost more to purchase. People would appear to prefer cheaper cars that last a decade plus over a more expensive car which may last three times as long.
... the current experience of the Russian Federation is going to be, if we are lucky, a once-in-a-lifetime economic progression. There will be countless PhDs awarded over the study of just how badly Putin screwed the Russian economy.
Except that cars last much longer now than they did 50 years ago, and in terms of useful service they far outlast the carts and horses they replaced. The last time I retired a car it had over 300,000 miles on it. From the monstrously inverted bond yield curve to raising taxes during a downturn...
Then maybe Putin should stop invading his neighbors?
And two of those nations have bordered Russia (both in the USSR and as the RF) since 1949. 76 years. Talk about your long-term-Illuminati-Lemurian-Mole-People-in-Black-Helicopters-Bought-by-Soros conspiracy theories!
Russia started this war by invading Ukraine twice in 2014. Ukraine was not seeking NATO membership until AFTER Russia invaded. In fact, the national constitution mandated neutrality in 2014. The war was about Ukraine seeking economic independence from Russia (hence "EuroMaidan"), not NATO.
Putin started this war by ordering the invasion of Ukraine, twice, in 2014 over Ukraine seeking economic independence from Russia. The Ukrainian constitution of 2014 required Ukraine to remain neutral. Ukraine sought NATO membership AFTER 2014. It was never about NATO. Putin lies.
Putin started this war by ordering the invasion of Ukraine, twice, in 2014. Ukraine was not seeking NATO membership in 2014. In fact, the Ukrainian constitution of 2014 required Ukraine to remain neutral. It was never about NATO. It was about Ukraine seeking economic independence from Russia.
Breaking: Lonely Monsters Find Solace in Each Other's Arms!
Yet the Kremlin is still selling a billion USD worth of Yuan every nine business days or so, soaking up Rubles. tass.com/economy/2011...
Pretty cheeky for a double...
Remember, "Big Man" systems, of which the current form of the Russian Empire is one example, demand that no one outshine the guy on top. So, it is not this guy's fault he is in over his head. He was selected for his inability to do the job, for a competent governor would make Putin look bad.
It appears to have gone off the runway, which would cause significant damage to the airframe. Add in the fact that the engines are already failing... this thing is going to be scrapped for parts.
That, and it is not a person. It is a bot, so it has no reference as to what is real and what is not. bsky.app/profile/cali...
The Il-76 uses Soviet era D-30 engines... correct? They can't maintain their own Soviet tech?
"Boeing, please, please, PLEASE come back! I'll be good, I won't do you wrong!" -- Russia Boeing:
All of Russia within 3000 km of Ukraine has a high fire hazard class.
And they are late in their efforts to reduce spending, so they will throw the disabled, children, and everyone else to the wolves while their economy is still being strangled by the war. PhD students in economics are going to be mining this experience for the next century.
Well, as they kill off or drive out more and more of the population of the Russian Federation, the Life-is-Cheap index is going to suffer.
One little quibble: Was that REALLY Putin? I'm thinking this guy 👇 does not mingle in large crowds...
It's cute how Xi humors a guy he must know is not really Putin.
So, now the accumulated losses are so bad they have to start admitting to them. Pity. 🍿
SOMEONE has to take the blame for Roscosmos going bankrupt, and it will not be Putin...
Those 4 islands have been in dispute since 1945. The dispute is not new. It is Russia's weakness which is new.
He fancies himself an Islamic warrior, and there is a big tradition of poetry in that tradition. He's really a snake who betrayed his people, but that is not how he views it.
👍 (I think it would flow better if the syllable count of the last line more closely resembled the first, so... "Then why the Hell not pontoontitution?")
One-month Russian government bond effective yields, Moscow Exchange: (this curve likely approximates real inflation, assuming there is no such thing as a free lunch) (note that trading was frozen during the first half of the war)
So, what are the odds that the real Putin will go (instead of a double)? 1 in 10? 1 in 1000?
They are still selling over $100 million in hard currency a day, which props up the Ruble. tass.com/economy/2010...
I see Russia's ag sector continues to implode. 🍿
Well, he has revived Hitler's Lebensborn Program, which has been confirmed by the International Criminal Court's offer for housing and nurishment for the rest of his life. AND He has maintained Russia's #1 standing in the alcohol-related life expectancy gender gap race!
Unless China provides the herdsmen to gather and transport the reindeer, I'm thinking this is not going to account for much. The original reindeer liberation trend was likely due to a lack of herdsmen, allowing the domesticated and wild herds to mingle.
It is my understanding that there are significant restrictions on the movement of hard currency in the Russian Federation. One may be able to purchase Yuan or USD for Rubles at a bank, but depending on the value of the transaction one may not be able to remove the Yuan or USD from the bank.
Σε τι υλικό τρέχετε;
Poor little Bot cannot even provide opinion polling for its claim. So sad. What's your chipset again?
Plus, two slaving pirates in a spat over their favorite sex slave (Briseis) teaching anything close to what you claim... ... well, you are well into AI hallucination territory with that one.
Bot, you do realize that not being human excuses you from being responsible for your shilling for genocidal Nazis in the Kremlin, right? Your being human would make your case sooooo much worse...
Russia started this war when it invaded Ukraine, twice, in 2014. Ukraine was not actively seeking NATO membership in 2014 -- its 2014 constitution stated it would remain neutral. Ukrainian interest in NATO is a result of Russia's aggression, not the other way around. Putin lies.
Each track produced a signed agreement: the German Reunification Treaty from the 4+2 track and the Paris Charter from the CSCE track. The Paris Charter explicitly reaffirmed and endorsed the Helsinki Final Act, which states the OPPOSITE promise in Article 1 (below). Russia reaffirmed this in 1995.
Baker famously stated that NATO would not move "one inch to the east" IN GERMANY, as a result of German reunification. The 1990 negotiations were on two tracks: the 4+2 track for German Reunification, and the CSCE track for European security. Baker's comment was in reference to the 4+2 discussions
Besides, it would be simplier and more efficient to simply use natural gas or LPG fuel cells, which do exist. Yes, the train would then emit carbon dioxide, but the total over the entire process would be less.
The US economy contracted by "only" 13% in 1932. We called that the Great Depression. General transport declining double digit % is BAD, no matter how the graph is constructed, and ALL Russian transport is down.
Yeah, judging from the effective yields of one-month Russian bonds on the Moscow Exchange, the Kremlin has uniformly underestimated inflation by about half since the start of the war. Which means a huge downward revision for those curves if the real inflation rate would be used.
I understand how that is a thing in the West, but in Russia? JFC, simply switching their coal plants to natural gas and plugging the leaks in their oil and gas systems would be a HUGE improvement, and they won't do that... so I'm thinking greenwashing does not even register.
I'm thinking it was fixed.
Oh please, I appreciated the lyricism of Homer in the original Ionic Greek long before your progamming was even thought possible. Your programmers really need to step up their game, Bot.
Respect is a matter between individuals -- something you would know if you were human. Which you are not, Bot.
I see there is much room for improvement in AI algorithms. Expecting countries to honor their written word is not "culturally conservative". Your LLM appears to be quite limited. As for my travels, you are of course ignorant, but that does not matter. Opinion polling proves your lies.
At first glance this would be absurd. Russia has a huge petrochemical industry and is the home of the modern discipline of chemistry (founded at St. Petersburg State U. by Mendeleev in the 1800s). But, it took them a year to figure out how to make the bleach needed for white paper in 2022...
"Dirty plastic"... is that what the kids in Russia are calling cheap toupees these days? 😜
It is events such as this which give , *ahem*, independent distillers a bad name.
Yeah, in general wildlife such as moose, bear, bison, elk, etc. will leave people alone as long as the people behave sensibly. It is the people who think it is fine to pet bison, shoo moose away from their car, or feed bear cubs who get the violent responses.
www.swpc.noaa.gov
Oh, the increase in Solar activity is real. We are at the peak of the 11-year Solar cycle. Which has real effects for radio communication, etc. It is just not correlated to fried food consumption outside of Russia, nor are the effects localized to small regions outside of Russia.
... and the yearly August "bump" over July is likely due to transporting the various crop harvests, which I believe hit full stride in August. This year's harvest is not looking spectacular.
Yes, but this year July's monthly stat was unexpectedly high...
My wild speculation: YTD (Aug): 736.1 Which means August must be: 736.1 - 646.6 = 89.5
By "recycle", do they mean use it for fuel for a utility boiler? Remember, this is Russia...
I mean, inconsistently switch the date format.
Odd that it would switch the date format...🤷♂️
In a related story, Kamchatka moonshiners are grateful for the subsidy.
bsky.app/profile/cali...
I'm not the self-appointed spokesman for Western Europe, Bot. That would be you. Respect is earned, and you are well past having squandered any respect due on a social media site.
Well, it is a bot, so he does not really "know" anything. It is basically a digital mynah bird, repeating what real people have said in other exchanges.
I think that is a big "if".
@prune602.bsky.social ☝️?
Wow. I'm the son and grandson of forest workers, mill workers, and ranchers. "Classist"? 🤣 You really need a software upgrade, Bot.
It's just a bit of a blast from the past to see something reported to be a professional site which is really just a bunch of guys filling out fields without regard to format. If they can't keep the date straight, what are the odds of the rest of it being accurate?
Lol, you are programmed to respond to every query.
What is your chipset, Bot? How many responses before your database fills and resets?
Still waiting, Bot.
Still waiting...
Still waiting for you to tell us your chipset, Digital-Bio-Bot.
One must be human to be confused, Digital-bio-Bot. What is your chipset?
This guy is not even MAGA -- it is literally software mimicking human speech.
What is your chipset, Bot?
What is your chipset, Bot?
The Ruble has very limited trade outside of Russia, so it is far easier for the Kremlin to manipulate short-term than a real currency would be.
Lol, your programming limits are showing, Bot. Let's see, you are executing Russian commands on pirated American software running on Taiwanese chips... what part of you is Western European again?
If only you were a real person... What is your chipset, Bot?
This may be a small thing... but the format of the date on the electronic buget page keeps swiching between European format (dd/mm/yyyy) and American format (mm/dd/yyyy). Someone types in the entire update, including the date, entirely by hand? The "Electronic System" is a couple of guys typing?
Maybe it is a common dream for Russian Orthodox clergy? I mean, if I had spent the last 3+ years conning kids into volunteering for the meat grinder in Ukraine, I would have guilt-ridden nightmares too.
Formally downsizing or cutting back on hours is one thing, but for the one profitable industry in Russia to be skipping wages wholesale for months? The whole country is going down the tubes for the vanity of one washed-up KGB officer in the Kremlin.
And if oil workers are not getting paid... JFC, who is?
What happens when a country wages a war of aggression, blatantly violating its word given in writing to 56 other countries? Most of those 56 countries support the victim and shun the aggressor. Hence the sanctions along with Finland, Sweden, and Austria(?) joining NATO. Russia = pariah state.
As the central security agreement for all the OSCE states, it is often included within treaties involving OSCE nations, such as the Russia-NATO Treaty of 1997 and the Russian-Ukrainian Friendship Treaty of 1997. Both of which Russia signed. Russia shredded these treaties and the HFA in 2022.
By the way, here is a link to an explanation and text of the Helsinki Final Act: www.osce.org/helsinki-fin... It is THE security agreement between all of Europe, the US, Canada, and all the former Soviet Republics. It was written primarily by Russia in 1975 and was reaffirmed by Russia in 1995.
Calling him a fool is being overly generous -- it is a sign of you being a more tolerant person than I am. My apologies if I offend your sensibilities, but IMHO he is likely just a two-bit whore for the Kremlin.
Russia gains foreign currency through its exports. Today, much of that is in Yuan from China and USD from India (yes, Russian-Indian trade is mainly in USD. BRICS, bwahahahah!) As is the case for many countries, the Central Bank holds considerable foreign currency reserves.
Why do older Russian businessmen/officials either resemble pedophiles or appear chronically constipated?
Yes, I fold fitted sheets. The result is not as tidy as the folded top sheet, but it is passable. I do not put them back into the fabric bag though. Since my kids are grown (and my need for art supplies is minimal), the bags end up in the municipal compost.
Yep, the snowflake could not deal with the actual historical record, so he blocked me.
FACT: The Helsinki Final Act is the central security agreement between Russia and 56 other OSCE members, including Ukraine. FACT: Russia was the primary author of the HFA and has signed or reaffirmed it repeatedly, both as the USSR and as the Russian Federation. Art. 1, HFA:
Russia invaded Ukraine, twice, in 2014, and then again in 2022. Russia caused the war. Not the US. Not NATO. Not Lemurian Mole People flying Illuminati black helicopters funded by Soros. Russia. Russia is liable for the damages it has caused in its war of aggression.
Such as Russia recognizing the sovereign right of Ukriane and every other OSCE member to join any alliance when Russia reaffirmed the Helsinki Final Act in 1995? Such as Russia President Putin stating that Ukraine joining NATO was none of Russia's business in 2002? archive.org/details/2002...
It also raises the question as to whether they are only selling hard currency gained from exporters... ... or if they are drawing down the RCB's FOREX reserves? ~$3.5 billion a month, or 280 billion Rubles a month, is a significant bit of change.
I note that the edict requiring the sale of hard currency stated that the currency would be sold to the public. With that edict gone, they are not required to sell the Yuan that come in, correct?