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cinci zoo sniper posted:While Anglo-Saxons is unnecessarily specific, I find a generalised “Anglos” term to make way more sense than “former Soviet republics” as it is often used. No one has time for “English speaking countries with common law legal system”. It has its uses when talking about all of them but due to the very distinct levels of involvement in any normal political conversation about europe you have to specify which combination of the UK/us/Canada/Australia/new Zealand you're talking about so Anglo-Saxons becomes the verbiage of folks quoting vaccine truther websites that are suspiciously pro-putin
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Feb 13, 2022 16:01
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Has anyone talked to Japan recently? Maybe this would be a good time to get their islands back.
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Feb 13, 2022 16:19
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135s are flying pretty continuously around that area anyways. They'll be looking at Russian C2 sigint.
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Feb 13, 2022 16:19
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https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1492866865793843202 Ruble is about to become toilet paper and Putin knows it.
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Feb 13, 2022 16:27
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Somaen posted:It has its uses when talking about all of them but due to the very distinct levels of involvement in any normal political conversation about europe you have to specify which combination of the UK/us/Canada/Australia/new Zealand you're talking about so Anglo-Saxons becomes the verbiage of folks quoting vaccine truther websites that are suspiciously pro-putin I agree, you absolutely must discern between them when talking about politics seriously, be it Eastern European affairs or anything else.
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Feb 13, 2022 16:28
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My God, the first bitcoin country
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Feb 13, 2022 16:39
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BIG FLUFFY DOG posted:My God, the first bitcoin country *Heavy bass intensifies* The new Russian crypto coin will be called Русская Валюта
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Feb 13, 2022 16:42
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Russia, notable for being home to a lot of ransomware groups who use crypto for their ransoms, legalizes crypto as a currency. Hmmmmm.
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Feb 13, 2022 17:03
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CommieGIR posted:Russia, notable for being home to a lot of ransomware groups who use crypto for their ransoms, legalizes crypto as a currency. Hmmmmm. It is how you say. Fair deal for all Russians
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Feb 13, 2022 17:03
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BIG FLUFFY DOG posted:My God, the first bitcoin country El Salvador, actually, but it's not working very well.
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Feb 13, 2022 17:03
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Global insurance companies will no longer insure aircraft for flights in Ukrainian airspace, SkyUp Airlines says
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Feb 13, 2022 17:10
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 Look who's leaving Kyiv... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rinat_Akhmetov FishBulbia fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Feb 13, 2022 |
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Feb 13, 2022 17:22
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Unsurprisingly, Russia has failed to respond to clarification about the intent of their massed forces. https://twitter.com/StLiechtenstein/status/1492879947790225409?t=K9XIzTlEbIWhlcJYLoDnjA&s=19
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Feb 13, 2022 17:34
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CommieGIR posted:Russia, notable for being home to a lot of ransomware groups who use crypto for their ransoms, legalizes crypto as a currency. Hmmmmm. Russian central bank actually wanted to go nuclear on it just last month, with gulag and everything, but Putin intervened personally.
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Feb 13, 2022 17:39
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So.. Reading Twitter, articles, etc. A lot of people seem very confident there will be military aggressions across the border fairly soon. It has probably been answered in this thread, but it is fairly long now. What has happened in the last few weeks, since the situation seems to be escalating? Also what seems to be the consensus if it happens. A landgrab of the eastern regions, and only Ukraine will try to fend them off? The west will just impose sanctions, and share intel with Ukraine?
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Feb 13, 2022 17:48
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JunkDeluxe posted:So.. Reading Twitter, articles, etc. A lot of people seem very confident there will be military aggressions across the border fairly soon. In the last few weeks Russia has increased concentration of its military forces near the border with Ukraine, as well as in Crimea and Belarus. On diplomatic front they’re intransigent, and basically show no interest in having a conversation that represents something less that requirements set forth by their ultimatum to the US and NATO. Currently, there are active combat drills near Ukrainian coastline, and Ukraine-Belarus border, conducted by Russian troops, and more Russian troops are on their way to Russia-Ukraine border. Whether if a military attack will happen is still an open question, with mixed opinions on its probability or tactical objectives. Should it happen, the least ambitious military objective, in my opinion, is to establish a land bridge between Crimea and the separatist regions. In any event, the West won’t do more than sanction Russia or sell some intel/materials to Ukraine.
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Feb 13, 2022 17:55
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JunkDeluxe posted:So.. Reading Twitter, articles, etc. A lot of people seem very confident there will be military aggressions across the border fairly soon. I'm an idiot, but it seems to me more like preparations are being completed than anything is escalating. It takes a really long time to properly prepare a military operation of this magnitude and it seems like Putin has been committed to it for a while.
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Feb 13, 2022 17:57
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Generation Internet posted:I'm an idiot, but it seems to me more like preparations are being completed than anything is escalating. It takes a really long time to properly prepare a military operation of this magnitude and it seems like Putin has been committed to it for a while.
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Feb 13, 2022 18:00
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JunkDeluxe posted:So.. Reading Twitter, articles, etc. A lot of people seem very confident there will be military aggressions across the border fairly soon. Quick rundown: - Several talks have been fruitless, including superman Macron travelling to Moscow. - Start of joint exercises in Belarus close to Ukrainian border, which could be used to open a third front and aid in grapping Kiev fast. - Continued "We know what you are doing" proclamations from the WH, including satellite images of large camps and vehicle parks being emptied out. - Footage of material being moved toward the Ukrainian border from these temporary bases and camps. - Increased Russian Naval presence in the black sea. - Drawdawn of diplomatic and international NGO personnel. (Could just be a reaction to the above) - The newest is Russia ignoring Ukraines request through the Vienna Document. The west will aid with intelligence and I imagine lower tiered weaponry (continued supply of Javelins, Stingers, other personal equipment) Trump fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Feb 13, 2022 |
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Feb 13, 2022 18:00
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cinci zoo sniper posted:Russian central bank actually wanted to go nuclear on it just last month, with gulag and everything, but Putin intervened personally. Yeah, again I suspect its more about enabling Ransomware groups/Cybercrime groups which Russia fully takes advantage of. Like I said previously, when they started cracking down on the groups during the negotiations, there's no way they are gonna keep such valuable third party assets locked up. Also: This might prove to be a terrible idea, crypto is super-high inflationary and largely tied to scams/fraud so this might actually go poorly for the banks/Russia.
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Feb 13, 2022 18:01
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Generation Internet posted:I'm an idiot, but it seems to me more like preparations are being completed than anything is escalating. It takes a really long time to properly prepare a military operation of this magnitude and it seems like Putin has been committed to it for a while. He knew his "demands" would never be accepted and they were always going to be a pretext to do what he really wanted. He expected the US to act the way it has, it's unlikely he expected Germany and France to act as aggressively as they have. He probably had smaller military and political goals before Ukraine made clear they would fight and now who knows what the goal actually is.
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Feb 13, 2022 18:02
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JunkDeluxe posted:So.. Reading Twitter, articles, etc. A lot of people seem very confident there will be military aggressions across the border fairly soon. Troop levels have increased. Roughly half the Russian army is now by the border. They are no longer just along the eastern border but stationed in crimea and Belarus as well. The Russian navy is now also super concentrated in the Black Sea and only a hairs breadth away from actually blockading Ukrainian ports right now Russian conscripts have been telling family that they’ll be gone for ~8 months Countries that don’t really care very much who controls Ukraine like Japan Saudi Arabia etc are evacuating their embassies or moving them to Lviv which is the farthest Ukrainian city from Russian territory and telling their citizens to leave the country. Russia has evacuated its embassy. On the 14th the Russian duma is scheduled to formally recognize the independence of the separatist regions As noted above Russia’s also about to institutionalize crypto currency which is important since the ruble is going to become very very very weak if the west actually follows through on sanctions which they did not leave themselves wiggle room to welch on if it actually threatens the gas supply. BIG FLUFFY DOG fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Feb 13, 2022 |
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Feb 13, 2022 18:06
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BIG FLUFFY DOG posted:As noted above Russia’s also about to institutionalize crypto currency which is important since the ruble is going to become very very very weak if the west actually follows through on sanctions which they did not leave themselves wiggle room to welch on if it actually threatens the gas supply. Still don't see how it doesn't become a terrible idea: Crypto is VERY slow to process, its super inflationary values make it practically worthless as a base.
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Feb 13, 2022 18:14
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yeah, it's not actually usable as a currency, i have to wonder if it's just a way to make laundering money easier for oligarchs
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Feb 13, 2022 18:16
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CommieGIR posted:Still don't see how it doesn't become a terrible idea: Crypto is VERY slow to process, its super inflationary values make it practically worthless as a base. If the infra's housed in Russia, it's harder for external law enforcement to go after hackers that use it for things like ransomware. Where it's just used for that and laundering, a lot of its defects stop being as important.
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Feb 13, 2022 18:19
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Discendo Vox posted:If the infra's housed in Russia, it's harder for external law enforcement to go after hackers that use it for things like ransomware. Where it's just used for that and laundering, a lot of its defects stop being as important. That's what I'm assuming as well. Its the ONLY reason to make the banks accept it, it makes laundering the ransoms faster because it can just be directly converted.
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Feb 13, 2022 18:22
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BoldFace posted:https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1492866865793843202 Lol, no. If you need an uncharitable reading, it's because there is a perception that Russian opposition is secretly funded with crypto. You already have to register as a foreign agent if you get ANY money from abroad and you do anything even vaguely political (like helping sexual abuse survivors or having a blog). A more charitable reading is that Mishustin continues to clamp down on tax avoidance, which is his focus as a technocrat PM. This news also comes on the back of the original plan to ban crypto outright. The thread might be misunderstanding what regulating crypto means in context. Paladinus fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Feb 13, 2022 |
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Feb 13, 2022 18:23
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Paladinus posted:Lol, no. If you need an uncharitable reading, it's because there is a perception that Russian opposition is secretly funded with crypto. You already have to register as a foreign agent if you get ANY money from abroad and you do anything even vaguely political (like helping sexual abuse survivors or having a blog). A more charitable reading is that Mishustin continues to clamp down on tax avoidance, which is his focus as a technocrat PM. Maybe, but the people who are avoiding the taxes remain, by and large, either wealthy or cybercrime groups.
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Feb 13, 2022 18:40
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Tweezer Reprise posted:yeah, it's not actually usable as a currency, i have to wonder if it's just a way to make laundering money easier for oligarchs I agree with CommieGIR, that it primarily is for ransomware groups to keep their shops open. Neither oligarchs nor the state are anywhere near stupid enough to El Salvador themselves in the foot.
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Feb 13, 2022 18:41
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The thread's remarked upon Ukraine's surface-level lack of preparation, but that may be shifting. https://twitter.com/nolanwpeterson/status/1492912340072808448?t=ekIp_p1b21EeI_XbJCPpmA&s=19
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Feb 13, 2022 18:41
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CommieGIR posted:Still don't see how it doesn't become a terrible idea: Crypto is VERY slow to process, its super inflationary values make it practically worthless as a base. Actually it's deflationary, because there is only a restricted amount of bits-o'coin and some of them even go missing forever due to mistakes because it's a stupid system. This is what makes it useless as a currency: there is no incentive to invest bitcoins to something more productive let alone use them in consumption, the best strategy is to take bank loan, put it all in bitcoin and
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Feb 13, 2022 18:45
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Cugel the Clever posted:The thread's remarked upon Ukraine's surface-level lack of preparation, but that may be shifting. I would be suspicious of someone who is the senior editor of the "Black Rifle Coffee Co.’s news and lifestyle magazine." For those who may not know, Black Rifle Coffee Company has become a bit of a front for the right-wing grift machine in the U.S. I don't know this person specifically but they're at the least a fellow traveler amongst those who lie for a living.
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Feb 13, 2022 18:53
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CommieGIR posted:Maybe, but the people who are avoiding the taxes remain, by and large, either wealthy or cybercrime groups. I think you'll find cybercrime is already illegal, yet somehow those hacker groups mostly remain untouched (one group got raided last month as part of US-Russia anti-cybercrime initiatives). Russia doesn't need to do anything with bitcoin legally to support those groups, and even when you'll have to pay taxes on Bitcoin, hackers can still remain an exception. As to who dodges taxes, everyone does it given an opportunity. A huge chunk of Russians get their real salary 'in an envelope', and the state gets less tax money because of that. Bitcoin is also, unsurprisingly used for a whole bunch of illegal stuff, including money laundering, and tax avoidance schemes. Mishustin is huge on big data solutions to identify people who spend more than what they officially earn (provided they are not friends with Putin) or otherwise have some suspicious financial record, and regulating crypto is exactly just another step in that direction. Nobody wants to adopt crypto as a reserve currency, lmao.
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Feb 13, 2022 18:54
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Paladinus posted:I think you'll find cybercrime is already illegal, yet somehow those hacker groups mostly remain untouched (one group got raided last month as part of US-Russia anti-cybercrime initiatives). Russia doesn't need to do anything with bitcoin legally to support those groups, and even when you'll have to pay taxes on Bitcoin, hackers can still remain an exception. Its illegal, like many things, but Russia remains one of the prime safe harbors of cybercrime groups. And again, the group raided last month? Happened at the same time negotiations were ongoing. Those guys are going to be out in no time. The raid was not about enforcing the law if I had to guess, but sending a message to the US/EU: If you give us what we want, these guys can go away. Russia only suddenly decided to enforce these laws. Weird.
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Feb 13, 2022 18:56
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cinci zoo sniper posted:I agree with CommieGIR, that it primarily is for ransomware groups to keep their shops open. Neither oligarchs nor the state are anywhere near stupid enough to El Salvador themselves in the foot. that makes more sense, thank you for the clarification 
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Feb 13, 2022 19:08
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CommieGIR posted:Its illegal, like many things, but Russia remains one of the prime safe harbors of cybercrime groups. And again, the group raided last month? Happened at the same time negotiations were ongoing. Those guys are going to be out in no time. The raid was not about enforcing the law if I had to guess, but sending a message to the US/EU: If you give us what we want, these guys can go away. It's not random. China's banned crypto, and then there was an initiative in Russia to ban crypto, too. After some deliberation, it was decided to heavily regulate it instead. It's very daft to say that regulation makes crypto legal, as if it's not legal, i.e. punishable, to trade crypto in Russia now. It's cryptobro logic that sees any action or lack of action by the state as good for crypto. Crypto is not regulated? Great, it's the currency of the peopl that is not controlled by the government. Crypto is regulated? Even better, it means the state sees how great crypto is and wants in on it. Crypto is banned? The best thing ever, just shows how afraid of crypto statists are. The reality is that regulation means trading crypto will become less attractive as means of tax avoidance, which one of its primary uses.
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Feb 13, 2022 19:09
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Cugel the Clever posted:The thread's remarked upon Ukraine's surface-level lack of preparation, but that may be shifting. Interesting. A few weeks ago I said I'd expect a duration of no ceasefire violations right before a full invasion.
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Feb 13, 2022 19:10
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CommieGIR posted:Still don't see how it doesn't become a terrible idea: Crypto is VERY slow to process, its super inflationary values make it practically worthless as a base. Technically it’s deflationary (usually) which is actually worse for a currency because it means you make a profit from just waiting until tomorrow to buy something so it incentives low demand.
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Feb 13, 2022 19:11
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TipTow posted:I would be suspicious of someone who is the senior editor of the "Black Rifle Coffee Co.’s news and lifestyle magazine." Bro, he’s former SOF. He probably has a contact there because a friend of his was involved in capacity building or training in Yavoriv or somewhere else in Ukraine. Black Rifle isn’t a front for the US Information Agency, they sell tacky shirts and k-cups to LE/MIL bros. This forum takes a very strange attitude to people with professional experience.
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Feb 13, 2022 19:13
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BIG FLUFFY DOG posted:Technically it’s deflationary (usually) which is actually worse for a currency because it means you make a profit from just waiting until tomorrow to buy something so it incentives low demand. Yeah my bad I stand corrected: Deflationary. Not a finance expert, thanks for the correction.
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Feb 13, 2022 19:15
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