I assume people decided it had the vibe of accusing Ukraine of being underhanded (it’s not, but internet gonna internet)

Ukrainian nuclear weapons aren’t a credible threat to Russia, for the same reason Russia’s aren’t to Ukraine: It isn’t under an immediate threat of being wiped out, just losing territory. I think this is aimed more at the United States, trying to pressure them into keeping up or increasing aid with the threat of nuclear proliferation (as Japan, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia have done). There is also the possibility that in a Trump administration, loss of US aid could turn the war back into an existential threat where nuclear weapons could be used.

It’s been well reported on that Russia doesn’t work like that, with junior officers unable to use initiative and the whole system being very slow to respond to changing events. The reason it operates like this was shown when they did try having a more independent unit, which resulted in the Wagner Group mutinying.

That’s standard in Western militaries. It means units aren’t paralyzed by unexpected circumstances while they wait for communication to go up and down the chain of command, and it improves resilience if communications or senior officers are incapacitated.

Trump needs lead water pipes to get votes.

Azula-coded

The classic “Buy a reputable brand, cut costs and coast along on the reputation until you can sell off all your shares and move on to another company”. Bonus points for using legalised embezzlement share buyback.

More often dictators take control of the church and use it for propaganda.

People talk a lot about the genericisation of brand names, but the branding of generic terms like this really annoys me.

I’ll use the example I first noticed. A few years ago, the Conservative government was under criticism for the minimum wage being well under a living wage. In response, they brought in the National Living Wage, which was an increase to the minimum wage, but still under the actual living wage. However, because of the branding, it makes criticising it for not meeting the actual living wage more difficult, as you have to explain the difference between the two, and as the saying goes, “if you’re explaining, you’re losing”.

They’re against anyone else indoctrinating children.

I only ever read one, and all I remember of that was some kids being chased into a church by some demons, who then burn it down to get to them. The kids are put on trial for “forcing” the demons to burn the church, and they have to convince their lawyer to to throw the case because he’ll be executed if he wins.

Not a danger in the UK.

Heard an interview a while ago with a founder of Just Stop Oil who clearly said he doesn’t care whether they even stop climate change (around 40:00-43:00).

What does Vincent van Gogh have to do with the current state of the petrol industry?

It’s famous, so attacking it gets attention.

They’re both problems.

Never heard of it. It’s difficult to know how much of the difference is the actual occurrence and how much is the reporting of it.

That’s more complicated than it sounds. An export strengthening the currency is a significant part of Dutch Disease.

Don’t all countries have this problem?

I bet no one remembers even a quarter of this list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_views_of_Donald_Trump

The heedless shitposting for those who don’t remember: https://www.npr.org/2022/11/18/1137474748/trump-tweeted-an-image-from-a-spy-satellite-declassified-document-shows

Musk has objected to legal orders to remove some posts and accounts in Brazil and Australia, claiming he was a champion of free speech, although he has been less vocal about removing content in countries such as Turkey and India.

What a coincidence he doesn’t have a problem following countries with leaders infamous for oppressing minorities.