Markrs240b's recent activity
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Comment on Russia loses almost 46,000 troops, over $3 billion worth of military equipment in November, Defense Ministry says in ~news
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Comment on Ukraine war latest: Moscow claims clashes with Ukrainian troops on Russian soil in ~news
Markrs240b Link ParentThe NYT analysis overlooks why the conscripts aren't being used in Ukraine. Early on in the invasion the Kremlin found out that use of conscripts in battle was extremely unpopular and even had to...The NYT analysis overlooks why the conscripts aren't being used in Ukraine. Early on in the invasion the Kremlin found out that use of conscripts in battle was extremely unpopular and even had to make statements about some conscripts who died early on to place blame on others for how they got into combat. Now Russia must choose between sending conscripts to die (or be captured en masse as the case as often been) or redirect 'volunteer' troops from other offensives to try to stop the Ukrainian advance.
It also misses the fact that now that Russia's territorial integrity has been directly challenged, there will be enormous pressure to retake that land. Ukraine has already made extensive preparations to defend the territory captured, and while they're probably willing to give that land back, the Ukrainians intend to make the Russians pay an extremely heavy price for it. That price might seem even higher since Russia was about to switch to defense for a tactical pause. Now they must either continue attacking without a chance to rebuild forces, or essentially give that territory away for the foreseeable future.
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Comment on Brussels is gambling that tariffs on Chinese EVs are a prod, not a punch in ~transport
Markrs240b Link ParentAs the article points out, Chinese EV's are also cheap in large part because they are heavily subsidized by the Chinese government. That's why they're applying tariffs. It's not because they can't...As the article points out, Chinese EV's are also cheap in large part because they are heavily subsidized by the Chinese government. That's why they're applying tariffs. It's not because they can't compete in a free market, it's because China doesn't represent free market competition.
The government subsidies mean that the Chinese companies aren't taking on risk like their European and American competitors, nor are they as dependent on profit from sales. A Chinese EV could be sold at a loss and the company still be getting net profit thanks to the subsidies from China. Tariffs in cases like this are intended to restore the balance and protect free market competition.
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Comment on The new ‘white fortress’ cities of the American South in ~society
Markrs240b LinkThe article only hints at the decades of history behind this sort of thing while talking mostly about relatively recent events. This 'white fortress' thing they're talking about is exactly what...The article only hints at the decades of history behind this sort of thing while talking mostly about relatively recent events. This 'white fortress' thing they're talking about is exactly what happened to Jackson, MS in the late 60's and early 70's.
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Comment on The five futures of Russia in ~society
Markrs240b LinkAlthough not necessarily a likely scenario, it is imaginable that Russia may end up fragmenting further, shedding some territories into more independent nations. There are some territories that...Although not necessarily a likely scenario, it is imaginable that Russia may end up fragmenting further, shedding some territories into more independent nations.
There are some territories that tried to gain independence in the early 90's but were unable to break away for a variety of reasons. Tatarstan is one such region. If Moscow becomes sufficiently unstable then independence for these regions might be feasible.
Another source of independent nations could be resource-rich areas further from Moscow. If Russia ends up in either the "Chaos" or "North Korea" scenario as described above, investment to get those resources might be difficult. Russia has shown that rule of law isn't a high priority, and recently foreign investments have been seized with little pretense. Instead, there may be some instigation to break away some resource-rich area to form a stable government that could provide legal protection and/or consistency for investments in resource extraction.
Lastly, some of the more rural parts of Russia are quite impoverished compared to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Some impoverished region might be the ideal place for some would-be dictator to try to make an empire for themselves by instigating an independence movement on the basis of improving the standard of living. Blame for current standard of living could be put on Moscow, and independence plus alignment towards Ukraine, Uzbekistan, or some other neighboring former soviet country may offer the promise of better lives.
None of these scenarios are especially likely, but they are theoretically possible. If even one such movement was able to gain any noticeable traction in an unstable Russia it would invite all kinds of foreign influence that could make independence possible. And if one region was able to break away, who knows what would happen after that?
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Markrs240b Link ParentThis is so true. It's an incredibly fun game if I'm diving with friends, and it's sometimes cool with randos, but soloing is almost painful, and crappy randos just ruin the game.This is so true. It's an incredibly fun game if I'm diving with friends, and it's sometimes cool with randos, but soloing is almost painful, and crappy randos just ruin the game.
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Comment on "Dune: Part Three" in the works, in addition to Denis Villeneuve adapation of "Nuclear War: A Scenario" in ~movies
Markrs240b LinkImagine if a movie adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet ended with a surprise twist in which not only does Hamlet not die, but also Rosencranz and Guildenstern also survive to start a war between...Imagine if a movie adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet ended with a surprise twist in which not only does Hamlet not die, but also Rosencranz and Guildenstern also survive to start a war between Hamlet's kingdom and Denmark. As "Hamlet the Movie" ends a new war is kicked off. That might be an exciting movie, and it might easily lend itself to an exciting sequel, but that is not Hamlet.
That's basically what's happened to Dune. Dune part 2 was a good movie, but it's simply not Dune. I'm sure part 3 or whatever will also be a good movie, but it really is just a guarantee that Dune will never get a faithful movie adaptation.
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Comment on VHEMT: the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement in ~life
Markrs240b Link ParentThe sad fact is that we are not experiencing a shortage of resources to support the current population, or even the much expanded future populations. We are experiencing a shortage of distribution...The sad fact is that we are not experiencing a shortage of resources to support the current population, or even the much expanded future populations. We are experiencing a shortage of distribution of resources.
Working out major interstellar-scale megastructures would be easier if everyone is educated, well fed, etc., but that doesn't require there be less of us.
Last point: if you have two groups, one is pro-growth and the other is anti-growth, eventually no matter how small a minority the pro-growth group start out as, eventually it will be the majority. Even if you could convince 99.9% of all humans to reduce the population by not having kids, the remaining .1% would eventually become a pro-growth majority again. For that reason alone voluntary extinction will never amount to more than a drop in the ocean. Add to that the fact that you'll never convince a notable minority of people, let alone a majority, to reduce the population. And then add to that the fact that the people most likely to cooperate in a population reduction effort are also the people most likely to cooperate for the good of humankind in some other, more productive way. Instead of ridding the Earth of humans willing to cooperate, I recommend trying to influence the world by making as many cooperators as possible in the hopes of vastly outnumbering the people who selfishly cause artificial shortages.
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Comment on VHEMT: the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement in ~life
Markrs240b Link ParentIn about a billion years or so the Sun will have gotten hot enough to bake all life off Earth, and then it will swallow Earth within about 5 billion years. Without intelligent intervention those...There hasn't been any mass extinction event previously which has ended 100% of life on earth. Certainly there have been times that it's come close; I think the Permian extinction did something mad like 80% - 90% of known life, but there have always been survivors to cling on, adapt and fill the niches.
In about a billion years or so the Sun will have gotten hot enough to bake all life off Earth, and then it will swallow Earth within about 5 billion years. Without intelligent intervention those are the hard limits for life on Earth.
However, intelligent life is capable of preserving nature beyond that point not only by colonizing other star systems, bringing life with them wherever they go, but also by extending the Sun's life far beyond its natural limits.
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Comment on Sci-fi author Vernor Vinge dead at 79 in ~books
Markrs240b LinkAw, what the hell. He was supposed to write another book for the Tines world. What happens after Children of the Sky now?Aw, what the hell. He was supposed to write another book for the Tines world. What happens after Children of the Sky now?
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Comment on Canadian pet DNA company sends back dog breed results from human sample a second time in ~life.pets
Markrs240b Link ParentFYI - Rich people don't get DNA tests to brag about their purebreed dog. Real "certified purebreed" dogs will come with paperwork verifying parentage. Dog DNA tests are for commoners with mutts,...FYI - Rich people don't get DNA tests to brag about their purebreed dog. Real "certified purebreed" dogs will come with paperwork verifying parentage.
Dog DNA tests are for commoners with mutts, like me.
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Comment on Electric cars are not the future – In cities at least, e-bikes make more cultural and consumer sense in ~transport
Markrs240b Link ParentI think if you asked your insurance company they could cover it under a "valuable property" policy extension.I think if you asked your insurance company they could cover it under a "valuable property" policy extension.
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Comment on The West needs to show it values all human life – Accusations of double standards sting because they have a point in ~society
Markrs240b Link ParentThe current war in Ukraine is a continuation of an invasion that Russia started in 2014 in response to the Euromaidan revolution, which was about Ukraine trying to build stronger ties to EU, not...First, the point of the war was that Ukraine was drifting toward NATO,
The current war in Ukraine is a continuation of an invasion that Russia started in 2014 in response to the Euromaidan revolution, which was about Ukraine trying to build stronger ties to EU, not NATO.
This war was never about NATO, and we know this because in the early days of the war one of the first things offered for negotiation was a promise from Ukraine to never join NATO if Russia would just leave and return to the Jan. 2022 borders. Later, they even offered to promise not to join the EU as well, but both offers were withdrawn after it was obvious that Russia wasn't interested in either.
This war is about Ukraine trying to leave Russia's orbit for good, and many in Ukraine regard this as their war of independence.
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Comment on Peter Watts on conscious ants and human hives in ~books
Markrs240b LinkCoincidentally, I just finished Blindsight. It's a pretty amazing book. This talk brings up a pretty scary idea. If we start using neurolink type interfaces we might accidentally make ourselves...Coincidentally, I just finished Blindsight. It's a pretty amazing book.
This talk brings up a pretty scary idea. If we start using neurolink type interfaces we might accidentally make ourselves into a single consciousness that destroys all attached individuals. I hope some excellent firewalls are built into these systems.
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Comment on How Russia punched an $11 billion hole in the West’s oil sanctions in ~finance
Markrs240b Link ParentThe summer offensive didn't achieve its goals because it was pushed back to the summer due to shortages in armor and a lack of air support. If we'd committed tanks and jets early in the war, the...The summer offensive didn't achieve its goals because it was pushed back to the summer due to shortages in armor and a lack of air support. If we'd committed tanks and jets early in the war, the offensive would have launched much earlier in the year, and Russia wouldn't have had time to build its extensive fortifications and mine fields that are now causing problems.
We're now in a situation where a thousand tanks wouldn't turn the tide immediately because we didn't commit a thousand tanks a year and a half ago. That's why I think we should just commit to doing whatever it takes to win as quickly as possible.
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Comment on How Russia punched an $11 billion hole in the West’s oil sanctions in ~finance
Markrs240b LinkI really wish we would turn 'war fatigue' into a commitment to ending this war with a total defeat for Russia as soon as possible. The slow trickle of sanctions for Russia and slow trickle of...I really wish we would turn 'war fatigue' into a commitment to ending this war with a total defeat for Russia as soon as possible. The slow trickle of sanctions for Russia and slow trickle of weapons for Ukraine is dragging this war on far longer than necessary. At this point I'm willing to bet that Russia doesn't have the balls to use nukes and just go all in.
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Comment on Plagiarism and You(Tube) in ~tech
Markrs240b LinkI actually watched that entire video, and it's really entertaining. Thanks for sharing.I actually watched that entire video, and it's really entertaining. Thanks for sharing.
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Comment on Israel knew Hamas’s attack plan more than a year ago in ~society
Markrs240b Link Parenthttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/irans-parliament-chants-death-to-israel-after-bloody-hamas-invasion/ar-AA1hQufe Just so we're clear, some folks definitely are calling for Israel to burn.virtually nobody is calling for Israel to burn
Just so we're clear, some folks definitely are calling for Israel to burn.
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Comment on Can someone please recommend me a no BS printer I can use like half a dozen times a year in ~tech
Markrs240b Link ParentMFC-L2750DW. Printer, scanner, two-sided copier, wi-fi connectivity, mostly gathers dust until suddenly I need to print something important. Highly recommend.MFC-L2750DW. Printer, scanner, two-sided copier, wi-fi connectivity, mostly gathers dust until suddenly I need to print something important. Highly recommend.
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Comment on Sarah Silverman hits stumbling block in AI copyright infringement lawsuit against Meta in ~tech
Markrs240b Link ParentThat was kind of my point. You can make two very similar movies without violating copyright, as long as they are different movies somehow. Here's an even better example: Ian Fleming's novel...That was kind of my point. You can make two very similar movies without violating copyright, as long as they are different movies somehow.
Here's an even better example: Ian Fleming's novel "Thunderball" was adapted into a movie in 1965 starring Sean Connery. In 1983 a different movie studio adapted the same novel into "Never Say Never Again" also starring Sean Connery as James Bond. They are literally the exact same story with minor cosmetic differences.
The whole NATO thing is a lie to obscure the fact that Russia has been trying to bring Ukraine back under its control from the day they first broke free. The whole Euromaidan was a response to the Ukrainian president running on a campaign of European alliance, then turning around and trying to take Ukraine back to Russia, while shutting Europe out. That then triggered Russia's first invasion in 2014 (still ongoing) because they couldn't conquer through political manipulation.
Immediately after the 2022 invasion Ukraine offered a peace deal that included swearing off NATO and EU forever, but they were rejected, proving that neither alliance was what Russia was really concerned about. Russia just wants to conquer back its territory.