I was, and you cited something that is not applicable.

At least, not as it was intended and has been applied. Maybe this will be a precedent setting case, but until then…

Maybe you should read it…

Those are rooted in actions like bombardments of civilian areas e.g. Dresden, Gaza, etc.

Just because an action has collateral damage, does not make it indiscriminate.

Again, it’s not like Israel isn’t already committing war crimes every day, I’m just not clear if this is one of them.

For example, when the Ukrainian’s assassinated the propagandist in St Petersburg at the cafe, there was collateral damage. Still doesn’t make it a war crime.

I am not comparing the morality of Ukraine to israel, I’m just giving you relevant example from recent history

Not that Israel needs an excuse to commit a war crimes on any day that ends in Y, but I don’t believe this is a violation of the Geneva convention.

It was a mass targeted assassination campaign against an opposition military force structure. I’m not saying it’s not a crime, just that I don’t believe it’s a war crime.

But I’m open to the very real possibility that I am wrong about that. So if I am, can you point me to the article(s) it’s in violation of?

I genuinely would like to fill that gap in my knowledge, if it exists.

I’ve already booked my ticket, because I’ll be damned if I’ll let something as lame as not being a Brazilian citizen, prevent me from casting 1,273 votes for this man, our hero.

Unless it comes out that he was with Bolsanro during his infamous visit to the brothel full of underage Venezuelan girls…

But anything short of that, I stand with him.

Except, China is not trying to expand its territorial waters “because capitalism”…

No, he’s a cryptocurrency analyst, with a focus on cryptocurrency related hip-hop artists.

There’s ratified UN conventions on what is legally considered genocide…

I would suggest that instead of sourcing your understanding of genocide from Lemmy comments, you go read it, or at least it’s Wikipedia entry.

Also yes, cultural erasure can be an act of genocide, but I doubt the Belarus situation would quality at the moment. Given their governments participation in the assimilation, it probably requires some additional actions, or metrics. But, it’s not like I’m a human rights lawyer, so maybe I’m wrong.

Considering India and China are nuclear armed geostrategic rivals, with ongoing territorial disputes, and not too distant history of hot wars, I think this type of cooperation can be a good thing.

But that’s also why I’m skeptical about how much dual use technology they’d be willing to share with each other. And when you’re talking about space travel, or moon bases, practically everything is dual use technology.

If anyone is unclear why Russia would be involved, it’s their rocket and nuclear technology. Or rather, the Soviet legacy of R&D that is still useful.

Not some evidence, clear and convincing evidence.

The problem is that the Saudi “government” is essentially comprised of competing factions of slave owning inbred cousins.

So saying the Saudi government was involved isn’t as clear cut as it sounds for the purpose of adjudicating any “punishment”.

Now, if KSA wasn’t the lynchpin of America’s Middle Eastern security apparatus, and viewed as integral to the entire American imperial project, then the US Security State’s response would have likely been much different.

Probably because people like you make them feel unwelcome.

Did you ever stop and think that if you made them feel comfortable, that they might visit more often?

Here’s a still frame of the otters in question. I’m betting they could quickly surprise and surround anyone they caught alone. And would have no problem giving chase on land.

Wow, talk about some blatant dog whistling here…

Inner-city otters? Why not just call them musteld hoodlums? Or shrimp theiving thugs?

How much you wanna bet that if this was an artic fox, or polar bear attack, the words inner city would never have appeared in this article…

He was a cutout. Someone who was used because he was controllable and disposable. If he was clever, he wouldn’t be dead, he would have had safeguards in place to protect his life using the influence gained from his organization/racket.

But it wasn’t really his racket, he was just a face of it. A body used to fill a recurring role that intelligence agencies find very useful.

And clearly, They learned their lesson from the Franklin scandal I linked above. That was a true clusterfuck that took a lot of effort to clean up and mitigate the fallout from, which is why they put so much effort into making sure it’s smeared as a hoax, overblown, and fake news.

They even indicted at least two victims of that particular ring, and at least one was sentenced in prison for “perjury” refusing to recant her testimony.

Another book on the topic from a primary source, a lawyer involved from the beginning with the Franklin scandal.

Go scratch the surface of his resume.

He was a cutout used by more powerful people, and placed into roles he wasn’t remotely qualified for.

Basically, his hedge fund was a front. Rich people would park their money there, and in return, get access to the underage girls he provided.

Which gave him more access, and more influence, to other elites e.g. politicians and aristocrats, which was used by his handlers in the intelligence communities to unclear ends.

There’s a reason why that tapes the FBI discovered at his properties have gone “missing”, at least from public view.

As for why I said he’s a moron, start here:

His plan to cryogenically freeze his head and penis, to be reanimated in the future and repopulate the Earth.

Oh, and just for the lulz.

"Donald Barr’s son, US Attorney General William Barr is currently investigating the death of Jeffrey Epstein.

In 1973, Donald Barr, hired a young 20 year old college dropout named Jeffrey E. Epstein to teach math at the Dalton School. Epstein taught at the school between 1974 and 1976.

Donald Barr also wrote this sci-fi novel, Space Relations, about sex slavery in space."

Other accounts dispute that Donald Barr actually met Epstein, but not that he was the headmaster at the school that hired Epstein, nor that he wrote that book.

I’m not sure if this is another piece of damning evidence of him being placed in positions because of his proclivities, or just a darkly hilarious wtf fact.

Calling him Jeffrey Epstein is like calling Putin, Hitler.

Yes, they’re all horrible people who’ve done evil shit, but the scale of their evil is worlds apart.

Epstein ran an international cabal of underage sex trafficking that serviced the global elites, for money, political influence, and blackmail purposes.

This dipshit locked girls in his apartment, sold alpha male grindset webinars, and had a wizard in his crew.

But, if we’re being honest, Tate is probably a few IQ points higher than Epstein, who was a bonafide moron. I’m not saying Tate’s bright, I’m saying Epstein was really dumb.

Still, the leagues they played in were stratospheres apart.

If you’re buying off eBay, I would seriously consider looking into a finding an established and equitable extended warranty program and doing the math.

Also, lookup guides on how to properly inspect and receive large fragile items for delivery. Maybe it won’t matter because it didn’t require a signature and you’re not there to receive it personally, but still, worth knowing when it’s possible to refuse delivery of damaged merchandise, and how to CYA if needed.

Pretty sure booting into DOS before loading Windows and playing the Oregon Trail on the Apple IIe both count as command line experience.

I also think that as smug as a lot people feel about this, it doesn’t seem far off to think that physical keyboard typing skills could be substituted with newer technologies, or refined versions of existing tech. At least in terms of performing most office job functions.

I’m not saying it’ll be more efficient, or better, just that it wouldn’t be a surprising next step given the trends being discussed here.

If that happens, I have no doubt that smugness will turn into self-righteous indignation and a stubborn refusal to abandon the tactile keyboard for older generations, myself included.

I just hope that if that transition occurs during my lifetime, it’s an either-or situation, and not a replacement of the keyboard.

Bridges are still functional with giant holes blown in the deck. Maybe capacity is reduced, or it needs patchwork, but still functional.

That is why they’re typically targeted with large bombs, or missiles. Even then, might take a while.

If this wasn’t a hot war, it’s possible a covert demolition team could rig enough explosives at the right structural points, but trying that now is a great way to lose a bunch a SOF teams.

Here’s a somewhat relevant parable about how hard it can be to destroy a bridge during war.

Edit: added a fair amount of information to my original response.

Sorry, like I said it’s been a long time since I spent any real amount of time researching/reading about post-Soviet political economies of eastern bloc countries.

I can tell you that most of what I was reading was in peer-reviewed journals, which I’m sure are still available with the right keyword searches on LexusNexis…or Library Genesis.

If you aren’t already, I would recommend checking out Vlad Vexler. Who is a Soviet-born, political philosopher/academic, outspoken Putin critic, and one of the better English language sources for intimate and nuanced explanations and analysis of the Russian political system, including the competing power structures and political dynamics of Putin’s court.

He also provides some of the most thoughtful and considered arguments and analysis in support of Ukraine.

Edit (hope this helps):

Here’s a keyword to jump start your search:

Silovik

That’s the term for an elite within the intelligence community (FSB), or close ties to it (ex-KGB).

I asked Llama for examples of Siloviki who tried to amass power and influence outside their domain, and it provided me with this response:

Examples of siloviki who have tried to amass power in different fields and faced consequences include:

• Mikhail Khodorkovsky: A former FSB officer who became a successful businessman and politician, but was eventually imprisoned and exiled after he began to challenge the Kremlin’s authority.

• Boris Berezovsky: A former KGB officer who became a wealthy businessman and politician, but was eventually forced into exile after he began to challenge the Kremlin’s authority.

• Alexander Lebed: A former KGB officer who became a politician and governor of Krasnoyarsk, but was eventually killed in a helicopter crash under mysterious circumstances.

It’s worth noting that the Kremlin’s tolerance for siloviki accumulating power in different fields can vary depending on the individual and the circumstances. Some siloviki may be allowed to build significant business or political empires, while others may be subject to strict limits or even persecution.

To be fair, I haven’t double checked the veracity for the people cited above, but only because even if their hallucinations, it aligns with how I understand their system of checks and balances to operate.

The system is setup this way, to give Putin the ability to play mediator when disputes arise and be the bridge between rival factions. So, he remains up top, and no one is capable of amassing enough power or influence to seriously challenge him.

It also means that Putin is not the arch-puppet master pulling all the strings as he’s often portrayed in Western media. He sits a top the food chain, but his power over the elite comes from how he can exert, or finesse influence e.g. mediate disputes, not because he can slam a gavel and make everyone ignore their own self interests.

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