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Heirloom_Tomato

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  1. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato reacted to Harmon Rabb in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    Albania's representative to the UN saying what I think a lot of people are feeling these days about Russia's claims.
    Mr.Hoxha put it very eloquently and professionally, but you can tell he has really had enough of listening to all this nonsense.
  2. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from MOS:96B2P in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    I think this is part of the wider strategy behind blowing the dam. @Haiduk has posted twice in the past 24 hours the Russians are trying to blow up the ammonia pipeline. This pipeline provides ammonia for fertilizer. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/how-un-plan-russian-ammonia-export-could-help-global-fertiliser-market-2022-09-14/
    The reservoir currently draining through the blown dam provides the irrigation water to 80% of Ukraine's irrigated crop land. 
    So if the fertilizer supply is impacted and prices for fertilizer go up, either the price for crops needs to increase to cover the extra expense or farmers will use less fertilizer and yields will decrease. Either way, the consumer will pay more for food. With the water supply for irrigation impacted until the dam can be repaired, the supply of food will go down and prices up. As @billbindc says, governments fall rather quickly when food prices get out of control. I think the Russians are hoping the rest of the world will put increasingly more pressure on Ukraine to accept a ceasefire to stabilize the price of food.
    If you have a garden at home, or room for even a few plants, it is not too late to plant a few more rows or a couple of extra tomato plants. Every extra pound of food you can grow for yourself this season, will not only secure your food supply, it will free up food for those who can't grow their own.
  3. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from Kinophile in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    I have the book, War Plan Red. Just waiting for the Canadians to make their way into CMCW for some sweet alternative reality battles. I used to live right beside a ferry crossing and bridge whose seizure were a part of the American plan. I am sure my old hunting blind along the river dike would be a perfect spot to setup an ATGM. 
  4. Like
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from Gpig in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    I have the book, War Plan Red. Just waiting for the Canadians to make their way into CMCW for some sweet alternative reality battles. I used to live right beside a ferry crossing and bridge whose seizure were a part of the American plan. I am sure my old hunting blind along the river dike would be a perfect spot to setup an ATGM. 
  5. Like
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from A Canadian Cat in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    I have the book, War Plan Red. Just waiting for the Canadians to make their way into CMCW for some sweet alternative reality battles. I used to live right beside a ferry crossing and bridge whose seizure were a part of the American plan. I am sure my old hunting blind along the river dike would be a perfect spot to setup an ATGM. 
  6. Like
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from The Steppenwulf in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    I think this is part of the wider strategy behind blowing the dam. @Haiduk has posted twice in the past 24 hours the Russians are trying to blow up the ammonia pipeline. This pipeline provides ammonia for fertilizer. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/how-un-plan-russian-ammonia-export-could-help-global-fertiliser-market-2022-09-14/
    The reservoir currently draining through the blown dam provides the irrigation water to 80% of Ukraine's irrigated crop land. 
    So if the fertilizer supply is impacted and prices for fertilizer go up, either the price for crops needs to increase to cover the extra expense or farmers will use less fertilizer and yields will decrease. Either way, the consumer will pay more for food. With the water supply for irrigation impacted until the dam can be repaired, the supply of food will go down and prices up. As @billbindc says, governments fall rather quickly when food prices get out of control. I think the Russians are hoping the rest of the world will put increasingly more pressure on Ukraine to accept a ceasefire to stabilize the price of food.
    If you have a garden at home, or room for even a few plants, it is not too late to plant a few more rows or a couple of extra tomato plants. Every extra pound of food you can grow for yourself this season, will not only secure your food supply, it will free up food for those who can't grow their own.
  7. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato reacted to Ultradave in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    All very interesting but was not the reason the US withdrew from the agreement. The above had to do with Iran's previous activities, which the whole world knows involved research and development into nuclear weapons. They are supposed to account for all of it, but haven't come completely clean. Acknowledged. They are bad actors and likely always will be.
    Before the Prelim JPA, Iran was 3 weeks away from being able to create enough material for one nuclear weapon, and there was worldwide carping to "DO SOMETHING". Hence the Prelim JPA followed by the JCPOA, which pushed that timeline back to one year+.  There are many safeguards in the JCPOA, not the least of which was limiting Iran's stock of enriched U to 300kg. This is only a fraction of what would be required to create even one weapon. Reconfiguring the Arak reactor eliminated their potential source of Pu, probably more important than enrichment restrictions.
    Now that the US has withdrawn, Iran has resumed enrichment activities, put more centrifuges in operation, and has some U enriched to 60%. You need 90-ish% for a weapon. But the work required to get from 60% to 90% is much, much less than the work to get TO 60%. So here we are again. Iran is now a couple/three weeks away from amassing enough material for a weapon, should they choose to do so.
    The JCPOA was working. Withdrawing from it was stupid, because we are now right back where we were years ago and there is no new agreement in sight. 
    Dave
  8. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato reacted to Haiduk in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    This pipeline in present time doesn't transport ammonia from Russia to Odesa, where located large chemical plant, involved in accumulation and supply of ammonium on world markets. But some remains of ammonia still inside the pipe and can be dangerous. 
    Russia demands renewing of pipeline work and tried to tie this with prolongation of "grain deal", involving to this a lobby of African and some Asian countries, depending of fertilizers, using ammonium as productin component. 
  9. Like
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from A Canadian Cat in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    I think this is part of the wider strategy behind blowing the dam. @Haiduk has posted twice in the past 24 hours the Russians are trying to blow up the ammonia pipeline. This pipeline provides ammonia for fertilizer. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/how-un-plan-russian-ammonia-export-could-help-global-fertiliser-market-2022-09-14/
    The reservoir currently draining through the blown dam provides the irrigation water to 80% of Ukraine's irrigated crop land. 
    So if the fertilizer supply is impacted and prices for fertilizer go up, either the price for crops needs to increase to cover the extra expense or farmers will use less fertilizer and yields will decrease. Either way, the consumer will pay more for food. With the water supply for irrigation impacted until the dam can be repaired, the supply of food will go down and prices up. As @billbindc says, governments fall rather quickly when food prices get out of control. I think the Russians are hoping the rest of the world will put increasingly more pressure on Ukraine to accept a ceasefire to stabilize the price of food.
    If you have a garden at home, or room for even a few plants, it is not too late to plant a few more rows or a couple of extra tomato plants. Every extra pound of food you can grow for yourself this season, will not only secure your food supply, it will free up food for those who can't grow their own.
  10. Upvote
  11. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from hcrof in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    I think this is part of the wider strategy behind blowing the dam. @Haiduk has posted twice in the past 24 hours the Russians are trying to blow up the ammonia pipeline. This pipeline provides ammonia for fertilizer. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/how-un-plan-russian-ammonia-export-could-help-global-fertiliser-market-2022-09-14/
    The reservoir currently draining through the blown dam provides the irrigation water to 80% of Ukraine's irrigated crop land. 
    So if the fertilizer supply is impacted and prices for fertilizer go up, either the price for crops needs to increase to cover the extra expense or farmers will use less fertilizer and yields will decrease. Either way, the consumer will pay more for food. With the water supply for irrigation impacted until the dam can be repaired, the supply of food will go down and prices up. As @billbindc says, governments fall rather quickly when food prices get out of control. I think the Russians are hoping the rest of the world will put increasingly more pressure on Ukraine to accept a ceasefire to stabilize the price of food.
    If you have a garden at home, or room for even a few plants, it is not too late to plant a few more rows or a couple of extra tomato plants. Every extra pound of food you can grow for yourself this season, will not only secure your food supply, it will free up food for those who can't grow their own.
  12. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from benpark in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    I think this is part of the wider strategy behind blowing the dam. @Haiduk has posted twice in the past 24 hours the Russians are trying to blow up the ammonia pipeline. This pipeline provides ammonia for fertilizer. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/how-un-plan-russian-ammonia-export-could-help-global-fertiliser-market-2022-09-14/
    The reservoir currently draining through the blown dam provides the irrigation water to 80% of Ukraine's irrigated crop land. 
    So if the fertilizer supply is impacted and prices for fertilizer go up, either the price for crops needs to increase to cover the extra expense or farmers will use less fertilizer and yields will decrease. Either way, the consumer will pay more for food. With the water supply for irrigation impacted until the dam can be repaired, the supply of food will go down and prices up. As @billbindc says, governments fall rather quickly when food prices get out of control. I think the Russians are hoping the rest of the world will put increasingly more pressure on Ukraine to accept a ceasefire to stabilize the price of food.
    If you have a garden at home, or room for even a few plants, it is not too late to plant a few more rows or a couple of extra tomato plants. Every extra pound of food you can grow for yourself this season, will not only secure your food supply, it will free up food for those who can't grow their own.
  13. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from Homo_Ferricus in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    I think this is part of the wider strategy behind blowing the dam. @Haiduk has posted twice in the past 24 hours the Russians are trying to blow up the ammonia pipeline. This pipeline provides ammonia for fertilizer. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/how-un-plan-russian-ammonia-export-could-help-global-fertiliser-market-2022-09-14/
    The reservoir currently draining through the blown dam provides the irrigation water to 80% of Ukraine's irrigated crop land. 
    So if the fertilizer supply is impacted and prices for fertilizer go up, either the price for crops needs to increase to cover the extra expense or farmers will use less fertilizer and yields will decrease. Either way, the consumer will pay more for food. With the water supply for irrigation impacted until the dam can be repaired, the supply of food will go down and prices up. As @billbindc says, governments fall rather quickly when food prices get out of control. I think the Russians are hoping the rest of the world will put increasingly more pressure on Ukraine to accept a ceasefire to stabilize the price of food.
    If you have a garden at home, or room for even a few plants, it is not too late to plant a few more rows or a couple of extra tomato plants. Every extra pound of food you can grow for yourself this season, will not only secure your food supply, it will free up food for those who can't grow their own.
  14. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from dan/california in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    I think this is part of the wider strategy behind blowing the dam. @Haiduk has posted twice in the past 24 hours the Russians are trying to blow up the ammonia pipeline. This pipeline provides ammonia for fertilizer. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/how-un-plan-russian-ammonia-export-could-help-global-fertiliser-market-2022-09-14/
    The reservoir currently draining through the blown dam provides the irrigation water to 80% of Ukraine's irrigated crop land. 
    So if the fertilizer supply is impacted and prices for fertilizer go up, either the price for crops needs to increase to cover the extra expense or farmers will use less fertilizer and yields will decrease. Either way, the consumer will pay more for food. With the water supply for irrigation impacted until the dam can be repaired, the supply of food will go down and prices up. As @billbindc says, governments fall rather quickly when food prices get out of control. I think the Russians are hoping the rest of the world will put increasingly more pressure on Ukraine to accept a ceasefire to stabilize the price of food.
    If you have a garden at home, or room for even a few plants, it is not too late to plant a few more rows or a couple of extra tomato plants. Every extra pound of food you can grow for yourself this season, will not only secure your food supply, it will free up food for those who can't grow their own.
  15. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato reacted to billbindc in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    Do not underestimate how badly this will be taken in New Delhi and Beijing…not to mention the rest of the world that depends on cheap wheat. They are going to be about as unhappy about this as they would about anything short of a reactor accident or a tactical nuke. Governments fall from high food prices. Dependable price trends get a shock…again. It seems clear to me that the Russians are panicking, that the regime is in disarray and that an air of desperation has set in…which is why they did this…but there’s no way they would not try to pass the buck.
  16. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato reacted to Ultradave in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    Sure I remember. That was the RBMK reactors like at Chernobyl. They had a "positive temperature coefficient"  or  "positive reactivity coefficient" (those mean the same thing) meaning that as temperatures in the coolant increase, the nuclear reaction rate increases, which increases temperature, which increases nuclear reaction rate.....  you can see where that leads. HOWEVER, this is not the design of these reactors. These are more "typical" reactors that have a "negative temperature coefficient".  Reaction rate decreases as water temperature increases. Should be obvious that that is beneficial and is how most reactors are designed. I believe RBMK reactors were the way they were for weapons materials production, for one thing. They also had no containment, which the Russians justified by their strict operating procedures preventing accidents. Ironically, Chernobyl's root cause was a) the violation of multiple operating procedures and parameters, b) running an unapproved test procedure, c) lack of understanding by the operators of the physics of the plant and the indications they were receiving (those are related). 
    It's nothing to do with steam by the way. (probably the translation or lack of accurate knowledge by the original writer). It's water. Steam is transparent to neutrons so really has no effect on reaction rate, other than if you've got steam in the core you've got NO cooling, which is of course, very bad. Steam flow is an incredibly poor heat transfer mechanism. Steam is the RESULT of efficient heat transfer.
    In my qualification training (18 months) to be licensed for start up testing of US Navy reactor plants one things was drilled into us (well, many things, but) That was "Believe your indications and act on them".  If you have an indication of something going wrong and you take all the steps to shutdown and "put the plant is a safe condition" (that's the key words), you can't go wrong. You may waste time if it turns out to be faulty indicators, but you won't break the plant or kill someone. Our motto in the shipyard nuclear test organization - "When in doubt, shut it down"   An operating sub doesn't necessarily have that option, but many times they do, and that's the reason why we build and test them so well, so that it doesn't come up.
    I have had to argue that point a few times with my upper management. "I was there. I had the watch. My decision."    I mean, it's the entire reason they spend 18 months and who knows how many $$ to license us!
    Dave
     
  17. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato reacted to Ultradave in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    The head of the IAEA said that the cooling water in the separate pond/lake, which is pumped from the reservoir, is sufficient for many months at least, since all the reactors are in cold shutdown. They have the ability to pump more water from the river until the river level gets TO ~12.7m. That's much more than dropping 2m.
    The media can stop their breathless reporting of imminent nuclear disaster, another Fukushima, etc. Might have been a good idea for the various media to actually ask some experts first, specifically the IAEA which has been keeping a very close eye on the power plant status since the beginning of the conflict.
    Not sure how many people know the intricate workings of a nuclear plant but that pond water does not go in and out of the reactor. In 2 sentences, it's used for the secondary side of heat exchangers that cool the water that is in a closed circuit circulating through the core. It's "clean" water, and not exposed to radioactive contamination.

    Dave
    [edited] I listened to his statement and thought he said 2.7m. The written statement says 12.7m. In any case, that refers to directly pumping water for cooling, and the cooling pond is still there and good for months of cooling.
  18. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato reacted to chris talpas in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    Another non-paywalled article about the high water levels.  Also mentions the nuclear plant.  
    https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwid98OQ1a3_AhW8kIkEHTDRBBsQFnoECAoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ctvnews.ca%2Fworld%2Fdamage-to-russian-occupied-dam-submerges-ukrainian-reservoir-island-community-1.6412661&usg=AOvVaw3o9EEQ8rTJDvLdC82gwCrB
     
  19. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato reacted to Bulletpoint in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    They caught them with their Pantsir-S down.
     
    Ok, sorry.
  20. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato reacted to Haiduk in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    Oh, sh....t. 3:30 of night now and next mass ballistic strike on Kyiv was 20 minutes ago. It was VERY loud and reportedly over left-bank districts of the city. About two dozens explosions. Preliminary Iskanders, launched from Klintsy area, Briansk oblast. Looks like all were intercepted. I think, more details will be at the morning. Well, I should try to sleep after THIS.
  21. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato reacted to Haiduk in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    This is residental building in Kyiv, being struck by Shakhed this night. 1 killed woman (she came to balcony to look how AD work and in this monent the drone hit the house) and 22 injured settlers. 

    The city was attacked yesterday three times throughout of 24 hours (Shakeds + Kh-101, then Iskanders, then Shakheds again). Most dangerous attack Russians conducted at 11:00 of morning, when many people already were on streets on foot, in cars or in public transport. 11 ballistic missiles and cruise missiles Iskander-M/ Iskander-K where launched. My "aerophobia" of Feb2022 turned back, when I heard multiple missile sounds over my house. Well, then I read theses were Patriots... They intercepted all missiles again, but their upper stages have been falling on streets, full of people. In was a God's lucky and protection - that only one citizen was wounded with these parts
    Here is how vere lucky, those, who drove along the road, when part of Petriot fell
    So, let Moscow burn. No mercy. 
  22. Like
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from A Canadian Cat in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    This is the transcript from an interview conducted on the CBC Radio program As it Happens. I heard it while out in the field the other evening  working ground. It doesn't offer anything new this group hasn't seen or heard yet but does show how the mainstream media in Canada is covering the story. CH stands for Chris Howden and NK for Nil Koksal, the hosts of the show.
    RUSSIA INTERNAL ATTACKS
    Guest: Ilya Ponomarev
    CH: Yesterday, a group of pro-Ukrainian soldiers took the war home to Russia. The Free Russia Legion is a paramilitary group claiming to be made up of Russian volunteers who have taken up arms for Ukraine. They crossed the border and seized villages in the Belgorod region of Southern Russia. Today, the Russian Ministry of Defence said the forces had been pushed back across the border. But members of the Legion say they're still in Russian territory. And they intend to stay there. Ilya Ponomarev is a former Russian politician who now lives in Ukraine. He says he's the political representative of the Free Russia Legion. We reached him in Kyiv.
    NK: Ilya, the Russian government is saying that it has pushed the Free Russia Legion soldiers out of Russian territory. Is that the truth?
    ILYA PONOMAREV: No, that's not true. That's not true. It's the other way around. The Legion of Freedom of Russia. And the Russian volunteer corps, they have liberated more territories. Right now, all together, the frontline there in Belgorod region already is wider than 40 kilometres.
    NK: What kind of resistance, if any, are they meeting? Can you, can you paint a picture for us of, of what they're doing and what kind of resistance they're facing?
    IP: Right now, this resistance looks very much disorganized. Because the original resistance that was put during the initial put was crushed. Right now, there are helicopters, attack helicopters, flying, and they're getting more and more units around. But the question is that police officers and all other, like, internal forces, they are, they are not fighting. They are very, very reluctant. They're afraid. And they rather tend to flee. So, right now, they are mobilizing the 74th Brigade of, of Russian armed forces, which they are relocating from Ukraine. And that, that would be a more serious thing to me. But still, it's equipped with a lot of mobilized troops which are not very efficient in fighting as we saw in Ukraine.
    NK: At this stage, so if I'm understanding you correctly, your soldiers are meeting a disorganized group of Russians, is what you're saying? In some cases, they're running away from you?
    IP: Yes. So, quite a lot. And the Russian military were all obviously not ready for this attack. They were thinking that because there is international consensus that Ukraine should not attack Russian territory, that they have nothing to fear. And so, all the capable forces, they already relocated to Ukraine. And because right now, it's not Ukrainians who are attacking Russia, it's Russians. And Russians did not make any deals with the West. So, they're liberating its own soil, its own country, and they're off the limits. And that's actually the main military meaning of this attack that Russia would have to relocate forces back from Ukraine. And that would obviously help Ukrainian offensive.
    NK: Are you doing this with the permission and support of Ukraine?
    IP: I would rather say with awareness of Ukrainian authorities, obviously, because the units are officially part of the international Legion, which is an integral part of Ukrainian army, but they are very much autonomous. And they planned this operation by themselves. They are doing the operation by themselves. And there is not a single Ukrainian soldier which is right now in Russia.
    NK: Many people might just be learning about Free Russia Legion as we're speaking, as they're listening to us speak. So, who are its members? Who do you represent?
    IP: The members have three different origin. One group, is former Russian military, which were sent to fight in the Ukraine, but which decided to switch sides because they were fooled by the Russian regime. There are POWs which were also captured, and then they realized that, again, Russian propaganda was telling them lies and they decided to join the Legion. So that's one group. The second group is Russians who are living in Ukraine, were married or was working in the Ukraine but didn't have Russian passports. But they wanted to defend Ukraine. And so, they volunteered to go into the army. And so, they were redirected to the Legion. And the third group are Russian political activists who, unlike many of their peers, who were just complaining about Putin, decided to put up a fight, and they went into Ukraine through European countries and joined the Legion. Basically, these are three equal groups.
    NK: What's their long-term goal there?
    IP: The long-term goal is to change the regime in Russia, to dismantle the empire, to build a new democratic country. But most importantly, it's to get rid of this system because they would not be satisfied if Ukraine would just liberate its territory, but the West would permit for somebody like Prime Minister Mishustin to stay in power. They want fundamental reform, and they want that Russia would never be an empire again.
    NK: Are you concerned that the Legion's operations might upset Ukraine's allies in the West and cause them to, to pull their support because they didn't want, you know, incursion into Russia?
    IP: First of all, we already heard what Americans are saying in this regard, and everything is fine here. But, at the end of the day, no other nation should prohibit Russians to fight for their own freedom in their own country. It's just not fair that Ukrainians are fighting for, fighting for a free Russia. And that's why I don't expect any of international allies to be able to say something against Russians. Go and fight against them.
    NK: What message is the Legion trying to send to Russia?
    IP: Join us. The repatriation is near, and we are capable of defeating this regime. It's not as dangerous as it seems. They are weak. They are about to fall. And we're coming.
    NK: Ilya, thank you for your time.
    IP: Thank you for having me.
    CH: Ilya Ponomarev is a former Russian politician who calls himself the political representative of the Free Russia Legion, which launched attacks inside Russia yesterday. He's in Kyiv.
  23. Upvote
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from DerKommissar in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    This is the transcript from an interview conducted on the CBC Radio program As it Happens. I heard it while out in the field the other evening  working ground. It doesn't offer anything new this group hasn't seen or heard yet but does show how the mainstream media in Canada is covering the story. CH stands for Chris Howden and NK for Nil Koksal, the hosts of the show.
    RUSSIA INTERNAL ATTACKS
    Guest: Ilya Ponomarev
    CH: Yesterday, a group of pro-Ukrainian soldiers took the war home to Russia. The Free Russia Legion is a paramilitary group claiming to be made up of Russian volunteers who have taken up arms for Ukraine. They crossed the border and seized villages in the Belgorod region of Southern Russia. Today, the Russian Ministry of Defence said the forces had been pushed back across the border. But members of the Legion say they're still in Russian territory. And they intend to stay there. Ilya Ponomarev is a former Russian politician who now lives in Ukraine. He says he's the political representative of the Free Russia Legion. We reached him in Kyiv.
    NK: Ilya, the Russian government is saying that it has pushed the Free Russia Legion soldiers out of Russian territory. Is that the truth?
    ILYA PONOMAREV: No, that's not true. That's not true. It's the other way around. The Legion of Freedom of Russia. And the Russian volunteer corps, they have liberated more territories. Right now, all together, the frontline there in Belgorod region already is wider than 40 kilometres.
    NK: What kind of resistance, if any, are they meeting? Can you, can you paint a picture for us of, of what they're doing and what kind of resistance they're facing?
    IP: Right now, this resistance looks very much disorganized. Because the original resistance that was put during the initial put was crushed. Right now, there are helicopters, attack helicopters, flying, and they're getting more and more units around. But the question is that police officers and all other, like, internal forces, they are, they are not fighting. They are very, very reluctant. They're afraid. And they rather tend to flee. So, right now, they are mobilizing the 74th Brigade of, of Russian armed forces, which they are relocating from Ukraine. And that, that would be a more serious thing to me. But still, it's equipped with a lot of mobilized troops which are not very efficient in fighting as we saw in Ukraine.
    NK: At this stage, so if I'm understanding you correctly, your soldiers are meeting a disorganized group of Russians, is what you're saying? In some cases, they're running away from you?
    IP: Yes. So, quite a lot. And the Russian military were all obviously not ready for this attack. They were thinking that because there is international consensus that Ukraine should not attack Russian territory, that they have nothing to fear. And so, all the capable forces, they already relocated to Ukraine. And because right now, it's not Ukrainians who are attacking Russia, it's Russians. And Russians did not make any deals with the West. So, they're liberating its own soil, its own country, and they're off the limits. And that's actually the main military meaning of this attack that Russia would have to relocate forces back from Ukraine. And that would obviously help Ukrainian offensive.
    NK: Are you doing this with the permission and support of Ukraine?
    IP: I would rather say with awareness of Ukrainian authorities, obviously, because the units are officially part of the international Legion, which is an integral part of Ukrainian army, but they are very much autonomous. And they planned this operation by themselves. They are doing the operation by themselves. And there is not a single Ukrainian soldier which is right now in Russia.
    NK: Many people might just be learning about Free Russia Legion as we're speaking, as they're listening to us speak. So, who are its members? Who do you represent?
    IP: The members have three different origin. One group, is former Russian military, which were sent to fight in the Ukraine, but which decided to switch sides because they were fooled by the Russian regime. There are POWs which were also captured, and then they realized that, again, Russian propaganda was telling them lies and they decided to join the Legion. So that's one group. The second group is Russians who are living in Ukraine, were married or was working in the Ukraine but didn't have Russian passports. But they wanted to defend Ukraine. And so, they volunteered to go into the army. And so, they were redirected to the Legion. And the third group are Russian political activists who, unlike many of their peers, who were just complaining about Putin, decided to put up a fight, and they went into Ukraine through European countries and joined the Legion. Basically, these are three equal groups.
    NK: What's their long-term goal there?
    IP: The long-term goal is to change the regime in Russia, to dismantle the empire, to build a new democratic country. But most importantly, it's to get rid of this system because they would not be satisfied if Ukraine would just liberate its territory, but the West would permit for somebody like Prime Minister Mishustin to stay in power. They want fundamental reform, and they want that Russia would never be an empire again.
    NK: Are you concerned that the Legion's operations might upset Ukraine's allies in the West and cause them to, to pull their support because they didn't want, you know, incursion into Russia?
    IP: First of all, we already heard what Americans are saying in this regard, and everything is fine here. But, at the end of the day, no other nation should prohibit Russians to fight for their own freedom in their own country. It's just not fair that Ukrainians are fighting for, fighting for a free Russia. And that's why I don't expect any of international allies to be able to say something against Russians. Go and fight against them.
    NK: What message is the Legion trying to send to Russia?
    IP: Join us. The repatriation is near, and we are capable of defeating this regime. It's not as dangerous as it seems. They are weak. They are about to fall. And we're coming.
    NK: Ilya, thank you for your time.
    IP: Thank you for having me.
    CH: Ilya Ponomarev is a former Russian politician who calls himself the political representative of the Free Russia Legion, which launched attacks inside Russia yesterday. He's in Kyiv.
  24. Thanks
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from Shadrach in General new computer purchase advice needed   
    @danfrodo I hope I am not too late with this info but here goes. All the advice in this thread has been about graphics cards but nobody said anything about CPU. CM shines on CPU with a high single thread performance rating. When I bought my new computer three years ago, I used the following website to compare off the shelf pre-built computers and selected the one with the best cpu and graphics card I could afford. My cpu has a score of around 3000, smashing my old score of 950. 
    https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html
     
  25. Like
    Heirloom_Tomato got a reaction from danfrodo in General new computer purchase advice needed   
    @danfrodo I hope I am not too late with this info but here goes. All the advice in this thread has been about graphics cards but nobody said anything about CPU. CM shines on CPU with a high single thread performance rating. When I bought my new computer three years ago, I used the following website to compare off the shelf pre-built computers and selected the one with the best cpu and graphics card I could afford. My cpu has a score of around 3000, smashing my old score of 950. 
    https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html
     
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