Yuri Borisov new head of Roscosmos

[Budge]

Andrei Martyanov indicates just how momentous of a move this is:

"A huge event: a removal of Rogozin from the position of the head of a mighty Roscosmos and appointment of Yuri Borisov to this post. This event created a major splash in Russian media with people immediately beginning to speculate that now Russian space program will begin to focus more on military applications (in Russian). But let's recall who Yuri Borisov is--yes, he is one of the major driving forces behind modernization and rearmament of Russian Armed Forces which underwent fast and dramatic update which turned them into arguably best fighting force of today. Borisov's role in this is huge, to put it mildly.

Borisov is one of those military-technological, engineering and organization geniuses who are a very rare breed and seldom appear at the highest levels of political power. It is especially true for modern military-industrial complex of any superpower, because huge swaths of those complexes are in effect dual technologies producing industries. Borisov was instrumental in turning Russian military-industrial complex into R&D and manufacturing powerhouse it is today. Moreover, Borisov is a former cadre military, a general, with military academy behind his belt. Him, taking the command of Roskosmos may mean very many things and all of them good for Russia. Remember, it was on Borisov's watch that the Russian Armed Forces started to deploy some extremely advanced weapon system, many of which have no analogues in the West. Some--never will. In other words, Borisov is a specialist in the most advanced military and dual use technologies and bringing them to serial production."

https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/0 ... -post.html

[SOL]

Andrei Martyanov indicates just how momentous of a move this is:

"A huge event: a removal of Rogozin from the position of the head of a mighty Roscosmos and appointment of Yuri Borisov to this post. This event created a major splash in Russian media with people immediately beginning to speculate that now Russian space program will begin to focus more on military applications (in Russian). But let's recall who Yuri Borisov is--yes, he is one of the major driving forces behind modernization and rearmament of Russian Armed Forces which underwent fast and dramatic update which turned them into arguably best fighting force of today. Borisov's role in this is huge, to put it mildly.

Borisov is one of those military-technological, engineering and organization geniuses who are a very rare breed and seldom appear at the highest levels of political power. It is especially true for modern military-industrial complex of any superpower, because huge swaths of those complexes are in effect dual technologies producing industries. Borisov was instrumental in turning Russian military-industrial complex into R&D and manufacturing powerhouse it is today. Moreover, Borisov is a former cadre military, a general, with military academy behind his belt. Him, taking the command of Roskosmos may mean very many things and all of them good for Russia. Remember, it was on Borisov's watch that the Russian Armed Forces started to deploy some extremely advanced weapon system, many of which have no analogues in the West. Some--never will. In other words, Borisov is a specialist in the most advanced military and dual use technologies and bringing them to serial production."

https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/0 ... -post.html

This is quite a big deal as the dude is both Nerd and a military specialist. He knows the battlefield and he understands hi-tech. I agree I suspect some big announcement will be made in terms of new weapons.

[Yodean]

*****

No military general or weapon may stand against the power of the global reserve currency. Even Sun Tzu will have to take the knee against King USD, at least for now.

This is going to force a lot of countries to go begging to the IMF (subsidiary of the USA) for financial assistance (a.k.a. slavery), as well as choose sides, between the Angry Bear and the Bald Eagle.

Most are scrambling for USD (eurodollar loans), including China. Xi may use to the zero cv19 policy to decrease domestic inflation as well as decrease imports (thereby conserving his supply of USD), but this ain't gonna work forever ...

The true war - the WOC, or War Of Currencies - is heading into a new, more violent phase.

[SOL]

No military general or weapon may stand against the power of the global reserve currency. Even Sun Tzu will have to take the knee against King USD, at least for now.

This is going to force a lot of countries to go begging to the IMF (subsidiary of the USA) for financial assistance (a.k.a. slavery), as well as choose sides, between the Angry Bear and the Bald Eagle.

Most are scrambling for USD (eurodollar loans), including China. Xi may use to the zero cv19 policy to decrease domestic inflation as well as decrease imports (thereby conserving his supply of USD), but this ain't gonna work forever ...

The true war - the WOC, or War Of Currencies - is heading into a new, more violent phase.

The USD dollar against the Ruble is an even match because of Russia's military might and because it is self-sufficient when it comes to its basic needs and in many hi-tech areas (their aerospace industry is possibly on a more advanced trajectory than ours). You are also missing something. Countries could just give the USD, the IMF the world bank the middle finger and refuse to pay. When people are starving and they need food, not dollars, to feed people, they will turn to Russia and other BRIC countries and set up new deals. Imagine being freed from the predatory IMF and world bank loans. We expect Argentina and a host of nations in Africa to say Adios. There will be two parallel universes, the West ruled by the US well as long as the EU continues to Bow to the US and the new upcoming BRIC plus nations industrial/commodity complex, and in this area, the dollar will start to lose its value. The USD is winning so much because the US has destroyed Europe and it's winning at Europe's expense. Those that buy property now in Turkey (as its being almost given away) and countries near Russia (too difficult for the average person to buy in Russia) like Armenia will 10X to 15X over the next decade


Note also that the dollar is expected to put in long term top in 2023 that could turn out to be a multi-year and possible Multi-decade top. It's in the process of putting a shorter term top now

[Yodean]

The USD dollar against the Ruble is an even match because of Russia's military might and because it is self-sufficient when it comes to its basic needs and in many hi-tech areas (their aerospace industry is possibly on a more advanced trajectory than ours). You are also missing something. Countries could just give the USD, the IMF the world bank the middle finger and refuse to pay. When people are starving and they need food, not dollars, to feed people, they will turn to Russia and other BRIC countries and set up new deals. Imagine being freed from the predatory IMF and world bank loans. We expect Argentina and a host of nations in Africa to say Adios. There will be two parallel universes, the West ruled by the US well as long as the EU continues to Bow to the US and the new upcoming BRIC plus nations industrial/commodity complex, and in this area, the dollar will start to lose its value. The USD is winning so much because the US has destroyed Europe and it's winning at Europe's expense. Those that buy property now in Turkey (as its being almost given away) and countries near Russia (too difficult for the average person to buy in Russia) like Armenia will 10X to 15X over the next decade


Note also that the dollar is expected to put in long term top in 2023 that could turn out to be a multi-year and possible Multi-decade top. It's in the process of putting a shorter term top now

I actually hope you are right about this. The IMF and the people behind them have done a lot of harm, to put it mildly.

My 2c atm:

-we won't really know how strong the ruble is until it trades more openly and freely on the currency exchanges, i.e. when capital controls are more or less removed, and people and institutions in Russia are free to take out and transfer their foreign currency assets; until then, the ruble is a bit of a question mark for me, i.e. an expensive and popular arcade token;

-the IMF and the PTBs behind it don't give up that easily, generally speaking - if a country wants to default or refuse to pay, the IMF will try to restructure the current debt obligations to even more favourable terms for itself, etc. - almost like rolling forward a losing Wheel trade, lol; I suspect a lot of countries will follow this route; after all, politicians are easily bought, sold, and assassinated these days;

-the dollar consolidating and then going down a bit will actually put less pressure - in terms of eurodollar loans, debt, interest, etc. - on those countries with large exposure to eurodollar debt; so the USD going down a bit (or a lot) may actually prolong USD hegemony as the GRC, in my mind;

-Russia's military is very good at defense and in the areas surrounding its borders, but it doesn't have the reach and defense (offense) budget that the U.S. military has; this proxy war between the U.S.A. and Russia taking place in Ukraine and likely soon to spread to surrounding areas is starting to consume a lot of Russian resources; the U.S.A. may also continually strike from the shadows by supplying Ukrainians (and others soon to be involved in the future) with advanced military technology suited for asymmetric warfare;

-for example, my understanding is the Russian Air Force hasn't been able to participate as effectively in the current conflict as one would have expected because of the U.S. supplying Ukrainian military with AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) information, among other technology and intelligence; this doesn't mean Russia hasn't more or less effectively won, but it does mean that each step Russia takes in the region will be increasingly costly;

[SOL]

-Russia's military is very good at defense and in the areas surrounding its borders, but it doesn't have the reach and defense (offense) budget that the U.S. military has; this proxy war between the U.S.A. and Russia taking place in Ukraine and likely soon to spread to surrounding areas is starting to consume a lot of Russian resources; the U.S.A. may also continually strike from the shadows by supplying Ukrainians (and others soon to be involved in the future) with advanced military technology suited for asymmetric warfare;

-for example, my understanding is the Russian Air Force hasn't been able to participate as effectively in the current conflict as one would have expected because of the U.S. supplying Ukrainian military with AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) information, among other technology and intelligence; this doesn't mean Russia hasn't more or less effectively won, but it does mean that each step Russia takes in the region will be increasingly costly;

First, I would like to state that I am not here to defend Russia for the sake of defending it (this does not apply to you but to new subscribers). I and at the TI follow trends, so we defend the trend, not the country, currency, etc. I think this war is a tragedy; if it could end yesterday, it would be the best thing that could happen.

Having said that, I suspect something big will happen in the Donbas area within the next 1-6 weeks.

You know that Russia is using less than 10% of its troops. and 190K Russian Soldiers went against almost a 600K strong Ukrainian Army. When the US attacked Iraq, they outnumbered the Iraquis soldiers. Usually, when you go on the offensive, you want an advantage of 3 to 1. Russia started with a disadvantage of 1 to 3; this is unheard of in military warfare. To date, Ukraine has not managed to take back anything major town or city that Russia captured.

They are firing 60K shells a day. To give you an idea of how much this is. The US fired less than 60K shells at the Iraquis throughout the whole war.

Russians fight a War of Attrition. They grind the enemy down while destroying all supply lines, weapons storage, air defence systems and military aircraft so that the enemy now has very few assets to protect them when they try to go on the offensive. You need Air power when you go on the offensive and seriously artillery. Once it has taken out all those defences, it unleashes its artillery from afar and grinds the enemy down.

Look at how they fought the Persians, Napoleon Bonaparte and a host of other wars; in each case, they destroyed enemies that appeared to be superior. A fascinating battle was the battle of Stalingrad. This was a bloody battle but one the Russians won against Hitler, which turned the tide against Germany.

You cannot apply western Military doctrine to Russian warfare; if you do, you will always arrive at the wrong conclusion. If you are firing 60K shells daily, you are not running out of resources. Chess is a game of strategy. The west likes to Play Rambo, Rambo wins in movies, but in a real fight, he would be dead in a few minutes.

One last thing everyone has it wrong about Russia and China. Russia can survive without China, but China cannot without Russia, for they don't have the firepower to deal with America. The US Is top-notch when it comes to submarine power. China has nothing to deal with this. Effectively the US could use these subs to blockade China. Russia is the only country that can match the US sub-force, especially now that the Poisedon drone is operational. Hence while China has economic might, they don't have military might, and it will take another 15 years for them to catch up, but by that time, Russia and possibly the US will have advanced again. China needs Russia a lot more because without Russia the US can grind them down.

[Yodean]

Look at how they fought the Persians, Napoleon Bonaparte and a host of other wars; in each case, they destroyed enemies that appeared to be superior. A fascinating battle was the battle of Stalingrad. This was a bloody battle but one the Russians won against Hitler, which turned the tide against Germany.

You cannot apply western Military doctrine to Russian warfare; if you do, you will always arrive at the wrong conclusion. If you are firing 60K shells daily, you are not running out of resources. Chess is a game of strategy. The west likes to Play Rambo, Rambo wins in movies, but in a real fight, he would be dead in a few minutes.

Fwiw, I was my high school's chess champ at an early age for a brief period of time before quitting after getting bored with playing, and when the hormones kicked in in earnest, my priorities changed to chasing girls and playing sports. So yeah, know a fair bit about various military tactics and strategy, both on and off the chessboard.

Haven't studied the end of WW2 or Bonaparte's disastrous foray into Russia in any detail, but my understanding is that the infamous Russian winter played a huge role in both instances, as well as disease, lack of supplies, poor decision-making by commanders, etc. Not sure superior Russian military tactics were the only reasons for the outcomes. Also, in general it's much easier to play defense than offense. From my dim recollection, Russia lost a lot of men in the battle of Stalingrad. By that time the German war machine was already running low on resources and morale.

[Tactical Bob]

Yes,
Because of the incessant bombing of Germany
by the US Army Air Corps and the Royal Air Force.
The Russians managed to hang on because of this.
If it was just Russia vs. Germany they would have
been toast.
The Soviets didn’t fare too well against a much smaller
opponent in Finland.
Just sayin’.
I seem to sense a large amount of anti-American
bias from some people on this forum.

[SOL]

We can all agree that war is terrible, there are no real winners, only nations that lose less, but everyone loses. This war was stupid and did not have to happen, but it did for many stupid reasons, and it's pointless to point fingers for there is no going back. The only decent outcome now would be for the war to end ASAP. Sadly, I don't think that will happen, but sometimes it is nice to hope.

As they say, time will tell, and we will all have a clearer picture a few months from now. Let's hope this war does not draw in other nations.

As for Anti-American sentiment, I don't think that is a big issue; the big issue is Anti Stupid American Government sentiment. The American government and the people are different. For a long time now, the US government has been going against the majority's wishes. The problem is the US government and the industrial war machine complex, not the average American.

[stefk]

Just two facts about Russia and Russians.

In 19th century, the most powerful army of this time invaded Russia, and the result was a disaster for la grande armée.

https://education.nationalgeographic.or ... des-russia

In 20th century, the most powerful army of this time invaded Russia, and the result was a disaster for the wehrmacht.

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/ ... -june-1941

[Yodean]

I seem to sense a large amount of anti-American
bias from some people on this forum.

Well, I pretty much despise all governments, really. The U.S. is the most powerful one atm and for the foreseeable future, so it's an obvious target for my ramblings.



Every dominant empire throughout history does its share of bullying, propaganda, etc., especially near tops.

I'd trade the current Canadian Prime Minster Justin for Brandon, straight up, in a heartbeat. Even better if BoJo would come over and take over Canada.

For me, in politics, it's always about choosing the lesser of two great evils. No exceptions.

Voting = choosing the friendliest, least rapacious mafioso leader who will steal from you the least, and hopefully not maim you too much.

[MarkD]

There ain't no way I'd trade Grandpa for Turdo. That clown needs to stay away. We know how out of touch GPa is and can't wait for him to pass, away.

[Yodean]

There ain't no way I'd trade Grandpa for Turdo. That clown needs to stay away. We know how out of touch GPa is and can't wait for him to pass, away.

Dude, you haven't met Justin Trudeau ... Brandon's an unmitigated Jesus relative to the current Canadian PM ... what are you, on drugs?!

[AstuteShift]

If only you could throw away grandpa and dude Castro jr….along with Winnie the Pooh. The raw honey getting too expensive, he needs methylene blue from SOL lol

[Yodean]

If only you could throw away grandpa and dude Castro jr….along with Winnie the Pooh. The raw honey getting too expensive, he needs methylene blue from SOL lol

The problem always is "the devil you know vs. the devil you don't."

Even if Xi is ended somehow (unlikely), who replaces him? Prolly someone nastier.

As for Justin - hard to see anyone worse, but it's not impossible. There's not even any real "controlled opposition" in Canada, as far as politics are concerned - even the so-called "Right/Conservatives/Tories" are really just watered-down Neo-marxists.

In politics, you generally replace one a*sshole with a less-hygienic one, when all is said (much) and done (none).

Interesting stuff in Italian politics atm ...