Interesting Links for 17-03-2022

[andrewducker]

Why comments are usually terrible, and how to make them better

(tags:comments web )

I can see 29 distinct colours. How about you?

(tags:colour eyes genetics )

The happiness of love turns to sadness when unspent.

(tags:love dogs death sadness grief )

Disney employees are staging walkouts over company's response to the 'Don't Say Gay' bill

(tags:Disney LGBT )

Ukraine-Russia peace talks make significant progress as 15-point plan to end war drawn up by officials

(tags:Ukraine Russia war )

Americans overestimate how big minorities are (I'd be very surprised if Brits didn't think the same)

(tags:USA minorities polls demographics viaJennieRigg )

His software sang the words of God. Then it went silent.

(tags:Jews singing religion computers death lgbt )

UK sets out action plan to tackle inequality based on recommendations from a commission that concluded there was no systemic racism in Britain.

(tags:UK racism )

Why Russians Support Putin's War Against Ukrainians

(tags:Russia Ukraine war polls )

France ends gas heaters subsidies, boosts heat pumps in bid to cut Russia reliance

(tags:France heating electricity Russia )

Russian war in Ukraine 'largely stalled on all fronts', UK claims

(tags:russia ukraine )

In-flight surgery with a coat-hanger and silverware

(tags:surgery airplanes )

Comments

[andrewducker]

Oh, I don't think they can get Crimea back just now. And I think that would be overextending themselves significantly.

But I wouldn't sign up to lose any more bits. And I'd backstab Russia over any kind of "No NATO" as fast as I safely could.

[danieldwilliam]

I don't think "as fast as I safely could" exists so long as Russia is able to negotiate Ukraine not joining NATO.

If Russia can insist today on Ukraine not joining Russia then they then still have great power status and we have lost the one chance we will have to remove it from them.

If they are left with any bargaining positioning (other than the threat of the use of nuclear weapons) at the end of this conflict they are going to remove the ability of the West to hurt them through sanctions and then try again for Ukraine, and the probably the Baltics states.

The best way to get an organisation to change is to give it an existential scare but then leave it intact to reform itself.

[andrewducker]

Yup. Russia wouldn't be bargaining if it thought it could actually win this. And if we give it to them then I think that would be a mistake.

But promising that you'll do something while the enemy are shelling your cities doesn't feel like something that should be binding.

I'm not actively convinced that they *can* remove the ability of the West to harm them through sanctions. I think that doing so would mean they were a much poorer state, and that this is further than they are willing to go in the long term. (A few months, sure, but permanently moving to that?)