Interesting Links for 28-12-2022

[andrewducker]

1. If you want to understand why Russia has invaded various surrounding countries when it did, then this video about oil reserves should make it very clear

(tags:oil gas Russia Ukraine war video )

2. Other People - A short story about hell by Neil Gaiman

(tags:neilgaiman short_story hell )

3. Putin gives eight gold rings to presidents of CIS countries, keeps ninth

(tags:Russia lotr )

4. The USA has the worst companies and regulations of all rich nations: airline edition

(tags:USA OhForFucksSake airplanes regulation )

Comments

[nancylebov]

For a different emphasis about Russia, Peter Zeihan (a big name information guy/pundit) wouldn't disagree about energy, but he hammers on two other points. Russia is extremely vulnerable to invasion. There's a bunch of flat land surrounding it that armies can just roll over. The USSR controlled all the "gates" (I forget, there's something like 7 or 9 of them), and Putin wants them back.

The other thing is demography. Russia has a very low birth rate, so Zeihan thinks Putin thought it was now or never for having enough people to do an invasion. This is looking for a demographic disaster for Russia, and I don't know what the reasonable expectations are for the effects.

[poshmerchant]

My take on that is that Russia is an unreformed colonial empire that has no business continuing to exist as an empire

British Empire, 1914: 29,500,000 km^2
Russian Empire, 1914: 22,800,000 km^2
Britain, 2022: 00,200,000 km^2
Russia, 2022: 17,100,000 km^2

[andrewducker]

I wouldn't disagree. There are countries which fundamentally only hold together because of force. China may well be another.

[bens_dad]

3. How many rings were there in LoTR ? I did not think it was 8+1.

So he has five out of seven 'stans in his pocket. No wonder the Russians have been keen to take Afganistan on their way to the full set.

(Pakistan is out to one side and Uzbekistan is surrounded by the other five. Come to think of it P is a fall of British Empire invention, is it a real 'stan ?)

[andrewducker]

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

I'm definitely not qualified to judge a countries stanliness.

[calimac]

It doesn't entirely match up with LotR, no. Sauron had a set of nine rings, gave them all out, controlled them with the One which was not part of the set. Putin had a set of nine rings, gave out eight, kept one.

But it's close enough to be another illustration of just how bad Putin is at public presentation of himself, something Zelensky is uncannily good at.

[doubtingmichael]

It is my opinion that Other People has a happy ending, once you've read it twice. Maybe it would be more accurate to call it an open ending, though.

[andrewducker]

I'm not sure "happy", but certainly one where the main character has achieved that level of breakthrough and acceptance must at least be considered a positive one in some sense.

[doubtingmichael]

Yes. And I think when they have finished their last duty (of bringing about that breakthrough in themself), they are then allowed to move on to something better. (It seems unlikely that they just cease to exist.)