War in Ukraine

I really didnt think so..I imagine something like FLIR, Sniper, or DAS. Now EW..I would like to pick your little brain.
Funny story from years ago. We had our arms buried up to our elbows installing and instrumenting some equipment in a sensor bay when a secret squirrel type came up asking where some tool / thing was. I responded “I think I saw it lying up by your RDF antenna array (radio/radiation direction finder)” His face went flush and he said “how do you know what that device is! Who told you?!” to wit I replied “I’m an electrical engineer dumbass same as you. Based on the antenna spacing you want me to tell you what frequency region you’re snooping in too?” The discussion abruptly ended.
 
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Very little can take a real EMP hit anymore. The semiconductor base to draw from just isn’t setup for it. Like anything it can be done but it’s expensive and heavy. Two things airborne hardware don’t like to be.
That is rather unsettling. Even aircraft like F-16s drop nukes.
 
That is rather unsettling. Even aircraft like F-16s drop nukes.
It’s the scenario nobody wants to consider. Again yes there are applications which impose NBC requirements (nuclear, biological, chemical) but it’s never easy or cheap and really limits what you can do performance wise within a volume and weight limit.

I’ve never had to address NBC in my career. Weather events (lightning strike etc…) is the worse I’ve had to deal with and they are bad enough.
 
I guess BRICS isn't the new axis of free and fair trade where nations were going to do things right all the time.

What does price have to do with free and fair? How can you have a free and fair trade if parties are forced into agreements? (I can't read the article but the title just says price demands) I'm unsure as to the connection to BRICS per se.
 
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What does price have to do with free and fair? How can you have a free and fair trade if parties are forced into agreements? (I can't read the article but the title just says price demands) I'm unsure as to the connection to BRICS per se.
Russia and China are part of BRICS and this deal doesn't involve any of the other/western groups that would be able to get in there and meddle to make it not a BRICS deal.

I also couldn't read it, but it sounds like there was an agreed upon price to get the ball moving, and now before they have paid anything China wants Russia to drop the price. possibly to a point that makes all these new pipelines no longer profitable or desirable for Russia. its the exact same type of underhanded negiogating and price extortion that is demonized in the western run systems.

and for the record, this is EXACTLY what China has been doing all over the world. Promise a good deal. get buy in from the locals, get them to invest first. then when rubber hits the road, China renegotiates or doesn't come thru on their end. and the local nation is forced to either accept a now worthless piece of infrastructure that can't be used to the desired effect, and the spend funds; or they have to take a worse deal with China to salvage anything. bait & switch, price extortion, whatever you want to call it, its bad business and BRICS is not immune to it.
 
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Nothing says "success" like having to turn to the impoverished in foreign countries to try to get enough fodder for your meat wave attacks.



 
Russia and China are part of BRICS and this deal doesn't involve any of the other/western groups that would be able to get in there and meddle to make it not a BRICS deal.

I also couldn't read it, but it sounds like there was an agreed upon price to get the ball moving, and now before they have paid anything China wants Russia to drop the price. possibly to a point that makes all these new pipelines no longer profitable or desirable for Russia. its the exact same type of underhanded negiogating and price extortion that is demonized in the western run systems.

and for the record, this is EXACTLY what China has been doing all over the world. Promise a good deal. get buy in from the locals, get them to invest first. then when rubber hits the road, China renegotiates or doesn't come thru on their end. and the local nation is forced to either accept a now worthless piece of infrastructure that can't be used to the desired effect, and the spend funds; or they have to take a worse deal with China to salvage anything. bait & switch, price extortion, whatever you want to call it, its bad business and BRICS is not immune to it.

What does it have to do with BRICS? There are all types of trade and alliances throughout the world... Different countries have agreements and some agreements are not met. So, let me get this right.... if a company in a Euro country X doesn't get a deal done with country Y another Euro country that somehow does what? If company X in NAFTA doesn't get a deal done with a corporation Y in NAFTA that means what?

Nobody said BRICS was immune to anything. Just sounds like a deal didn't go thru because of prices. It happens 1000s of times a day all over the globe. Bigger deals you might hear about but other ones not so much. Heck, even the large deals you aren't going to hear about.

You have huge components to these pipeline deals, that involved x number of countries, x number of funding, x number of corporations, and x number of regulatory bodies. BRICS is just a loose framework to help its members better work together through other agreements. BRICS really isn't something that is new and I doubt anyone would say every deal is just going to magically go through, just like deals fail with the G7 corporations. 😂
 
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What does it have to do with BRICS? There are all types of trade and alliances throughout the world... Different countries have agreements and some agreements are not met. So, let me get this right.... if a company in a Euro country X doesn't get a deal done with country Y another Euro country that somehow does what? If company X in NAFTA doesn't get a deal done with a corporation Y in NAFTA that means what?

Nobody said BRICS was immune to anything. Just sounds like a deal didn't go thru because of prices. It happens 1000s of times a day all over the globe. Bigger deals you might hear about but other ones not so much. Heck, even the large deals you aren't going to hear about.

You have huge components to these pipeline deals, that involved x number of countries, x number of funding, x number of corporations, and x number of regulatory bodies. BRICS is just a loose framework to help its members better work together through other agreements. BRICS really isn't something that is new and I doubt anyone would say every deal is just going to magically go through, just like deals fail with the G7 corporations. 😂
You and Ras need to have a conversation. He thinks BRICS will bring about the end of the US economy and the Ruble will replace the US dollar as the standard currency of world trade.

The reality, as has been pointed out numerous times, is that BRICS poses no threat to US economic interests.
 
What does it have to do with BRICS? There are all types of trade and alliances throughout the world... Different countries have agreements and some agreements are not met. So, let me get this right.... if a company in a Euro country X doesn't get a deal done with country Y another Euro country that somehow does what? If company X in NAFTA doesn't get a deal done with a corporation Y in NAFTA that means what?

Nobody said BRICS was immune to anything. Just sounds like a deal didn't go thru because of prices. It happens 1000s of times a day all over the globe. Bigger deals you might hear about but other ones not so much. Heck, even the large deals you aren't going to hear about.

You have huge components to these pipeline deals, that involved x number of countries, x number of funding, x number of corporations, and x number of regulatory bodies. BRICS is just a loose framework to help its members better work together through other agreements. BRICS really isn't something that is new and I doubt anyone would say every deal is just going to magically go through, just like deals fail with the G7 corporations. 😂

Let me add "Russian natural gas exports" to your 'Dunning-Kruger' list of discussion topics.

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What does it have to do with BRICS? There are all types of trade and alliances throughout the world... Different countries have agreements and some agreements are not met. So, let me get this right.... if a company in a Euro country X doesn't get a deal done with country Y another Euro country that somehow does what? If company X in NAFTA doesn't get a deal done with a corporation Y in NAFTA that means what?

Nobody said BRICS was immune to anything. Just sounds like a deal didn't go thru because of prices. It happens 1000s of times a day all over the globe. Bigger deals you might hear about but other ones not so much. Heck, even the large deals you aren't going to hear about.

You have huge components to these pipeline deals, that involved x number of countries, x number of funding, x number of corporations, and x number of regulatory bodies. BRICS is just a loose framework to help its members better work together through other agreements. BRICS really isn't something that is new and I doubt anyone would say every deal is just going to magically go through, just like deals fail with the G7 corporations. 😂
but the point is that BRICS was thrown out there as this savior entity devoted to real trade and not subject to the same follies of whichever western group you want to throw out there.

now there is some revisionism going on saying that everyone can fail and its ok. when in the past, any time the west failed it was because of pure evil or corruption.

its just the constant avoidance from you guys applying an equal standard to things.
 
You and Ras need to have a conversation. He thinks BRICS will bring about the end of the US economy and the Ruble will replace the US dollar as the standard currency of world trade.

The reality, as has been pointed out numerous times, is that BRICS poses no threat to US economic interests.
Yet Ukraine does?
 
but the point is that BRICS was thrown out there as this savior entity devoted to real trade and not subject to the same follies of whichever western group you want to throw out there.

now there is some revisionism going on saying that everyone can fail and its ok. when in the past, any time the west failed it was because of pure evil or corruption.

its just the constant avoidance from you guys applying an equal standard to things.

Its a loose set of agreements to help member states out and to further cooperation, but even if it were some special thing... you are talking about an agreement among millions of agreements made every day. Maybe not at this scale though.

"you guys"

I don't know what you mean by "you guys", but I would say I don't understand the meaning of your post which I feel like I have explained enough. It simple looks like a deal failed due to pricing, but I fail to see some over broad approach that this should imply something else.
but the point is that BRICS was thrown out there as this savior entity devoted to real trade and not subject to the same follies of whichever western group you want to throw out there
I don't see how a failed deal address what you have above in anyway. It would be like saying the deal failed because the sky was blue that day. Cause and effect. The hope is that it gives member States the ability to cooperate with each other which in turn could give options outside of the G7 for instance.

BRICS does address some issues with international transfers via other means than SWIFT and such, which is what Russia has been setting up. Obviously, they are relying on some to that at the present time.

As far as the world currency status, which is what this is about... there is no magic there. If they go to new system than its onto RESET, which the Chinese commented on in 2008. Most of the member States will continue to rely on SWIFT and the federal reserve system as a means for trade or its onto RESET. I still don't see what your point is though.

"Hey guys, Netflix cancelled their $15 a month deal. The economy is doomed." I guess.
 
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You and Ras need to have a conversation. He thinks BRICS will bring about the end of the US economy and the Ruble will replace the US dollar as the standard currency of world trade.

The reality, as has been pointed out numerous times, is that BRICS poses no threat to US economic interests.

Well, if US's economy ends, its the end of the present system i.e. RESET. Its what the Chinese have been trying to get by since at least 2008 when they started making comments about it. Until RESET its a broad but loose set of agreements to help member states cooperate which in part is an attempt to work outside of SWIFT/Federal Reserve as much as possible.

If a very large portion of the world bypasses the global system than we go to RESET, BRICS can possibly help pick up the pieces but its hard to imagine what that looks like. Mad Max - Road Warrior?

Lots of people will have to go first i.e. liquidation.

In this particular instance, Russia has used components setup under BRICS to potentially offset the limited or non-access to SWIFT and other.

Basically, its time for RESET but nobody wants to pull the plug as billions (not $) will have to written off the balance sheet as there will be limited ability to maintain the under-performing assets.

If the Chinese wanted to doom the U.S. economy, that would be easy... just withdraw from SWIFT/global credit system within probably a few hours everyone's ATM stops working. Of course, 7+ billion people have a huge problem at that point.
 
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G7 to loan Ukraine $50B from the profits on Russian frozen assets. Approved.

Also, US and others sign commitment to support Ukraine for another 10 years in a move designed to negate a potential Trump victory this fall. Approved.

Good day all around.
 


A man walks past an information screen inside the office of the Moscow Exchange in Moscow

A man walks past an information screen inside the office of the Moscow Exchange in Moscow, Russia February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
  • SummaJune 12 (Reuters) - New U.S. sanctions against Russia have forced an immediate suspension of trading in dollars and euros on its leading financial marketplace, the Moscow Exchange (MOEX.MM), opens new tab.
The exchange and the central bank rushed out statements on Wednesday - a public holiday in Russia - within an hour of Washington announcing a new round of sanctions aimed at cutting the flow of money and goods to sustain Russia's war in Ukraine.






"Due to the introduction of restrictive measures by the United States against the Moscow Exchange Group, exchange trading and settlements of deliverable instruments in U.S. dollars and euros are suspended," the central bank said.
The move means banks, companies and investors will no longer be able to trade either currency via a central exchange, which offers advantages in terms of liquidity, clearing and oversight.
Instead, they will have to trade over-the-counter (OTC), where deals are conducted directly between two parties. The central bank said it would use OTC data to set official exchange rates.
Many Russians hold part of their savings in dollars or euros, mindful of periodic crises in recent decades when the rouble has crashed in value. The central bank reassured people that these deposits were secure.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue

"Companies and individuals can continue to buy and sell U.S. dollars and euros through Russian banks. All funds in U.S. dollars and euros in the accounts and deposits of citizens and companies remain safe," it said.
One person at a large, non-sanctioned Russian commodities exporter told Reuters: "We don't care, we have yuan. Getting dollars and euros in Russia is practically impossible."
With Moscow pursuing closer trade and political ties with Beijing, China's yuan has ousted the dollar to become MOEX's most traded currency, accounting for 53.6% of all foreign currency traded in May.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue

Dollar-rouble trading volume on MOEX tends to be around 1 billion roubles ($11 million) a day, according to LSEG data, while euro-rouble trading hovers at around 300 million roubles daily. For yuan-rouble trading, daily volumes now regularly top 8 billion roubles.

WIDE SPREADS​

On the eve of the national holiday, the rouble closed at 89.10 to the dollar and at 95.62 against the euro .
But following the sanctions news, some banks immediately jacked up their dollar rates.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue


Norvik Bank said it was offering to buy dollars for just 50 roubles but sell for 200 roubles, though it later adjusted the rates to 88.20/97.80. Tsifra Bank was buying dollars at 89 roubles and selling at 120.
Other major banks were quoting narrower spreads of 6-7 roubles between their buy and sell rates.
The U.S. Treasury said it was "targeting the architecture of Russia’s financial system, which has been reoriented to facilitate investment into its defence industry and acquisition of goods needed to further its aggression against Ukraine".

Russia's central bank has been bracing for such sanctions for around two years. In July 2022, the bank said it was modelling various sanctions scenarios with forex market participants and infrastructure organisations.
"This is bad, but expected news," Russian broker T-Investments said on Telegram.
Forbes Russia had reported in 2022 that the central bank was discussing a mechanism for managing the rouble-dollar exchange rate should exchange trading be halted in the event of sanctions against MOEX and its National Clearing Centre, which was also hit by the new sanctions.

NERVY TRADING AHEAD​

MOEX said share trading and money market trades settled in dollars and euros would also cease.
The sanctions will hit the exchange's profits by slashing trading volumes. In May, total volume on MOEX was 126.7 trillion roubles ($1.43 trillion), up more than a third on the same month of the previous year.
In 2023, MOEX recorded net profit of 60.8 billion roubles, a year-on-year increase of 67.5%.
Yevegeny Kogan, an investment banker and professor at Russia's Higher School of Economics, urged people against panicking.
"You know, it’s genetic for us - if we’re scared, we run to buy currency. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s 100, 120 or 150. You mustn't rush," he warned people on Telegram, saying things could get very serious if people ignored that advice.
"Friends, it looks like tomorrow will be a very nervy day."
 
A man walks past an information screen inside the office of the Moscow Exchange in Moscow

A man walks past an information screen inside the office of the Moscow Exchange in Moscow, Russia February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
  • SummaJune 12 (Reuters) - New U.S. sanctions against Russia have forced an immediate suspension of trading in dollars and euros on its leading financial marketplace, the Moscow Exchange (MOEX.MM), opens new tab.
The exchange and the central bank rushed out statements on Wednesday - a public holiday in Russia - within an hour of Washington announcing a new round of sanctions aimed at cutting the flow of money and goods to sustain Russia's war in Ukraine.






"Due to the introduction of restrictive measures by the United States against the Moscow Exchange Group, exchange trading and settlements of deliverable instruments in U.S. dollars and euros are suspended," the central bank said.
The move means banks, companies and investors will no longer be able to trade either currency via a central exchange, which offers advantages in terms of liquidity, clearing and oversight.
Instead, they will have to trade over-the-counter (OTC), where deals are conducted directly between two parties. The central bank said it would use OTC data to set official exchange rates.
Many Russians hold part of their savings in dollars or euros, mindful of periodic crises in recent decades when the rouble has crashed in value. The central bank reassured people that these deposits were secure.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue

"Companies and individuals can continue to buy and sell U.S. dollars and euros through Russian banks. All funds in U.S. dollars and euros in the accounts and deposits of citizens and companies remain safe," it said.
One person at a large, non-sanctioned Russian commodities exporter told Reuters: "We don't care, we have yuan. Getting dollars and euros in Russia is practically impossible."
With Moscow pursuing closer trade and political ties with Beijing, China's yuan has ousted the dollar to become MOEX's most traded currency, accounting for 53.6% of all foreign currency traded in May.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue

Dollar-rouble trading volume on MOEX tends to be around 1 billion roubles ($11 million) a day, according to LSEG data, while euro-rouble trading hovers at around 300 million roubles daily. For yuan-rouble trading, daily volumes now regularly top 8 billion roubles.

WIDE SPREADS​

On the eve of the national holiday, the rouble closed at 89.10 to the dollar and at 95.62 against the euro .
But following the sanctions news, some banks immediately jacked up their dollar rates.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue


Norvik Bank said it was offering to buy dollars for just 50 roubles but sell for 200 roubles, though it later adjusted the rates to 88.20/97.80. Tsifra Bank was buying dollars at 89 roubles and selling at 120.
Other major banks were quoting narrower spreads of 6-7 roubles between their buy and sell rates.
The U.S. Treasury said it was "targeting the architecture of Russia’s financial system, which has been reoriented to facilitate investment into its defence industry and acquisition of goods needed to further its aggression against Ukraine".

Russia's central bank has been bracing for such sanctions for around two years. In July 2022, the bank said it was modelling various sanctions scenarios with forex market participants and infrastructure organisations.
"This is bad, but expected news," Russian broker T-Investments said on Telegram.
Forbes Russia had reported in 2022 that the central bank was discussing a mechanism for managing the rouble-dollar exchange rate should exchange trading be halted in the event of sanctions against MOEX and its National Clearing Centre, which was also hit by the new sanctions.

NERVY TRADING AHEAD​

MOEX said share trading and money market trades settled in dollars and euros would also cease.
The sanctions will hit the exchange's profits by slashing trading volumes. In May, total volume on MOEX was 126.7 trillion roubles ($1.43 trillion), up more than a third on the same month of the previous year.
In 2023, MOEX recorded net profit of 60.8 billion roubles, a year-on-year increase of 67.5%.
Yevegeny Kogan, an investment banker and professor at Russia's Higher School of Economics, urged people against panicking.
"You know, it’s genetic for us - if we’re scared, we run to buy currency. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s 100, 120 or 150. You mustn't rush," he warned people on Telegram, saying things could get very serious if people ignored that advice.
"Friends, it looks like tomorrow will be a very nervy day."

1718226198395.png

"nervy" is starting early.
 
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