The CBC and BBC have more independence then the media in Russia, in Russia the state owned broadcasters say the Putin line and only the Putin line, and nothing contradictory

He may find that he could not get Russians to go along with it. Even Hitler found it almost impossible to coerce his country into war, he practically had to drag them into war single handedly, and over the objections of many generals. Putin may find everyone is willing to follow orders, except to take the country into a crazy war.

And their lack of willpower. Berlin says they want to be the leader until they have to make hard decisions, then they wish they were in the backseat again just complaining about the driver

Andropov is Putin's idol, he sees him as the way he wish the USSR had gone

The thing is that Russia dumping all its treasury bills isnt going to cause a panic on treasury bills --- people will buy them right up, the problem is when there is a crisis in confidence, when people believe there will be a default, that things will get worse, that the bonds they bought will be worthless or worth less then now, but if Russia sells their assets, it wont trigger a crisis. The example you bring up, is not at all the same. The banking crisis was when all of a sudden banks realized they had way more worthless assets then they thought, for some of them it threatened their solvency. I dont think you can say it made any currency worthless -- all that money is still worth about the same. A few banks needing bailout money, and a drop in economic production, a short recession, none of these are the crisis' you seem to be describing, like an entire monetary system collapse/destruction of the entire banking system of the US. Almost every bank is still around it seems.

a fake vote where supposedly all the ukrainians and tatars also wanted to join Russia. Ya right. 97% approval is the kind of election result dictatorships produce, honest elections never get that result. Support for separation was 40%, so its a total lie that suddenly everyone wants separation.

Dont be stupid. Russia holds a mere $200b in treasury bills. Selling them would destabilize Russia more than the US. The US would buy that amount up in a few months. You have to understand the scale of debt - trillions in US debt exist, and 200$b is more like a little wave in a lake. China is opposed to Russia about the intervention, but they will not act on their opposition. The American economy is much larger than the Russian, and many other central banks hold way more US debt then the US.

Of its local county, Västra Götaland County much as Toronto, Quebec City and Lansing are capitals. Gothenburg is A Swedish capital its just not THE Swedish Capital

I dont think this is at all a reliable source This should not have made it onto the slashdot page this guy is not an honest observer, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_G._Blair

I strongly agree. I left WoW over the dumbing down. I expect this will change eventually, and I wait for a big MMORPG title to be actually fun. I think its an underdeveloped genre, and I think in 5 years time, we will think WoW is garbage. Some people already do. I like to play Paradox computer games, at the other end of the spectrum of repetitiveness and thoughtfulness. For me playing DOTA 2 is a "simple" game, in that it does not have elaborate mechanics and a steep learning curve to start. I prefer complex and engaging, and I think MMORPGs havent yet gotten up to that. I like games that reward skill, thinking, strategy, and WoW had nothing to offer beyond the grind.

To clarify, CSE (aka CSEC) is in many ways the more important intellience agency. It provides SIGINT (signals) intelligence. Generally, Canada is thought to be primarily sophisticated in SIGINT and not in HUMINT. It is supposed to intercept only communications between foreigners, or between foreigners and Canadians and is supposed to not to spy on communications between Canadians themselves. Canada passes on this intelligence to the United States, and the Americans give Canada back some information that they know that they choose to share. CSIS does the HUMINT side of things, domestic counter-intelligence, Counter-terrorism is both CSIS & RCMP. There isnt exactly an overarching organization that is the equivalent of the NSA in Canada

The fact that Canada and Cuba were the most popular choices makes me think it seemed like the people picked them as the least offensive countries. Like Canada and Cuba were the least likely to order assasinations, drone strikes or other kind of retribution

why on earth is burning wood environmentally friendly or carbon neutral? In no way is this the case. Its probably among the least environmentally friendly options. Consumes forests, emits CO2.... it does not draw on our past carbon bank to add to the mix, but it sets back reforestation, and "counts" existing growth and its carbon sink :-( I'm deadset against woodburning energy

Yes, and Syria was never a member of the Warsaw Pact. None of them but Russia feel any fondness for Syria. Even Russia would never have fought for Syria, they might be a friend from a far at best.

isnt the idea to fire cruise missiles to eliminate his airplanes, rocket launchers and artillery? (the methods that could be used to deliver chemical weapons). Sounds pretty reasonable to me. If the guy in the restaurant is battering his wife with nunchukus or a club, then it seems pretty reasonable to whack that weapon out of his hands.