I was referring to Russian citizens, not ethnic Russians. My understanding is the ethnic Russians, though not well disposed towards Kiev, generally want nothing to do with the separatists.

True, this is a question that can be settled through democratic means.

I don't think the movement has any legitimacy. Even in Donetsk they could only ever rally a couple thousand out of a city of over a million. The only reason there's a separatist movement is because of the thousands of armed fighters who entered the country.

I was referring to the Russian paramilitary organizations, though was maybe too broad since they're only a portion.

I heartily agree.

Not doing nothing is doing things differently.

And what's your explanation for why the Ukrainians would want to inflict civilian casualties?

Bullshit. There was nothing murderous or repressive about the government, they had just thrown out a corrupt president and the current president is a Russian speaker who used to belong to the same party!

Precise estimates on the fighter composition are tricky but there is very significant Russian and non-Ukrainian component.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/...
http://www.theatlantic.com/int...

Even the DPR leaders have been whining all along about locals not doing enough to fight.

Sure Putin is a moderate, and the passengers of MH17 were slightly inconvenienced.

It's always amusing how the Putin apologists bend over to misinterpret sentences.

The civilians are not separatists, the separatists are Russians who illegally entered Ukraine, with weapons, and took control of several cities. The local component to this 'separatist movement' is largely comprised of local criminals looking to cash in.

The intention is quite obviously not to bomb civilians, but the armed Russians who are occupying the city. The Russians set up bases in residential areas and on top of apartment buildings precisely because they know the Ukrainians are reluctant to fire at their own citizens.

The civilian deaths that result from Ukrainian attempts to attack the separatists is tragic, but arguably less tragic than leaving the civilians of Donetsk and Luhansk to live under a fascist autocracy run by Russian cossasks and local criminals.

You might wonder that I used the word 'fascist' since the Russians are so fond of using it to describe the Ukrainians. I use it because in this case it is accurate, I can't think of a country today that could be better described as fascist than Putin's Russia. That you would defend such an enterprise then seek to blame the victims for the resulting human toll is disgusting beyond words.

The summary says "Russian forces" which is generally assumed to mean official troops, but I think it's far more likely to be Russian rebels firing on Ukraine from Russia.

Putin has no need to involve official Russian troops when there are more than enough "volunteers" willing to carry out the battle. Russia gives them a few big guns and they keep them safe on the Russian side of the border so the Ukrainians can't fight back. The bonus is that by keeping the Ukrainians away from the border they can keep it open and continue the flow of troops and arms from Russia.

Yeah, the Ukrainian military should instead write a kind letter asking the separatists to go back to Russia.

Multiple scathing criticisms but not a single suggestion of a specific action you'd do different.

Are you a republican congressman or senator?

Yes, that's exactly what I mean.

That translated into martial arts is roughly the equivalent of a 4th DAN, but for that you need longer due to 'regulations regarding examinations', waiting periods between 2 examinations.

Depends on the martial art. The most modern practice recognizes natural talent while incorporating considerable traditional technique; I assure you, everyone does not walk into their first day of training on an equal basis -- I've been teaching for decades and I think I've seen about every level of beginner skill there is. Some people are simply gifted. Certainly from there on in we see the difference between the shows-up-once-a-week and the person who seems to be there every hour they can possibly manage.

Also, more on topic, I can definitely assure anyone who is curious that you're not doing high level thinking when executing advanced martial arts techniques.

All you really need to do to understand this is think about bike riding. When you learn, you learn, you think like crazy. Which does you very little good. But eventually, you internalize the process (that's what I call it, anyway) and you can do it while carrying on a conversation with someone else, paying almost no attention at all to the activity of riding the bike. Those near-instant balance corrections, the precise amount of handlebar control and lean for cornering, all of that comes from "underneath." Same thing for advanced MA.

That whole business about finding your calm center and holding it -- that's a real thing. If you start thinking under threat or pressure, your performance will drop like a stone. The best technique comes from a relaxed, centered condition, accepting of whatever comes.

Simple eh?

It's easier to install LibreOffice than it is to uninstall MS Office.

But hey, it's Friday night and I'm happy for a good week, including the use of LibreOffice AND MS Office.

Yes MS Office is more polished, and yes hardly anyone uses the stuff LibreOffice doesn't have.
So below the line, for 99% of papers LibreOffice is a fine application.

In The Netherlands a minimum vacation of four weeks is the law, the payment during this period is a deferred payment.

Meaning an annual salary is calculated and the first 6 months of the year 1/13th of it is kept back for payment of salary during your holidays.
The 1/13th of other 6 months are advanced.