3 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Russia just passed a law making it illegal to spread "fake news" about what is happening in Ukraine, punishable by 15 years in prison.

I have said this often. The most important freedom in maintaining a free society is freedom of the press. 

Scary isn't it?

This is a world problem.  Russia is probably the most extreme example but again this is a world problem. 

1 hour ago, theguru said:

For sure.

When you add in injured Russian soldiers I have seen estimates between 10 and 20k.

More to your point, it sounds like the soldiers are disposable in more ways than one, here is part of a headline from the lbc.com.uk:

'Russia is refusing to take back its dead soldiers to "prevent mothers, wives and daughters from learning the true scale of the war", Ukraine has claimed.'

Several reports are that most of the casualties are conscripts drafted into the Army for one year of mandatory service. Young inexperienced troops seem to have taken the brunt of the damage. 

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Facebook and Instagram have made a temporary policy change to their hate policies to allow some people to call for the death to the Russian invaders.  From Foxnews.com:

Meta later provided an updated statement, telling Fox News Digital, "In light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, we made a temporary exception for those affected by war, to express violent sentiments toward invading armed forces such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ These are temporary measures designed to preserve voice and expression for people who are facing invasion. As always, we are prohibiting calls for violence against Russians outside of the narrow context of the current invasion."

=================

So much for being principled. 

3 minutes ago, theguru said:

Facebook and Instagram have made a temporary policy change to their hate policies to allow some people to call for the death to the Russian invaders.  From Foxnews.com:

Meta later provided an updated statement, telling Fox News Digital, "In light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, we made a temporary exception for those affected by war, to express violent sentiments toward invading armed forces such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ These are temporary measures designed to preserve voice and expression for people who are facing invasion. As always, we are prohibiting calls for violence against Russians outside of the narrow context of the current invasion."

=================

So much for being principled. 

Crazy and terrifying that people can be silenced or unsilenced at the flip of a switch like that. 

6 minutes ago, ChickenWyngz said:

Crazy and terrifying that people can be silenced or unsilenced at the flip of a switch like that. 

People confuse the internet with freedom of speech way too often. 

Just now, TheDeuce said:

People confuse the internet with freedom of speech way too often. 

I get that. I don't consider it a freedom of speech issue at all. At the end of the day Twitter is a company and can do as they please within the law, but it doesn't change the fact that manipulation could easily take place in this kind of scenario. 

6 minutes ago, ChickenWyngz said:

I get that. I don't consider it a freedom of speech issue at all. At the end of the day Twitter is a company and can do as they please within the law, but it doesn't change the fact that manipulation could easily take place in this kind of scenario. 

To be clear this is Insta and Facebook, I have no idea what the Twitter policy is on this.

I agree wholeheartedly on the manipulation aspect of a policy like this but in my opinion that is par for the course with these companies so this is another "nothing to see here" moment.

I just watched a report that said 2.5 million Ukrainian refugees have already fled Ukraine due to the war. So sad...

American astronaut Mark Vande Hei may get stranded in the space station over the war in Ukraine. Hei is scheduled to end his 355-day mission in three weeks by traveling back to Earth with two Russian cosmonauts on a Russian spacecraft set to land in Kazakhstan.

I doubt that happens but there are plenty of news reports on it if you want to dig further.

2 hours ago, theguru said:

Facebook and Instagram have made a temporary policy change to their hate policies to allow some people to call for the death to the Russian invaders.  From Foxnews.com:

Meta later provided an updated statement, telling Fox News Digital, "In light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, we made a temporary exception for those affected by war, to express violent sentiments toward invading armed forces such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ These are temporary measures designed to preserve voice and expression for people who are facing invasion. As always, we are prohibiting calls for violence against Russians outside of the narrow context of the current invasion."

=================

So much for being principled. 

What do you think their policy should be?

Just now, Voice of Reason said:

What do you think their policy should be?

Well defined and consistent. 

North Korea tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile system with two launches in the last couple of weeks. 

I don't know that this has anything to do with the War in Ukraine but the timing is noteworthy. 

24 minutes ago, theguru said:

North Korea tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile system with two launches in the last couple of weeks. 

I don't know that this has anything to do with the War in Ukraine but the timing is noteworthy. 

It's very poor timing on their part.  Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a stern reminder of why its important to keep other countries from obtaining nuclear weapons.  If Russia didn't have nuclear weapons I don't think there is nearly as much hesitation for the United States to help out with the jets.  The nuclear weapon is like the Queen on the chess board, it changes everything.  This also shows why it's so important to keep other countries from obtaining them.  Not just because of what Russia is doing, but also because it shows that quite literally 1 man can cause a nuclear war. 

2 minutes ago, sportsfan41 said:

It's very poor timing on their part.  Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a stern reminder of why its important to keep other countries from obtaining nuclear weapons.  If Russia didn't have nuclear weapons I don't think there is nearly as much hesitation for the United States to help out with the jets.  The nuclear weapon is like the Queen on the chess board, it changes everything.  This also shows why it's so important to keep other countries from obtaining them.  Not just because of what Russia is doing, but also because it shows that quite literally 1 man can cause a nuclear war. 

Nuclear Proliferation + Hypersonic Missiles = Dangerous World