Val Popov

25+ years in banking. Here I share thoughts on the economy, politics and tech.

[Val Popov @HPublius]

@ericlonners @Lprochon IMO future of policy = fiscal/monetary coordination with the CB in the driver's seat. Such policy fusion requires new tools:
1. QE for the people
2. CB-funded consumptions/investment tax credits

[Спасителят с газта @Nas_313_]

-Имаш ли руска кола?
-Имаш ли руски смартфон?
-Имаш ли руски компютър?
-Говориш ли свободно руски?
-Децата ти учат ли в Русия?
-Държиш ли спестяванията си в рубли?
-Почиваш ли през лятото на Балтийско море, а през зимата на Камчатка?
-Купуваш ли си руски дрехи, руски обувки, руски парфюми?
-Ако се разболееш сериозно, в Русия ли ще заминеш на лечение?
-Можеш ли да изброиш 5 постижения и изобретения на руската наука и някакви руски нови технологии със световно значение?
-Можеш ли да изброиш 5 световноизвестни руски търговски марки, ползвани в целия свят?
-Пишеш ли повече в руския Вконтакте, отколкото в американския Фейсбук?
-Имаш ли вещи у вас, на които пише "Сделано в России" ( Made in Russia)
-Русия ли повече посещаваш, или държави от ЕС?

Ако гордо твърдиш, че си русофил,
но нямаш нито един отговор "ДА" - ти не си русофил, а просто о л и г о ф р е н.(Аз бих казал русопутин)
От нета.

[Branislav Slantchev @slantchev]

Yesterday I had a very interesting discussion with students after class. I wanted to hear their takes on the war and the prospects for peace.

I began with the way a lot of surveys ask whether they would prefer Ukraine to negotiate a ceasefire or keep fighting. Those questions don’t do much unless you specify what “negotiations” and “peace” are supposed to mean, and the students were quick: what do you mean, negotiated ceasefire? Is that actually peace?

Now, these are highly educated kids at one of the best institutions in Ukraine, so I was not surprised they would flag it. By the same token, they are not like the rest of the population so their answers might not be necessarily representative. What they did with the question only made that clearer.

I said, fair enough, let’s make it concrete. The Ukrainian government has proposed an unconditional ceasefire, which would mean freezing the war on the line of contact and leaving Russia in possession of what it has already taken. The Russians have rejected that more than once. But suppose, for some reason, they accepted. Would you support a settlement on those terms?

That is when it got interesting. What followed was about ten minutes of analysis I am not going to reproduce.

The first thing, they said, is that a ceasefire is not necessarily peace. The Russians want more than they have, and so would likely come back for it after they recover. They put that more as a fact than as a forecast. I said we cannot really know what they would do. They said we can, because they have done it more than once already, and lied about not doing it, so they cannot be trusted. They were also very skeptical that Western security guarantees would actually function.

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[Skanda Amarnath @IrvingSwisher]

A post that somehow aged better than I anticipated

[Всичко е точно @_takeonmenow_]

Гласуваме с НОМЕР ЧЕТИРИ

Мерси за вниманието.

[Ukraine Battle Map @ukraine_map]

The Leadership in this country is so incompetent

They handed over America’s 🇺🇸 most secretive F-35 radar absorbing material to China 🇨🇳

Over a trillion dollars and three decades of research and development handed over to China

Just unbelievable

[Kate from Kharkiv @BohuslavskaKate]

Fifth year of the Russian war in Ukraine. Civilian casualties are climbing higher and higher, Russia openly plans another winter of terror against civilians, and starves people in the occupied town of Oleshky.

​At the same time, the EU is lifting sanctions on Russian oligarchs, Putin is invited to the G20, and Ovechkin can openly support the invading regime without meaningful damage to his career.

​The situation is heading in an awful direction where killing people is normalized. What are you doing, world?

[Hakeem Jeffries @RepJeffries]

The President just invited Vladimir Putin to the G-20 summit in Miami.

But we’re supposed to believe Trump will sanction Russia for its brutal war against Ukraine.

Get real.

[Nikki Haley @NikkiHaley]

Putin attacked Ukraine. Putin has helped the Iranians in the war against the US. Putin continues to threaten our NATO allies. This is irresponsible.

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Macron: I do not believe Putin when he says he wants peace. That was not true before.

I do not believe him when he says Russia has no aggressive intent toward Europe. That is not true either.

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[ChrisO_wiki @ChrisO_wiki]

This is possibly the most brutal community note I've ever seen (and it's completely deserved as well)

[Sara McGee for Texas HD 132 @SaraForTexLege]

We have lost our humanity. 💔

[SimplyTheBest @SimplyonWorld]

Unerträglich und nichts für Zartbesaitete, dennoch dürfen wir nicht schweigen.

„Das Regime hat aus der russischen Bevölkerung eine Bevölkerung von Mittätern gemacht.

Der Krieg wird im Namen meines Volkes, meiner Sprache und meiner Kultur geführt.
Das ist unerträglich.“ Michail Schischkin (Gegenwartsautor, 2022):

Nie gesehene Aufnahmen in der Nähe von Bucha und Kyiv März 2022.

Russische Kriegsverbrechen verjähren nicht.
Es waren viele Überwachungskameras in Betrieb. Alles ist erhalten geblieben.

Mit Dank an @saksgord

[seanmack @seanmack1025]

So the FBI had proof that @SenSusanCollins was taking kickbacks from defense contractors. Trump ended the investigation. Now we understand why she always votes for Trump. He owns her.

[Adam Parkhomenko @AdamParkhomenko]

Republicans say we cannot afford universal healthcare. We can. We just chose to spend $240 billion on immigration raids instead. We chose to give billionaires tax cuts instead. The money exists. Republican priorities are wrong, and voters should know it. #HealthcareForAll

[Donhammed Trumpistan @TheRealDon85]

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but a country where people must prove their citizenship to masked strangers who refuse to identify themselves, and can be taken from work, school, or home because of how they look, is NOT a free country.

[Meaghan Mobbs @mobbs_mentality]

Why did Putin send over a million of his own people to be slaughtered and maimed instead of focusing on long-term peace? 🕊️

[Headquarters @HQNewsNow]

New reporting reveals Susan Collins promised a defense contractor tens of millions of dollars worth of government contracts in exchange for a $150,000 campaign donation.

The FBI was ready to investigate Collins for bribery until Trump returned to office and purged the agents working on the case.

[Morgan J. Freeman @mjfree]

Luis Ochoa is 17.
He is a U.S. citizen.

He was driving with another U.S. citizen to enlist in the Marines when he was pulled over and ripped from his car by ICE.

Someone started recording.

This is the horrific video.

While the boys were being beaten, they repeatedly tell the agents they are CITIZENS — and are ignored.

One agent told said, "I don't give a damn. Your parents can't help you now."

Both teenagers were detained for hours before being released.

They were preparing to serve this country - yet their citizenship did not protect them from being beaten, pepper-sprayed, and detained by their own government.

This is what the Nazis did then, and ICE does now.

[UAVoyager🇺🇦 @CrimeanVoyager]

This is Hanna.

Yesterday, a russian drone killed her in Sumy, right outside her home.

Her husband was beside her. He is now in critical condition.

They have two minor children.

Mom is gone. Dad is fighting for his life.

Two kids are waiting for their parents to come home...