The Off Topic Topic

[Oexmelin]

Apparently Betelgeuse may go supernova "soon". Its luminosity has decreased 70% since November.

[Barrister]

Apparently Betelgeuse may go supernova "soon". Its luminosity has decreased 70% since November.

I pedantically must point out that you have your tenses wrong: some scientists theorize that Betelgeuese may have gone supernove 642 years ago, and the light of that explosion is about to reach us soon.

Or not.  It's known to be a variable star in any event, and we've never observed a star dim right before going supernova before (although it's been hypothesized).

[The Brain]

What's worse? The flash or the bang?

[Oexmelin]

Wrong thread.

[The Brain]

Cosmic.

[Admiral Yi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNHZVAq41G4

Putin's entire cabinet just resigned.

[Tonitrus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNHZVAq41G4

Putin's entire cabinet just resigned.

But not in a bad way...it's smells like a ploy...

He is legally term-limited out in 2024...so just shift all the power to the Prime Minister, and then become that. 

(and he has been PM already, when he did the tandem swap with Medvedev some time ago)

[Admiral Yi]

Right.  Obviously it wasn't a palace revolt.

[The Larch]

They want to reform the Russian constitution, apparently. Maybe preparing for a post-Putin situation?

[Barrister]

They want to reform the Russian constitution, apparently. Maybe preparing for a post-Putin situation?

MOre likely to allow Putin to continue holding onto power post-2024.

[Duque de Bragança]

They want to reform the Russian constitution, apparently. Maybe preparing for a post-Putin situation?

MOre likely to allow Putin to continue holding onto power post-2024.

That or Kadyrov. 

[Tonitrus]

They want to reform the Russian constitution, apparently. Maybe preparing for a post-Putin situation?

Not they, Putin.  He, himself is proposing moving more power to the Duma (who currently approves, acknowledge really, the PM candidate selected by the President) to be the body that selects the PM without the President being able to block it.  At the same time, moving more powers to the PM (at the expense of the President).  With all of this requiring approval by referendum.

Being that one could potentially conclude that Putin and his party (United Russia) have a lock on the electoral system, and a lock on control of the Duma, it smells to me of just a way for the Putin to get around the presidential term limits.  Perhaps thinking that changing the term limits (or axing them) looks a little too blatantly authoritarian.

With this maneuver, it could easily be spun as being more "democratic" and even sold as moving more towards a western European/UK-style parliamentary system.  But with Putin still ending up as the boss. 

[The Larch]

They want to reform the Russian constitution, apparently. Maybe preparing for a post-Putin situation?

Not they, Putin.  He, himself is proposing moving more power to the Duma (who currently approves, acknowledge really, the PM candidate selected by the President) to be the body that selects the PM without the President being able to block it.  At the same time, moving more powers to the PM (at the expense of the President).  With all of this requiring approval by referendum.

Being that one could potentially conclude that Putin and his party (United Russia) have a lock on the electoral system, and a lock on control of the Duma, it smells to me of just a way for the Putin to get around the presidential term limits.  Perhaps thinking that changing the term limits (or axing them) looks a little too blatantly authoritarian.

With this maneuver, it could easily be spun as being more "democratic" and even sold as moving more towards a western European/UK-style parliamentary system.  But with Putin still ending up as the boss.

They're also creating a new body or position to which Medvedev would be shifted after leaving the PM spot, right? Any clue about what that'll do?

[Tonitrus]

I don't think Medvedev is really a relevant figure any more.

[Valmy]

They want to reform the Russian constitution, apparently. Maybe preparing for a post-Putin situation?

Putin is only 67, he could easily go another 20 years of ruling Russia.