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Posted
3 minutes ago, KYHorn said:

https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-u-s-news/ap-2-russians-seek-asylum-after-reaching-remote-alaska-island/

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Two Russians who said they fled the country to avoid compulsory military service have requested asylum in the U.S. after landing on a remote Alaskan island in the Bering Sea, Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office said Thursday.

Karina Borger, a spokesperson for Murkowski, said by email that the office has been in communication with the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection and that “the Russian nationals reported that they fled one of the coastal communities on the east coast of Russia to avoid compulsory military service.”

Spokespersons with the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection each referred a reporter’s questions to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which did not immediately respond Thursday.

Alaska’s senators, Republicans Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, on Thursday said the individuals landed at a beach near Gambell, an isolated community of about 600 people on St. Lawrence Island. The statement doesn’t specify when the incident occurred though Sullivan said he was alerted to the matter by a “senior community leader from the Bering Strait region” on Tuesday morning.

A Sullivan spokesperson, Ben Dietderich, said it was the office’s understanding that the individuals had arrived by boat.

Gambell is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of the western Alaska hub community of Nome and about 36 miles (58 kilometers) from the Chukotka Peninsula, Siberia.

Careful, they could be a commando invasion forces trying to reclaim Alaska. 

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Posted
11 hours ago, LCHorn said:

Not to quibble because I’ve been digging your contributions to the thread, but this is wildly incorrect unless you and I have very different understanding of what expansionism means.  Tibet, South and East China seas most recently and back to the Manchus and the Mongols that preceded them.  It’s partly why the diversity of our regional allies include a nominally communist Vietnam to Korea in partnership with their historical antagonists the Japanese-everyone else is the lesser evil in the wake of a millennia of Chinese territorial grabs.

That doesn't seem like quibbling to me. That seems like a well founded counterpoint.

If I sound like some kind of Chinese apologist, that is not my intent. There are plenty of reasons to distrust the Chinese government, particularly now that they've appeared to have given over to ruler for life syndrome under Xi, after eliminating constitutional two term limits in 2018.

Vietnam has a special history with China. They even fought a 3 week war in 1979. However, this wasn't a war of conquest. This was about China's support for the Khmer Rouge, Vietnam supporting the opposition, and China signaling to Vietnam that Russia wouldn't be able to protect them.

Certainly Chinese territorial claims in the waters surrounding China are problematic. The dispute with Japan over the Senkaku Islands, or the Spratly Islands with the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei have huge consequences. Also, plenty of disputes with Indonesia as well. You could even include Vietnamese claims over the Paracel Islands, too, which China occupies.

And absolutely Tibet was a territorial conquest, seen as a restoration of the Qing dynasty who ruled Tibet from 1720 to 1912. It was regularly proclaimed as a part of China by Chinese rulers between 1912 and 1951, when China invaded Tibet and annexed it. Something similar could be said about Taiwan, as well. 

Nonetheless, compared to most historical nations, China is still relatively free of wars of territorial conquest. Especially if we're comparing it to Russia. Hell, even if we're comparing it to the US, if we count the US westward expansion, the foray into imperialism with the Spanish American War and the subsequent takeover of the Philippines. China tends to dominate neighbors through cultural and financial ties rather than actual military subjugation. And China has no equivalent of the various foreign adventures the US has embarked upon in many countries around the world, such as Iraq or Afghanistan. Again, this is not meant as a criticism of US actions, an apology for China, or a prediction of Chinese future actions. But there isn't the historical precedent for the Chinese to suddenly start taking over land by territorial conquest the way there is with Russia.

In particular, I've seen a lot of spurious speculation regarding China deciding to take over Russian lands in the east during the Russians' current ordeal in Ukraine. Historically speaking, it's much more likely for them to take advantage of Russian troubles to obtain resources for cheap than it is to send in an invading army. That's true for pretty much every one of their neighbors outside of Taiwan, which they very much consider a part of China. As we all know. And there are significant border disputes with India, mostly involving territory claims China has from its annexation of Tibet. 

In conclusion, I'm talking specifically about the Chinese cultural mentality towards territorial conquest, which is much different than the Russian cultural mentality. At the same time, they still have the same genetic makeup; the same predisposition towards tribe, aggression, power, and ambition that the rest of the human race has. So saying they don't have a cultural predisposition towards territorial conquest is not the same at all as saying they would not embark upon it. Especially as they move away from a collective leadership style into one more dictatorial. 

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Posted
10 minutes ago, MillerEP said:

^lol

 

Both of those are great.  As for the first, I sense that having to produce a “please don’t flee the country” video isn’t a great sign for the popularity of the war.  As for the second, that saw everything with clear eyes.  Props.  HOWEVA, Georgia has produced one more Stalin than I think is proper, so they’ve got a bit to answer for too. 

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Posted
14 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

did he shoot a guy taking a shit? 

Had an old family friend who told us of a story of doing that in Korea, presumably around Chosin (I don't remember the details, just that they were in foxholes at the time, and it was cold).  He would get up each day around 4:00, creep out of his super-cold foxhole, and squat to take his morning dump.  Looked around, realized everyone else was doing the same.  Figured the Chinese were doing it too.  So, the next morning, he took his shit a few minutes earlier, then posted up with his rifle, looking for silhouettes.  He shot and killed a Chinese soldier taking his predawn dump three days in a row.  War is cold business, man.

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Posted
Had an old family friend who told us of a story of doing that in Korea, presumably around Chosin (I don't remember the details, just that they were in foxholes at the time, and it was cold).  He would get up each day around 4:00, creep out of his super-cold foxhole, and squat to take his morning dump.  Looked around, realized everyone else was doing the same.  Figured the Chinese were doing it too.  So, the next morning, he took his shit a few minutes earlier, then posted up with his rifle, looking for silhouettes.  He shot and killed a Chinese soldier taking his predawn dump three days in a row.  War is cold business, man.
That hits close to home as I once shot a Goose whilst taking a shit.
Posted
36 minutes ago, Da Fino said:

 

 

 

The gunner posted this video, btw, and a few others. As in, a redditor is fighting in the foreign legion, posting his favorite vids, and answering questions in the comments. Wild. 

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Posted
3 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

We will be there for a long time. 

 

 

3 hours ago, Macanudo said:

This could be such a great PR move and/or actual developmental opportunity for us to show what we can do in a benevolent manner.

We should send Bob Cole over there to be the PA guy for their soccer games. No need to thank us.

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Posted
6 hours ago, TexasEd said:

I thought I read somewhere the Abrams needed Jet Fuel or Gasoline instead of Diesel which caused a logistics problem but I looked it up and apparently it has a multi-fuel turbine that can burn jet fuel, gasoline or diesel.  

I'm sure the maintenance and operation need to be trained.

The US military has (mostly?) one type of fuel which is JP-8. It’s used in jets, tanks and Humvees.

I led a pursuit team for the Thermal Test Complex on Sandia National Labs. A place where mad scientists burned JP-8 in many weird and wonderful ways.

 

 

C60EC33C-4E70-4DCF-BCB2-A92427348D5D.png

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Posted
3 hours ago, SL Xpress said:

That doesn't seem like quibbling to me. That seems like a well founded counterpoint.

If I sound like some kind of Chinese apologist, that is not my intent. There are plenty of reasons to distrust the Chinese government, particularly now that they've appeared to have given over to ruler for life syndrome under Xi, after eliminating constitutional two term limits in 2018.

Vietnam has a special history with China. They even fought a 3 week war in 1979. However, this wasn't a war of conquest. This was about China's support for the Khmer Rouge, Vietnam supporting the opposition, and China signaling to Vietnam that Russia wouldn't be able to protect them.

Certainly Chinese territorial claims in the waters surrounding China are problematic. The dispute with Japan over the Senkaku Islands, or the Spratly Islands with the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei have huge consequences. Also, plenty of disputes with Indonesia as well. You could even include Vietnamese claims over the Paracel Islands, too, which China occupies.

And absolutely Tibet was a territorial conquest, seen as a restoration of the Qing dynasty who ruled Tibet from 1720 to 1912. It was regularly proclaimed as a part of China by Chinese rulers between 1912 and 1951, when China invaded Tibet and annexed it. Something similar could be said about Taiwan, as well. 

Nonetheless, compared to most historical nations, China is still relatively free of wars of territorial conquest. Especially if we're comparing it to Russia. Hell, even if we're comparing it to the US, if we count the US westward expansion, the foray into imperialism with the Spanish American War and the subsequent takeover of the Philippines. China tends to dominate neighbors through cultural and financial ties rather than actual military subjugation. And China has no equivalent of the various foreign adventures the US has embarked upon in many countries around the world, such as Iraq or Afghanistan. Again, this is not meant as a criticism of US actions, an apology for China, or a prediction of Chinese future actions. But there isn't the historical precedent for the Chinese to suddenly start taking over land by territorial conquest the way there is with Russia.

In particular, I've seen a lot of spurious speculation regarding China deciding to take over Russian lands in the east during the Russians' current ordeal in Ukraine. Historically speaking, it's much more likely for them to take advantage of Russian troubles to obtain resources for cheap than it is to send in an invading army. That's true for pretty much every one of their neighbors outside of Taiwan, which they very much consider a part of China. As we all know. And there are significant border disputes with India, mostly involving territory claims China has from its annexation of Tibet. 

In conclusion, I'm talking specifically about the Chinese cultural mentality towards territorial conquest, which is much different than the Russian cultural mentality. At the same time, they still have the same genetic makeup; the same predisposition towards tribe, aggression, power, and ambition that the rest of the human race has. So saying they don't have a cultural predisposition towards territorial conquest is not the same at all as saying they would not embark upon it. Especially as they move away from a collective leadership style into one more dictatorial. 

I’m tempted to post a “lol, I ain’t reading all that,” but I did.

having been to Vietnam and Cambodia, this take is correct, at least in respect to those two nations.  The Chinese much, much, much prefer to buy, bribe, cajole, to invasion. They’ve basically made Cambodia a client state by very carefully investing and bribing while allowing the Cambodians to mostly manage their internally affairs.  From a lobbyist perspective, they prefer to apply honey instead of vinegar. And aren’t cheap with the honey.  

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Posted
1 hour ago, Superhero said:

The US military has (mostly?) one type of fuel which is JP-8. It’s used in jets, tanks and Humvees.

I led a pursuit team for the Thermal Test Complex on Sandia National Labs. A place where mad scientists burned JP-8 in many weird and wonderful ways.

 

 

C60EC33C-4E70-4DCF-BCB2-A92427348D5D.png

I worked at a place in pasedena that made JP-10 for the gvt. My understanding is it was used in cruise missiles but that was from a co-worker, not the military. 

Posted
31 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

I worked at a place in pasedena that made JP-10 for the gvt. My understanding is it was used in cruise missiles but that was from a co-worker, not the military. 

South Austin’s mom once asked me to kiss her right where it smells funny.  So I took her to Pasadena.

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Posted
12 minutes ago, Scheiss Meister said:

Sending Lowell Galindo is a war crime under the Scheiss Meister Convention on Horrible Announcers.

I bet after listening to Lowell for a few minutes, the Russians would surrender even faster. The down side is, the Ukrainians would surrender also.  Anything to escape from that shit

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Posted
17 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

haven't they suffered enough ??

Warrior Mom !

 

I've seen several videos of Ukrainian soldiers returning home on leave being greeted by family.  Think about it.  Ukraine has enough troops that they are holding or pressing the Russians all along the line, and they still can send thousands for training and let some have leave.  Meanwhile we read about Russian, LPR, and DPR troops who have been fighting since February 24th almost nonstop.  No wonder Ukrainian morale and confidence are so high.

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Posted
I've seen several videos of Ukrainian soldiers returning home on leave being greeted by family.  Think about it.  Ukraine has enough troops that they are holding or pressing the Russians all along the line, and they still can send thousands for training and let some have leave.  Meanwhile we read about Russian, LPR, and DPR troops who have been fighting since February 24th almost nonstop.  No wonder Ukrainian morale and confidence are so high.

I don’t know about thousands. I worry about the numbers. A lot of the videos lately have a bunch of different accents. Regardless, these people are tough as hell.
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