Русский корабль - иди нахуй

[Scheiss Meister 8412]

5 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

If we were to do anything, and I am not suggesting that we will, but a few stealth cruise missile strikes wouldn't hurt my feelings in the slightest.  

Now we're talking.

ETA - While we're dreaming, three or four B-52 Arc Light runs along the Russian lines would be wonderful.  Either 51 500 lb bombs or 30 1000 lb bombs, dropped in rapid succession along a trench line, would make a lot of Russian women widows.

Edited March 8, 2023 by Scheiss Meister

[statsman 5482]

11 minutes ago, Scheiss Meister said:

With MANPADS, it would be a smoking hole in the ground before it opened fire.  Nice sentiment, though.

I know- you have to have to have a battlefield free of them. I just want to see Puff the Magic Dragon (I know that was an AC-141) raining fire on the Russians. 
 

Dad said that after the gunships we’re done in Vietnam, the field looked like the moon. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by statsman

[InkaUtexas 26117]

Puff was multiple aircraft/ First was the AC-47. 

I am here today thanks to Puff. Saved Dads ass a few times. 

back to Ukraine. Sucks for the troops on the line, but let's see if some circling does not start. The more the Russians push on the flanks the also expose themselves. Monty knew this and planned. 

[statsman 5482]

In the night, an enemy soldier watching the slow roll of the gunship fire toward his position, the fiery tracers lighting up the sky only representing a portion of the fire, has to know he’s fucked. I wish that for the Russians. 

[TexasEd 8077]

12 hours ago, Orange&White said:

I feel like Biden's team should be spending more effort in distinguishing between how much we have sent in cash payments and new purchases and clearly break out the dollar values for older retired equipment being sent.

The average idiot just keeps seeing "Another $5B in aid sent to Ukraine" and thinks that is why the elevator doesn't work at DFW.

Yeah, The message is we cleaned out our closets of all the stuff we didn’t need and instead of parking it in a desert depot we basically gave it to Goodwill and got a write off by not having to keep it on the books.

[686 3451]

“Generally speaking, it’s some complete bullshit.” - mobilized senior lieutenant describing the Russian personnel logistics shit show. These protest videos are basically daily now.

[JesusSweatDuck 17810]

4 hours ago, Scheiss Meister said:

Now we're talking.

ETA - While we're dreaming, three or four B-52 Arc Light runs along the Russian lines would be wonderful.  Either 51 500 lb bombs or 30 1000 lb bombs, dropped in rapid succession along a trench line, would make a lot of Russian women widows.

But would the mail order bride market collapse from the flood of new supply in the market?

[MagicSoccerSpray 1732]

6 hours ago, statsman said:

Georgia is small, I guess, bordered by Russia and Turkey, and nobody really wanted to respond. 
 
The west blew it there and has been paying the piper since. Oddly, this might be the best time for Georgia to push back. 

 

McCain wanted to intervene but was ridiculed by the press/establishment as being a war monger. Like Romney in 12, he was always right.

 

10 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Yeah, Russia immediately rushed to take advantage of it, which made everybody's spider-sense tingle.

The thing is, they had no need to do it - those pipelines were going to be shut down (or not becoming operational) through sanctions, and Ukraine knew it.  Germany, etc., were already making noise about getting off of Russian oil and gas (and they did so far faster than anybody expected).

 

The Ukrainians didn't know that there would be a very warm winter, and couldn't trust the Germans regardless. It would have only been a matter of time before the Germans turned the pipes back on and continued chasing the dragon of cheap Russian energy. The Ukrainians made the right call, good on them and the Poles.

Edited March 8, 2023 by MagicSoccerSpray

[InkaUtexas 26117]

How do you deal with a bully? You punch him in the face. 

[SL Xpress 7518]

5 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

Puff was multiple aircraft/ First was the AC-47. 

I am here today thanks to Puff. Saved Dads ass a few times. 

back to Ukraine. Sucks for the troops on the line, but let's see if some circling does not start. The more the Russians push on the flanks the also expose themselves. Monty knew this and planned. 

I've read reports that 4 elite (don't know what that means other than max training, equipment, and experience) are being positioned - 2 in the north, 2 in the south - for a possible encircling movement around the Russian flanks in Bakhmut. Allegedly intelligence/reconnaissance have spotted some weak defensive areas that could be exploited. It would be a kind of all in move. Don't know if it's going to happen or not. Prigozhin has actually hinted at the possibility in one of his recent videos decrying the lack of ammunition and support being provided. 

The time to get out of there was a couple of weeks ago. With the mud, the lack of exits, the roads under enemy artillery fire, and the amount of troops and equipment still in Bakhmut, they'd have to push Russian forces back to have a path for a decent withdrawal. The good news is in the last couple of days the enemy advancements in the north and south have stopped, and the advances in the east are because UAF abandoned anything east of the river.  

[SL Xpress 7518]

44 minutes ago, MagicSoccerSpray said:

 

McCain wanted to intervene but was ridiculed by the press/establishment as being a war monger. Like Romney in 12, he was always right.

 

An exaggeration to say he was always right, but he was often right regarding military matters. But yeah, he tried to use the difference in his potential approach to Georgia to differentiate himself from Obama, but that was never going to win an election. The 2008 financial crisis determined that election. 

Anyway, loved that guy. I know not everyone has fond feelings for him, but I miss him. 

[Parliament 14316]

When he was right, he was prophetic. (No CR).

 

[Bevo 13601]

8 hours ago, Scheiss Meister said:

Now we're talking.

ETA - While we're dreaming, three or four B-52 Arc Light runs along the Russian lines would be wonderful.  Either 51 500 lb bombs or 30 1000 lb bombs, dropped in rapid succession along a trench line, would make a lot of Russian women cell mates widows.

FIFY

[BamaATL 16593]

5 hours ago, SL Xpress said:

I've read reports that 4 elite (don't know what that means other than max training, equipment, and experience) are being positioned - 2 in the north, 2 in the south - for a possible encircling movement around the Russian flanks in Bakhmut. Allegedly intelligence/reconnaissance have spotted some weak defensive areas that could be exploited. It would be a kind of all in move. Don't know if it's going to happen or not. Prigozhin has actually hinted at the possibility in one of his recent videos decrying the lack of ammunition and support being provided. 

The time to get out of there was a couple of weeks ago. With the mud, the lack of exits, the roads under enemy artillery fire, and the amount of troops and equipment still in Bakhmut, they'd have to push Russian forces back to have a path for a decent withdrawal. The good news is in the last couple of days the enemy advancements in the north and south have stopped, and the advances in the east are because UAF abandoned anything east of the river.  

I've seen the same reports, and that northern salient sure looks ripe for a pincer attack.  When you consider that combined maneuvers seem to be way too complicated for the Russian army, let alone of the convicts I am optimistic that this might be possible.  If they can cut them there, they may well be low on ammo (I'm sure we have intel on this) and it could be a crushing defeat for them.  Fingers crossed, a crushing defeat of Wagner could do considerable damage to morale for them, plus its possible that a punch thru at Bakhmut would open the Ukrainians to getting behind Russian lines towards Donetsk.  Lets hope.  

[KYHorn 17182]

 

 

 

 

[KYHorn 17182]

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by KYHorn

[KYHorn 17182]

 

 

 

 

[Mullet Free 40]

 

Extra background from Europe on new reports.

 

[Gatorubet 30316]

 
Extra background from Europe on new reports.
 

You seem desperate to want Ukraine to have had a hand in this.
Let’s say it is true.   Do you have any kind of a problem with this if it’s true?  I sure don’t. Ukraine was invaded and is at war. In my mind this would be an appropriate war related activity directed at the invading enemy. 
Also, we know that Russia has some deep inroads into the German government and bureaucracy. It isn’t like east Germany was 1000 years ago.  So as always, consider the source and the motivations.

[The Dog 44144]

More protests in Georgia today/tonight:

 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

Cliff notes on what’s happening in Georgia beside Kirby cheatin his ass off?

[BamaATL 16593]

8 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

You seem desperate to want Ukraine to have had a hand in this.
Let’s say it is true.   Do you have any kind of a problem with this if it’s true?  I sure don’t. Ukraine was invaded and is at war. In my mind this would be an appropriate war related activity directed at the invading enemy. 
Also, we know that Russia has some deep inroads into the German government and bureaucracy. It isn’t like east Germany was 1000 years ago.  So as always, consider the source and the motivations.

Just my opinion, but if they did it good on them.  They are being attacked, if they had and took the opportunity to limit the financing arm for Russia good for them.  I'd do it as well.  I recognize that people in Western Europe would then have a bit of a hardship, but the Ukrainians are having their homes bombed indiscriminately in part financed by this sort of stuff.  So Western Europe in theory would have to figure out how to keep a people warmer (not as easy it sounds, admittedly,), meanwhile, Ukrainians are having women, children, seniors and just regular old civilians bombed at least in part via the money coming from this. While both are hardships, I think its easy to discern that one is greater than the other. 

Again, I'd bomb it as well.  

[Brisketexan 105358]

5 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Cliff notes on what’s happening in Georgia beside Kirby cheatin his ass off?

Well, we're just gonna have to stay tuned to see how them Duke boys get outta THIS jam.....

[Mullet Free 40]

12 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

You seem desperate to want Ukraine to have had a hand in this.
Let’s say it is true.   Do you have any kind of a problem with this if it’s true?  I sure don’t. Ukraine was invaded and is at war. In my mind this would be an appropriate war related activity directed at the invading enemy. 
Also, we know that Russia has some deep inroads into the German government and bureaucracy. It isn’t like east Germany was 1000 years ago.  So as always, consider the source and the motivations.

No I don't have a problem with Ukrainians doing it.

I'm sharing relevant reports about a pretty consequential action. And you should always consider sources and motivations behind reports, especially in wartime with propaganda flying everywhere.

[Gatorubet 30316]

3 minutes ago, Mullet Free said:

No I don't have a problem with Ukrainians doing it.

I'm sharing relevant reports about a pretty consequential action. And you should always consider sources and motivations behind reports, especially in wartime with propaganda flying everywhere.

Then that is just my mistake. My apologies.

[BamaATL 16593]

6 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Cliff notes on what’s happening in Georgia beside Kirby cheatin his ass off?

Russia has bought off a lot people in the political world there, they are setting conditions to isolate them and prevent possible accession into NATO and EU.  They are sowing civil unrest in an attempt to further cement their influence while also creeping borders and stealing land.  Bottom line, they are attempting to prevent losing influence over another country because they are dicks, by being further dickish.  Also, they are setting the same conditions to justify invasion just like they did Ukraine; and actually have already done in 2008.  

They regularly arrest ordinary people (think sheep herders) and shake them down for $60 bucks (I'm not making this up) for working on their own lands.  You know, so Russia being Russia.

[SL Xpress 7518]

21 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Cliff notes on what’s happening in Georgia beside Kirby cheatin his ass off?

Georgia proposing law making it illegal for “foreign agents” to interfere with internal politics. Russia used the same law to crack down on opposition. 

The thing is the US has had a policy of directing pro democracy funding to different opposition groups, including Russia, Ukraine, and many of the Arab Spring countries. 

Nonethless Georgians who are protesting are indicating - like Ukrainians before them - they are pro EU, pro Western, and want out from under Russia’s influence. 

If they stick with it there’s a chance they can be successful. While definitely pro Russian and certainly repressive in different ways, this Georgian government lacks the same kind of commitment to remaining in power that Assad, Lukashenko, and the Iranian theocracy have. Once protests get massive enough and last long enough, at some point you either need to kill a lot of people or step down. I guess we’ll see which direction this goes. 

[Dahobbs 17686]

8 hours ago, MagicSoccerSpray said:

 

The Ukrainians didn't know that there would be a very warm winter, and couldn't trust the Germans regardless. It would have only been a matter of time before the Germans turned the pipes back on and continued chasing the dragon of cheap Russian energy. The Ukrainians made the right call, good on them and the Poles.

Let's not phrase this as established that Ukrainians did it. 1) It didn't shut down anything since the pipelines weren't being used, 2) it didn't even completely prevent the nord stream pipelines from operating in the future since 1 pipeline was undamaged as evidenced by Putin's suggestion that it could start sending gas via Nord Stream 2 after the explosions, and 3) Russia wasn't even sending as much gas as it could via other routes. 

1 hour ago, Mullet Free said:

 

Extra background from Europe on new reports.

 

I highlighted a few portions of the article that were informative. The only evidence that this was a pro-Ukrainian group is that the boat used was rented from a company "apparently owned by two Ukrainians." That is really flimsy. None of the nationalities are known. All the attackers used fake passports. The german prosecutors can't rule out a false flag (although, really, renting a boating from someone hardly seems like evidence that the person you rented from was in on the attack). Oh, and Russia is still pressing the US did it story (after previously saying it was the UK). 

Quote

 

BERLIN — German prosecutors have found "traces" of evidence indicating that Ukrainians may have been involved in the explosions that blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022, according to German media reports Tuesday.

Investigators identified a boat that was potentially used for transporting a crew of six people, diving equipment and explosives into the Baltic Sea in early September. Charges were then placed on the pipelines, according to a joint investigation by German public broadcasters ARD and SWR as well as the newspaper Die Zeit.

The German reports said that the yacht had been rented from a company based in Poland that is "apparently owned by two Ukrainians."

* * *

According to the investigation by German public prosecutors that is cited by the German outlets, the team which placed the explosive charges on the pipelines was comprised of five men — a captain, two divers and two diving assistants — as well as one woman doctor, all of them of unknown nationality and operating with false passports. They left the German port of Rostock on September 6 on the rented boat, the report said.

It added that the yacht was later returned to the owner "in uncleaned condition" and that "on the table in the cabin, the investigators were able to detect traces of explosives."

But the reports also said that investigators can't exclude that the potential link to Ukraine was part of a "false flag" operation aiming to pin the blame on Kyiv for the attacks.

* * *

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova dismissed the reports of Ukrainian involvement in the Nord Stream bombings, saying in a post on the Telegram social media site that they were aimed at distracting attention from earlier, unsubstantiated, reports that the U.S. destroyed the pipelines.

 

 

[Gatorubet 30316]

Quick video worth a look. Russia’s MoD is a fucking joke.   The average age of these life takers and heartbreakers is 40.    The locals  confiscated their military IDs and they were sent to the front lines immediately without written orders or training - without reconnaissance- to assault villages without Maps.  

That small group is all that remains of the platoon. The Sr. Lieutenant will not participate any more without written orders.    

(the tweet content is misleading as the senior lieutenant WILL follow written orders . His beef is that they have no written orders, no military documents, no military IDs - and he has no idea who is telling him to do this suicidal stuff)

Edited March 8, 2023 by Gatorubet

[BamaATL 16593]

Boom

 

[jdhorn92 1558]

Watching that video above......Russian military is the Gang that can't shoot straight meets F-Troop. 

[Schulz2.0 29012]

1 hour ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Cliff notes on what’s happening in Georgia beside Kirby cheatin his ass off?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/08/georgia-opposition-protests-tbilisi-law-parliament

[956 Worldwide 34779]

24 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

Let's not phrase this as established that Ukrainians did it. 1) It didn't shut down anything since the pipelines weren't being used, 2) it didn't even completely prevent the nord stream pipelines from operating in the future since 1 pipeline was undamaged as evidenced by Putin's suggestion that it could start sending gas via Nord Stream 2 after the explosions, and 3) Russia wasn't even sending as much gas as it could via other routes. 

I highlighted a few portions of the article that were informative. The only evidence that this was a pro-Ukrainian group is that the boat used was rented from a company "apparently owned by two Ukrainians." That is really flimsy. None of the nationalities are known. All the attackers used fake passports. The german prosecutors can't rule out a false flag (although, really, renting a boating from someone hardly seems like evidence that the person you rented from was in on the attack). Oh, and Russia is still pressing the US did it story (after previously saying it was the UK). 

 

Russia and vatnik channels really don’t like this story which is odd at first glance. The easy explanation is that they just really want the Sy Hersh or UK version to get traction. There’s also the chance that they want to discredit this in advance because they won’t like the end result. 
 

If the part about failing to clean the boat is true, that’s some really shitty tradecraft. 

[Schulz2.0 29012]

 

[JesusSweatDuck 17810]

1 hour ago, BamaATL said:

Russia has bought off a lot people in the political world there, they are setting conditions to isolate them and prevent possible accession into NATO and EU.  They are sowing civil unrest in an attempt to further cement their influence while also creeping borders and stealing land.  Bottom line, they are attempting to prevent losing influence over another country because they are dicks, by being further dickish.  Also, they are setting the same conditions to justify invasion just like they did Ukraine; and actually have already done in 2008.  

They regularly arrest ordinary people (think sheep herders) and shake them down for $60 bucks (I'm not making this up) for working on their own lands.  You know, so Russia being Russia.

The Grand Tour actually did a segment on this believe it or not - 

 

[MissingInAction 25191]

18 hours ago, Macanudo said:

The idea that Russia had no reason to blow the pipeline is bullshit.    Doing so and then blaming everyone else is exactly why they might have done it.

@Mullet Free lacks 

[Schulz2.0 29012]

7 minutes ago, JesusSweatDuck said:

The Grand Tour actually did a segment on this believe it or not - 

 

Seems like a good opportunity to snipe some Russians with a good rifle and a thermal scope 

[SmokeyTheBear 5562]

More on the Nord Stream stuff

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-says-nord-stream-attacks-may-be-false-flag-smear-ukraine-2023-03-08/?utm_source=reddit.com

Quote

Western allies on Wednesday warned against reaching premature conclusions on who was responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines, with Germany suggesting the attack could also have been a "false flag" operation to blame Ukraine.

A New York Times report, citing intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials, said on Tuesday a pro-Ukrainian group may be behind the blasts that became a flashpoint between the West and Russia after last year's Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The report, while not pointing to any official Ukrainian involvement, comes at a time when Kyiv is urging its Western allies to ramp up supplies of high-end weapons to drive back Russian forces as the war enters its second year.

Investigations continue into what caused the Nord Stream pipelines, supplying Russian energy to Europe, to rupture and spew bubbles of natural gas into the Baltic Sea last September. Western countries believe the explosions were deliberate but have not concluded who was behind them.

Russia, which has previously blamed the West, seized on the news on Wednesday to demand a transparent investigation in which it also wants to participate.

A separate report by Germany's ARD broadcaster and Zeit newspaper said on Tuesday the operation to place explosives on the seabed was carried out by six people, five men and one woman, who used forged passports.

They transported explosives on a yacht rented from a German charter company by a Poland-based firm owned by Ukrainian citizens, according to the report and prosecutors.

"We have to make a clear distinction whether it was a Ukrainian group, whether it may have happened at Ukrainian orders, or a pro-Ukrainian group (acting) without knowledge of the government," German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Wednesday.

"But I am warning against jumping to conclusions," Pistorius said on the sidelines of a summit in Stockholm.

Pistorius said earlier the likelihood was "equally high" that it could have been a "false flag operation staged to blame Ukraine".

Germany, meanwhile, confirmed its investigators had raided a ship in January that may have been used to transport the explosives used to blow up the pipelines.

But a statement by the federal prosecutor said there was no reliable information yet on motives or perpetrators, including on whether the attack was state-sponsored.

"There is no suspicion against employees of the German company that rented out the ship," it added.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters: "As long as investigations into Nord Stream blasts are ongoing, we can not draw conclusions."

UKRAINE PLAYS DOWN CONCERNS
The New York Times said there was no evidence that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy or other Ukrainian government officials had played any role in the attacks.

Also in Stockholm, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said the media reports were a "little bit strange" and had "nothing to do" with the Ukrainian government.

"It's like a compliment for our special forces," he joked. "But this is not our activity."

Reznikov said he was not worried about the prospect of the media reports weakening support for Ukraine. Pistorius batted away a similar question about Western support as "hypothetical".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested the media reports were a coordinated bid to divert attention and questioned how U.S. officials could assume anything about the attacks without an investigation.

"The very least that the Nord Stream shareholder countries and the United Nations must demand is an urgent, transparent investigation with the participation of everyone who can shed light," Peskov said.

The U.S. intelligence review suggested those who carried out the attacks opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin "but does not specify the members of the group, or who directed or paid for the operation", the New York Times wrote.

"Officials who have reviewed the intelligence said they believed the saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two," according to the New York Times report.

Investigators founds traces of explosives on the yacht, which the group took from Rostock, Germany, on Sept. 6, according to ARD and Zeit. They also reported that intelligence indicated that a pro-Ukrainian group could be behind the attack, but German authorities have not yet found any evidence.

Reuters could not independently verify the information.

Russia last month gave the U.N. Security Council a draft resolution which - if adopted - would ask U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to set up an international investigation.

 

[956 Worldwide 34779]

24 minutes ago, Schulz2.0 said:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/08/georgia-opposition-protests-tbilisi-law-parliament

The Georgian ruling party is a party of power with no clear ideology. The draft foreign agent law is patterned after Hungarian and Russian laws. It’s tempting to view it as clear Russia-inspired but it’s equally likely that the corrupt ruling party and its backers just want authoritarian tools and don’t REALLY want to join NATO or the EU because that would lead to less control and more rule of law. Which in the long run, authoritarians tend to drift towards Russia and other asshole nations even if that’s not the primary goal. 

[MissingInAction 25191]

6 hours ago, Parliament said:

When he was right, he was prophetic. (No CR).

 

As is Surly.

[Parliament 14316]

3 hours ago, KYHorn said:

 

Why did they buy weapons from Switzerland in the first place?

[Grimas 671]

Ukrainian neighbor story - about 2 years ago a Ukrainian couple bought a house down the street.  I know because I briefly chatted with them (in Russian) as I was walking the dog one evening.  I found it curious that these were recent "immigrants" and were able to afford a house in our neighborhood as well as the 2 AMG Mercedes in the driveway but whatever... 

They started a total gut and renovation of their house about 18 months ago (pre-war) and the renovation was completed a few months ago.  What's "strange" is they haven't ever moved back in spite the house being completed. I'm now suspecting that they may have been part of the "old"/corrupt Ukrainian regime and that their $ might have stopped flowing since the war began... (Lawn service stopped about the time the work finished)

(I don't really care - what my neighbors do other than pick up your dogs crap on my lawn... We've got a few people in the neighborhood that have Ukrainian/Polish/Baltic flags that have been up since the start of the war and I would have expected these guys to have a Ukrainian flag up as well showing support...)

Edited March 8, 2023 by Grimas

[Trey3216 15357]

42 minutes ago, Grimas said:

Ukrainian neighbor story - about 2 years ago a Ukrainian couple bought a house down the street.  I know because I briefly chatted with them (in Russian) as I was walking the dog one evening.  I found it curious that these were recent "immigrants" and were able to afford a house in our neighborhood as well as the 2 AMG Mercedes in the driveway but whatever... 

They started a total gut and renovation of their house about 18 months ago (pre-war) and the renovation was completed a few months ago.  What's "strange" is they haven't ever moved back in spite the house being completed. I'm now suspecting that they may have been part of the "old"/corrupt Ukrainian regime and that their $ might have stopped flowing since the war began... (Lawn service stopped about the time the work finished)

(I don't really care - what my neighbors do other than pick up your dogs crap on my lawn... We've got a few people in the neighborhood that have Ukrainian/Polish/Baltic flags that have been up since the start of the war and I would have expected these guys to have a Ukrainian flag up as well showing support...)

 

I suspect that all wealthy Mexicans in the US are cartel family members and that stopped paying for their car insurance as well.  /s

 

What an odd and incredibly weird post.  

[MillerEP 30501]

 

[MillerEP 30501]

^Seen the same message in Georgia

[MillerEP 30501]

 

[MillerEP 30501]

 

[MillerEP 30501]

 

[MillerEP 30501]

 

[Schulz2.0 29012]