Русский корабль - иди нахуй

[Trey3216 15346]

23 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

Maybe he falls out a window. Oh wait, he lives in a bunker. dammit, collapse the bunker! 

He "accidentally pulled the bunker down on himself.  We're not quite sure how it happened."  

[MissingInAction 25037]

1 hour ago, Trey3216 said:

He "accidentally pulled the bunker down on himself.  We're not quite sure how it happened."  

The bastard wouldn't stop head butting bullets. What could we do?

[MillerEP 30454]

 

[KYHorn 17029]

 

 

 

 More evidence in the rest of the thread.

[MillerEP 30454]

 

[MillerEP 30454]

 

 

^

[Chad Fuck 17670]

5 minutes ago, MillerEP said:

 

 

^

[BamaATL 16593]

just a few superficial wounds I'm sure

 

[MillerEP 30454]

 

[Chad Fuck 17670]

5 minutes ago, MillerEP said:

 

[MillerEP 30454]

 

[atomheartbevo 89648]

Moldova is doing military drills with Romania, US, and UK soldiers?

[BamaATL 16593]

27 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Moldova is doing military drills with Romania, US, and UK soldiers?

Gee, it's almost like we want our people nearby should something happen

[Gatorubet 30211]

19 hours ago, MillerEP said:

A few years ago I read the John Lewis Gaddis biography of George Kennan - the American diplomat who famously wrote “The Long Telegram” that established the basis for American Cold War diplomacy.

Kennan, after a meeting in 1944 with the Polish Prime Minister, naively happy with some Kremlin promise of future independence, wrote this in his diary: “The jealous and intolerant eye of the Kremlin can distinguish, in the end, only vassals and enemies.  And the neighbors of Russia, if they do not wish to be one, must reconcile themselves to being the other.”

When I hear Soviet leaders and their TV Talking Heads discussing the reclamation of Ukraine and Poland and Finland and the Baltic States (and recall Russia’s fighting to get back Georgia and Chechnya),  I think of that comment.  He nailed it. 

[SL Xpress 7513]

The 14 Challenger 2 tanks are now in Ukraine:

https://kyivindependent.com/ministry-first-challenger-tanks-in-ukraine/

One of the interesting things in the article is the mention of US Cougar vehicles. I hadn't heard about them being donated previously. I'm sure they'll all be operated by the younger men of the UAF.

Spoiler

Defense Ministry: First Challenger tanks in Ukraine

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by The Kyiv Independent news deskMarch 28, 2023 12:04 AM2 min read

Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and members of Ukraine's military pose in front of the first Challenger 2 tanks to arrive in Ukraine along with other military vehicles. (Photo: Defense Ministry / Facebook)

The first Challenger 2 tanks pledged by the U.K. are in Ukraine, the Defense Ministry reported on March 27.

Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and members of the military were able to try out the Challenger tanks, Stryker and Cougar armored vehicles from the U.S., and Marder infantry fighting vehicles from Germany.

"Just a year ago, no one could have imagined the magnitude of support that would be provided by our partners," Reznikov said, as quoted by the Defense Ministry.

"Ukraine has managed to change the world. The incredible resilience of our people and the exceptional skill of our army have demonstrated to the world that Ukraine will emerge victorious."

Reznikov added that the new equipment will be a good addition to the existing weaponry on the battlefield, and that Ukraine would go on to restore its 1991 borders.

Alex Chalk, a top official at the U.K. Defense Department, said on Jan. 26 that the Challenger 2 tanks were expected to arrive in Ukraine at the end of March.

On Jan. 14, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the delivery of 14 Challenger 2 tanks and around 30 AS90 self-propelled 155mm howitzers as part of a major new package of military aid for Ukraine.

 

[atomheartbevo 89648]

7 minutes ago, SL Xpress said:

One of the interesting things in the article is the mention of US Cougar vehicles. I hadn't heard about them being donated previously. I'm sure they'll all be operated by the younger men of the UAF.

 

I think we've already seen some of those MRAPs - seems like they are the ones we give law enforcement, etc. as surplus.

[atomheartbevo 89648]

 

[SL Xpress 7513]

33 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

 

Probably the first thing they need to work on is not admitting they made a fake video.

Like the UAF soldier said, “We are lucky they are stupid.” 

[BamaATL 16593]

No complaints if true

 

[Chad Fuck 17670]

Gee, it's almost like we want our people nearby should something happen

And prepared to work with our Allies.

[SL Xpress 7513]

1 hour ago, BamaATL said:

No complaints if true

 

Here’s an article from last year explaining those aren’t your typical Mirage 2000-9’s. 

Two days before Russia’s invasion, so Ukraine isn’t seen as one of the 3 recipients  of those jets once UAE modernizes their Air Force with the new French jet fighter. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauliddon/2022/02/28/who-will-get-the-uaes-mirage-2000-9-fighters/?sh=64ae9d65623b

The thing is, this seems surprising to me. It’s not unfathomable, but this would be a big escalation in terms of weapons given. The UAE is not seen as being particulariy pro Ukraine. If anything they’ve been helping Russia (really helping themselves through profiteering( get around sanctions. 

The French populace is embarking on widespread demonstrations - sometimes violent - in regards to domestic politics. In polling the French are relatively indifferent about the war in Ukraine when compared to everyone other than Italians. The government isn’t known for taking brave and risky chances in terms of how they support Ukraine, although they’ve certainly been supportive. 

Macron and his party are known as being staunchly pro European, and even pan European. But a transaction like this still seems out of character for everyone involved. Not impossible, but it would be a major shift in certain ways from folks not known for major shifts. 

[BamaATL 16593]

7 minutes ago, SL Xpress said:

Here’s an article from last year explaining those aren’t your typical Mirage 2000-9’s. 

Two days before Russia’s invasion, so Ukraine isn’t seen as one of the 3 recipients  of those jets once UAE modernizes their Air Force with the new French jet fighter. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauliddon/2022/02/28/who-will-get-the-uaes-mirage-2000-9-fighters/?sh=64ae9d65623b

The thing is, this seems surprising to me. It’s not unfathomable, but this would be a big escalation in terms of weapons given. The UAE is not seen as being particulariy pro Ukraine. If anything they’ve been helping Russia (really helping themselves through profiteering( get around sanctions. 

The French populace is embarking on widespread demonstrations - sometimes violent - in regards to domestic politics. In polling the French are relatively indifferent about the war in Ukraine when compared to everyone other than Italians. The government isn’t known for taking brave and risky chances in terms of how they support Ukraine, although they’ve certainly been supportive. 

Macron and his party are known as being staunchly pro European, and even pan European. But a transaction like this still seems out of character for everyone involved. Not impossible, but it would be a major shift in certain ways from folks not known for major shifts. 

Like the Abrams, my bet would be this would be more in line with long term security for Ukraine and down the line.  But we have seen some surprising things.  

[SL Xpress 7513]

12 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

Like the Abrams, my bet would be this would be more in line with long term security for Ukraine and down the line.  But we have seen some surprising things.  

Well, I do believe they’re getting the Abrams in the fall. 

If you listen to the Poles, they have some major complaints with how Germany supplies spare parts for the Leopard. I’m sure pretty much the entire German military complex is ramping up as much as they can, but it may be both Ukraine and Poland are better served by the Abrams’ long term. 

[atomheartbevo 89648]

1 hour ago, SL Xpress said:

Macron and his party are known as being staunchly pro European, and even pan European. But a transaction like this still seems out of character for everyone involved. Not impossible, but it would be a major shift in certain ways from folks not known for major shifts. 

1 hour ago, BamaATL said:

Like the Abrams, my bet would be this would be more in line with long term security for Ukraine and down the line.  But we have seen some surprising things.  

Could be that plans are being made to backfill such transactions of equipment with equipment from elsewhere (selling off our surplus stuff) or countries going to the head of the line for future purchases (say France/UAE).

It also makes you wonder if there is a lot of exchanges of equipment and what not being done out of sight of the public (i.e. not being published on some defense department website or announced in a press release).  With all of the equipment being moved around Europe openly and distracting people, well for all we know quite a lot of interesting stuff could have made its way into Ukraine that was either unknown to the public at large, or that's being deployed into Ukraine well in advance of when people thought it would be there.  We know the US is really fucking good at moving large amounts of equipment around, and we have some allies are also good at that kind of thing, and the US already has massive amounts of equipment, both active and stockpiled in Europe, and they've been doing exercises from Romania up to Estonia.  In all of that shuffle, we could have moved some stuff from ourselves or our allies into areas that feed into Ukraine.

On a side note with the Moldova stuff, I wonder if this is either about closer ties with Romania, or Romania/US/UK helping to assess/train Moldovan forces in preparation of booting the Russian troops out.  Moldova has seen the writing on the wall, and if they don't get those Russian troops out, they know that it's going to cost them heavily in the future, if not sooner.

 

[InkaUtexas 25907]

Simple, they (UAE) get more 16's, which integrate better with the IAF and the US. Off the shore of the Emirates are landing strips. This could be a whole new dynamic if it proves to be true. 

 

[BamaATL 16593]

19 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Could be that plans are being made to backfill such transactions of equipment with equipment from elsewhere (selling off our surplus stuff) or countries going to the head of the line for future purchases (say France/UAE).

It also makes you wonder if there is a lot of exchanges of equipment and what not being done out of sight of the public (i.e. not being published on some defense department website or announced in a press release).  With all of the equipment being moved around Europe openly and distracting people, well for all we know quite a lot of interesting stuff could have made its way into Ukraine that was either unknown to the public at large, or that's being deployed into Ukraine well in advance of when people thought it would be there.  We know the US is really fucking good at moving large amounts of equipment around, and we have some allies are also good at that kind of thing, and the US already has massive amounts of equipment, both active and stockpiled in Europe, and they've been doing exercises from Romania up to Estonia.  In all of that shuffle, we could have moved some stuff from ourselves or our allies into areas that feed into Ukraine.

On a side note with the Moldova stuff, I wonder if this is either about closer ties with Romania, or Romania/US/UK helping to assess/train Moldovan forces in preparation of booting the Russian troops out.  Moldova has seen the writing on the wall, and if they don't get those Russian troops out, they know that it's going to cost them heavily in the future, if not sooner.

 

I don't think we (meaning the U.S.) would put anything in the combat theater we haven't announced.  Covertly running up numbers on announced equipment, absolutely, actually covertly putting in unannounced equipment would be very escalatory.  So we announce 50 widgets and somehow they wind up with 500, no problem.  But if we announce switchblade drones and suddenly they have F-35s, that's a big deal.  I think NATO countries have been in step with us on that.  There is a big reason for being so transparent, and part of it was signaling to Moscow intention and giving them every opportunity to back down, but the other would be to not give them any real ability to claim grievance in the international community.  

As for the Moldovan stuff, it could be about the Transnistria and the potential for civil unrest, but my bet is that this makes for a nice cover story.  I think the real purpose of these joint exercises are two fold, 1.  To again signal to Moscow that we (NATO) won't tolerate any sort of regime making via an overthrow, and our mere presence only helps to underscore that, and 2. It provides another welcome distraction to at least some of the Russian Military brass.  Will they be overly concerned, probably not, but will they have to give our presence some pause, absolutely.  Considering all that the Russian brass has on its plate, that could ultimately help the Ukrainians.  A 5% boost isn't nothing.  

In the long term, for Romania and Moldova, I think out of all this they will merge and become just Romania.  I also think we will see a peaceful expulsion of the Russian presence in Transnistria, which is also a long time coming.  The Russians are collectively going to be persona non grata for a long time to come out of all this, and without Moscow to prop them up, they simple won't have the means to really even stay, let alone do anything.  

[SL Xpress 7513]

8 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Simple, they (UAE) get more 16's, which integrate better with the IAF and the US. Off the shore of the Emirates are landing strips. This could be a whole new dynamic if it proves to be true. 

 

The article I linked stated the UAE already ordered 80 Rafale F4s, and that the move of the Mirage 2000-9s is expected because of that. 

The UAE is a bit of an interesting country anyway, with a lot of independence and competition between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which are practically run more like city states than part of a united country. 

Do you feel like UAE wants to integrate with the Israeli Air Force? Because I’ve never had that impression. I don’t think there’s a populace in the entire Middle East that if push came to shove wouldn’t mind if the Israelis suddenly disappeared, other than they’d then be missing a valuable low hanging fruit to unite their populations. 

[InkaUtexas 25907]

13 minutes ago, SL Xpress said:

The article I linked stated the UAE already ordered 80 Rafale F4s, and that the move of the Mirage 2000-9s is expected because of that. 

The UAE is a bit of an interesting country anyway, with a lot of independence and competition between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which are practically run more like city states than part of a united country. 

Do you feel like UAE wants to integrate with the Israeli Air Force? Because I’ve never had that impression. I don’t think there’s a populace in the entire Middle East that if push came to shove wouldn’t mind if the Israelis suddenly disappeared, other than they’d then be missing a valuable low hanging fruit to unite their populations. 

They also want newer blocks. Maybe F-35's.

You are right. And yes. I said UAE for a reason. Abu Dhabi runs it. But the runways are there in the EEZ. Saw em. 

Yes, they use Israel as the boogeyman, like Russia is using the west right now. But their kids live in the EU, and don't think that way. 

Don't agree. Need to realize that Iran is not really considered part of the Sunni ME. They are more of Islamic SW Asia. Just the Shia arm of it. Their food is not Middle Eastern. It is Persian. More like Afghani food than Lebanese, Kuwaiti, or Saudi. 

Spent a few years working with the Emirates. Hate Dubai, Love Abu Dhabi. Fujairah and RAK were the best. And yeah, the emergency air strips are there. 

[InkaUtexas 25907]

26 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

I don't think we (meaning the U.S.) would put anything in the combat theater we haven't announced.  Covertly running up numbers on announced equipment, absolutely, actually covertly putting in unannounced equipment would be very escalatory.  So we announce 50 widgets and somehow they wind up with 500, no problem.  But if we announce switchblade drones and suddenly they have F-35s, that's a big deal.  I think NATO countries have been in step with us on that.  There is a big reason for being so transparent, and part of it was signaling to Moscow intention and giving them every opportunity to back down, but the other would be to not give them any real ability to claim grievance in the international community.  

As for the Moldovan stuff, it could be about the Transnistria and the potential for civil unrest, but my bet is that this makes for a nice cover story.  I think the real purpose of these joint exercises are two fold, 1.  To again signal to Moscow that we (NATO) won't tolerate any sort of regime making via an overthrow, and our mere presence only helps to underscore that, and 2. It provides another welcome distraction to at least some of the Russian Military brass.  Will they be overly concerned, probably not, but will they have to give our presence some pause, absolutely.  Considering all that the Russian brass has on its plate, that could ultimately help the Ukrainians.  A 5% boost isn't nothing.  

In the long term, for Romania and Moldova, I think out of all this they will merge and become just Romania.  I also think we will see a peaceful expulsion of the Russian presence in Transnistria, which is also a long time coming.  The Russians are collectively going to be persona non grata for a long time to come out of all this, and without Moscow to prop them up, they simple won't have the means to really even stay, let alone do anything.  

It also lets forward forces to build relationships and see terrain. 

[atomheartbevo 89648]

54 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

I don't think we (meaning the U.S.) would put anything in the combat theater we haven't announced.  Covertly running up numbers on announced equipment, absolutely,

This is what I'm thinking - we could in theory push a lot of stuff we've announced into there more quickly, particularly if they have trained personnel.  Russia knows it's all coming, just not when and where.

54 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

actually covertly putting in unannounced equipment would be very escalatory.  So we announce 50 widgets and somehow they wind up with 500, no problem.  But if we announce switchblade drones and suddenly they have F-35s, that's a big deal.

Yeah, I don't see that happening at all (or F-16s for that matter).  Those would be announced and fairly public.  But if we are going to deliver 100 Bradleys and send 200, etc., yes.

54 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

As for the Moldovan stuff, it could be about the Transnistria and the potential for civil unrest, but my bet is that this makes for a nice cover story.  I think the real purpose of these joint exercises are two fold, 1.  To again signal to Moscow that we (NATO) won't tolerate any sort of regime making via an overthrow, and our mere presence only helps to underscore that, and 2. It provides another welcome distraction to at least some of the Russian Military brass.  Will they be overly concerned, probably not, but will they have to give our presence some pause, absolutely. 

Yeah, especially since the last time Russians tangled with American troops in recent years, they got the absolute shit kicked out of them.  And I don't know how Moscow could reinforce those Transistria troops anyways - they have no sea lanes or airways into there, that wouldn't result in them getting wrecked on the way in.  

54 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

In the long term, for Romania and Moldova, I think out of all this they will merge and become just Romania.  I also think we will see a peaceful expulsion of the Russian presence in Transnistria, which is also a long time coming. 

I can see them merging as well.  The Russian bullshit has been hanging over them since the 1990s.  At the very least, they will integrate tightly with them (similar to Denmark/Norway/Sweden/Finland combining parts of their militaries).

Peaceful expulsion...Ukraine may just kick their asses out if they don't peacefully leave, and that would be humiliating to Putin since he has no way of reinforcing those troops, so yeah, probably peaceful.

[SL Xpress 7513]

43 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

They also want newer blocks. Maybe F-35's.

You are right. And yes. I said UAE for a reason. Abu Dhabi runs it. But the runways are there in the EEZ. Saw em. 

Yes, they use Israel as the boogeyman, like Russia is using the west right now. But their kids live in the EU, and don't think that way. 

Don't agree. Need to realize that Iran is not really considered part of the Sunni ME. They are more of Islamic SW Asia. Just the Shia arm of it. Their food is not Middle Eastern. It is Persian. More like Afghani food than Lebanese, Kuwaiti, or Saudi. 

Spent a few years working with the Emirates. Hate Dubai, Love Abu Dhabi. Fujairah and RAK were the best. And yeah, the emergency air strips are there. 

Yeah, I spent some time in both places, too. And I've had an obsession with Iran for a long long time after my grandfather ran the Shah's helicopter base in Isfahan for 3 years.

I was able to spend time in Dubai in the early 90s before it was modernized. It was pretty great back then. I bought a metric ton of Persian rugs. Had a great time buying the flat bread straight out of the clay ovens built on most corners. Their cement was shit because they made it out of the local sand. Crumbling buildings everywhere that weren't any older than 20 years. 

I hate it now. And people are fooled by it. Plenty of horror stories about what they're really like. Import their labor. Practically serfdom. Women's rights are non existent, even for foreigners. You do not want to be a foreign woman running afoul of the authorities there. It's not what it seems on the surface. 

The Arabs are historically nomads. The Persians are descendants from one of the great classic civilizations. The Persians are frankly somewhat contemptuous about Arabs. Turks are too, for that matter. 

I just don't know about the F-16 thing. I could see F-35s, though. But if you know something about them acquiring F-16s I'll defer to you. It's really only guessing on my part. 

BTW, I don't know that the analogy of Arabs to Israel as Russia is to the west fits. I'm trying to wrack my brain, but I don't think I'm going to be able to come up with an antagonism with the same historical depth of Arabs to Israel. Greeks and Turks have a long history. I guess Ukraine and Russia could fit, especially as I read from Ukrainians who point out how long and how far Russia has gone to wipe them out over the past 500 years or so. Hindus and Muslims? Separated by British rule, but lots of historical antagonism there.

But that still wouldn't match Arabs and Israelis. Obviously it's different because of the creation of the state of Israel. Hard to compare something to that. 

I do not believe that rich Arabs who send their kids to Europe have kids who automatically think that Jews are A-Ok. I do think that the philosophy of "an enemy of my enemy is my friend" has no better breeding ground than the middle east, so countries will make peace and even be friendly with Israel for selfish purposes. But I don't think it changes fundamentally the view of a massive majority of the Arab population. At least the muslim arabs. I've always found Maronites and Coptics to have a different view, for example. 

[InkaUtexas 25907]

10 minutes ago, SL Xpress said:

Yeah, I spent some time in both places, too. And I've had an obsession with Iran for a long long time after my grandfather ran the Shah's helicopter base in Isfahan for 3 years.

I was able to spend time in Dubai in the early 90s before it was modernized. It was pretty great back then. I bought a metric ton of Persian rugs. Had a great time buying the flat bread straight out of the clay ovens built on most corners. Their cement was shit because they made it out of the local sand. Crumbling buildings everywhere that weren't any older than 20 years. 

I hate it now. And people are fooled by it. Plenty of horror stories about what they're really like. Import their labor. Practically serfdom. Women's rights are non existent, even for foreigners. You do not want to be a foreign woman running afoul of the authorities there. It's not what it seems on the surface. 

The Arabs are historically nomads. The Persians are descendants from one of the great classic civilizations. The Persians are frankly somewhat contemptuous about Arabs. Turks are too, for that matter. 

I just don't know about the F-16 thing. I could see F-35s, though. But if you know something about them acquiring F-16s I'll defer to you. It's really only guessing on my part. 

BTW, I don't know that the analogy of Arabs to Israel as Russia is to the west fits. I'm trying to wrack my brain, but I don't think I'm going to be able to come up with an antagonism with the same historical depth of Arabs to Israel. Greeks and Turks have a long history. I guess Ukraine and Russia could fit, especially as I read from Ukrainians who point out how long and how far Russia has gone to wipe them out over the past 500 years or so. Hindus and Muslims? Separated by British rule, but lots of historical antagonism there.

But that still wouldn't match Arabs and Israelis. Obviously it's different because of the creation of the state of Israel. Hard to compare something to that. 

I do not believe that rich Arabs who send their kids to Europe have kids who automatically think that Jews are A-Ok. I do think that the philosophy of "an enemy of my enemy is my friend" has no better breeding ground than the middle east, so countries will make peace and even be friendly with Israel for selfish purposes. But I don't think it changes fundamentally the view of a massive majority of the Arab population. At least the muslim arabs. I've always found Maronites and Coptics to have a different view, for example. 

Cool Good chance my godfather flew with your Grandfather. 

 

2002 -2008 lived in Dubai. UAE MOD was a portfolio my boss carried. GMD. They want F-35's. 

And don't agree. My Muslim friends when they were in China would eat Halal. 

Let's get back to Ukraine. Happy to Dm. You are a good contributor to this thread and forum. 

Can we agree Qatar sucks? So does OU. 

Edited March 28, 2023 by InkaUtexas
Fucked up who he mentions.

[MagicSoccerSpray 1732]

 

[SL Xpress 7513]

29 minutes ago, MagicSoccerSpray said:

 

That is astounding to me.

Here's an article from The Guardian about it. Nammo is co-owned by the Norwegian government. 

Power is allocated on a first come first served basis:

"Elvia, the local energy provider, confirmed to the Financial Times that the electricity network had no spare capacity after allocating it to the data centre on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional capacity would take time to become available."

I read about the lack of explosives having an impact on artillery shell production. Now this. I especially like his comment, "Our future growth is challenged by the storage of cat videos."

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/28/energy-hungry-tiktok-data-centre-ukraine-ammunition-production-nammo-norway

Spoiler

 

Norwegian company says TikTok data centre is limiting energy for manufacturing Ukraine ammunition

Head of Norwegian manufacturer Nammo says plans to increase production at its largest factory are affected by demands of nearby data centre

• See all our Ukraine coverage

 

Jonathan Yerushalmy

Mon 27 Mar 2023 23.40 EDT

•  
•  
•  

 

 

One of Europe’s largest ammunition manufacturers has said efforts to meet surging demand from the war in Ukraine have been stymied by a new TikTok data centre that is monopolising electricity in the region close to its biggest factory.

The chief executive of Nammo, which is co-owned by the Norwegian government, said a planned expansion of its largest factory in central Norway hit a roadblock due to a lack of surplus energy, with the construction of TikTok’s new data centre using up electricity in the local area.

 

“We are concerned because we see our future growth is challenged by the storage of cat videos,” Morten Brandtzæg told the Financial Times.

 

TikTok CEO grilled for over five hours on China, drugs and teen mental health

Read more

 

Demand for artillery rounds is 15 times higher than normal and Europe’s munitions industry needs to invest €2bn in new factories to keep up with Ukraine’s needs, according to Brandtzæg.

By some estimates, Ukraine is firing 6,000 to 7,000 artillery shells a day and is facing ammunition shortages after more than a year of war.

European Union leaders have announced a program to reimburse countries offering artillery ammunition to Ukraine from a €1bn fund, while spending an additional €1bn on increasing ammunitions manufacturing capacity across the bloc.

But plans by Nammo to expand its largest manufacturing facility appear to have come up against TikTok’s efforts to improve its image in the face of a growing number of bans across the world by housing the data of Europeans more locally.

TikTok is fighting a proposed national ban in the US, where it has already been banned on most government devices.

The UK government, European Commission and the European parliament also recently banned TikTok from staff phones due to concerns that user data belonging to the company – which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance – could be harvested by China’s government.

TikTok said last year that some employees in China could access European user data and admitted that employees had used its own app to spy on journalists in an effort to track down leaks.

In a congressional hearing last week however, the company’s CEO insisted that TikTok was entirely independent from the Chinese government and that Chinese authorities had no access to its data.

However, in an effort to placate European lawmakers, TikTok said it would begin storing European user data locally this year, with migration continuing into 2024. The company said it would reduce the transfer of data outside the region, and reduce employee access to user data internally.

The company announced plans to open new data centres in Ireland and in the Hamar region of Norway.

Elvia, the local energy provider, confirmed to the Financial Times that the electricity network had no spare capacity after allocating it to the data centre on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional capacity would take time to become available.

TikTok has been contacted for comment.

International tech and social media companies are facing increased scrutiny over their operation of the huge centres used to store vast quantities of data. These centres consume large amounts of energy to power and cool the servers that store customers’ pictures, videos and other cloud-based data.

By 2030, the European Commission estimates that data centres will account for 3.2% of electricity demand within the bloc, an 18.5% jump from 2018.

A draft plan to force data centres to publish their environmental impact was obtained by Politico last year. Authorities “should not be put in the position of having to choose between attracting … data centres on the one hand and ensuring that businesses and households can access electricity on the other hand,” the plan said.

 

 

[Rimbo 25919]

 

 

[Rimbo 25919]

 

[Rimbo 25919]

 

And finally...

 

[SL Xpress 7513]

50 second video of Ukrainian sniper taking out Russian troops one by one:

 

[SL Xpress 7513]

Orlando Bloom visits Ukraine/Zelensky as an ambassador for Unicef. 

"An Alliance once existed between Elves and Men. Long ago we fought and died together. We come to honor that allegiance."

Legolas killed orcs in the movies. Ukrainians kill orcs in real life. 

I didn't realize Zelensky is fluent in Ukrainian, but apparently he ran his campaign speaking both Russian and Ukrainian. 

 

 

[The Dog 44020]

Here is glorious Soviet militar...YAAAAWWWWWNNNN

[BamaATL 16593]

So apparently the Russians conducted a cruise missile test off Japan today, where they fired two at a dummy target.  Seems like a great idea when you are running out of them.  

[atomheartbevo 89648]

^^^^Brilliant.  Reinforce to Japan and the Japanese people why they should help Ukraine.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/28/asia/russia-missile-training-japan-intl-hnk/index.html

Quote

Russia’s Pacific Fleet fired a pair of supersonic missiles at a mock target in waters off Japan’s coast on Tuesday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.

“A team of two missile boats carried out a joint missile strike against a sea shield simulating a simulated enemy warship,” the ministry said in a Telegram post. “The target was successfully engaged at a distance of 100 km (62 miles) by a direct hit from two Moskit cruise missiles.” The missiles are capable of destroying a ship within a range of up to 120 kilometers (75 miles), according to Reuters.

Quote

The maneuver on Tuesday comes after Russia conducted drills earlier this month in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, with a submarine hitting a land target over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) away with a Kalibr cruise missile – the same type of missile Moscow regularly uses in its war in Ukraine.

Tuesday’s exercise also comes a week after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise visit to Ukraine. That same day, two Russian strategic bomber planes, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, flew over waters off the Japanese coast for more than seven hours in what Moscow said was a “planned flight,” Reuters reported.

 

[Rimbo 25919]

3 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

So apparently the Russians conducted a cruise missile test off Japan today, where they fired two at a dummy target.  Seems like a great idea when you are running out of them.  

i don't think they're running out of dummies; seem to have endless supply

[KYHorn 17029]

 

 

 

[Schulz2.0 28951]

[Bevo 13576]

1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

Russia’s Pacific Fleet fired a pair of supersonic missiles at a mock target in waters off Japan’s coast on Tuesday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.

I assume the mock target was able to successfully counter and sink the attacking Russian vessels.

[BamaATL 16593]

8 minutes ago, Bevo said:

I assume the mock target was able to successfully counter and sink the attacking Russian vessels.

Have no fear though, they are towing their aircraft carrier to the region to respond.

[grazinhorn 472]

1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

Russia’s Pacific Fleet fired a pair of supersonic missiles at a mock target in waters off Japan’s coast on Tuesday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.

“A team of two missile boats carried out a joint missile strike against a sea shield simulating a simulated enemy warship,” the ministry said in a Telegram post. “The target was successfully engaged at a distance of 100 km (62 miles) by a direct hit from two Moskit cruise missiles.” The missiles are capable of destroying a ship within a range of up to 120 kilometers (75 miles), according to Reuters.

[atomheartbevo 89648]

 

[The Dog 44020]