Русский корабль - иди нахуй

[Bevo 13,587]

7 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

When we rotate aircraft into Europe, they need to be painted like this

 

[Pato del Muerto 52,531]

For my own understanding:

rvc are bad guy nazis that are being left alone (are they being aided by anyone?) because what they are doing is helpful to ukraine at present

the other group- Russian legion something, are a group of good guys wanting to unseat putin but are also not being aided at this time?

[The Dog 44,067]

19 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

For my own understanding:

rvc are bad guy nazis that are being left alone (are they being aided by anyone?) because what they are doing is helpful to ukraine at present

the other group- Russian legion something, are a group of good guys wanting to unseat putin but are also not being aided at this time?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65681806

Good quick summary. As someone upthread said these are groups whose interests are currently aligned against Putin so they are working together. There's also the National Republican Army https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Republican_Army_(Russia) who are responsible for attacks deep within Russia and take responsibility for killing Dugina (which many find dubious). 

Anyway there's a whole rabbit hole you can go down but if these groups manage to coordinate and work together they can cause problems. Right now Ukraine is using them to make Russia move forces out of Ukraine to defend its own borders from Russian rebel attacks. Ukraine doesn't really care what they stand for as long as they help get Putin's Russia out of Ukraine. 

Edited June 2, 2023 by The Dog

[Brisketexan 105,161]

2 minutes ago, The Dog said:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65681806

Good quick summary. As someone upthread said these are groups whose interests are currently aligned against Putin so they are working together. There's also the National Republican Army https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Republican_Army_(Russia) who are responsible for attacks deep within Russia and take responsibility for killing Dugina (which many find dubious). 

Anyway there's a whole rabbit hole you can go down but if these groups manage to coordinate and work together they can cause problems. Right now Ukraine is using them to make Russia move forces out of Ukraine to defend its own borders from Russian rebel attacks. Ukraine doesn't really care what they stand for as long as they help get Putin's Russia out of Ukraine. 

This.  "Enemy of my enemy is my friend" is really validated in wartime.  I don't give a shit if it's the Aggy-Sooner legion, I say arm them and turn them loose in Moscow.

[The Dog 44,067]

The most matter of fact shit talking you’ll ever hear.

[Kyrie Eleison 9,312]

6 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

 the Aggy-Sooner legion...

[PTINS 3,472]

Question for Surly:

I have taken the liberty of plotting various Ukraine targets within the past few weeks. I have omitted the targets within occupied Ukraine for clarity.  Take all this with a decent size block of salt.

The targets to the SE proximate to the Black Sea are small refineries and storage terminals, which are self explanatory.  Belgorod area is Ukraine, "Slava Ukraini", as well as Russia v. Russia.

The targets in Russia east of Belarus are interesting; haven't seen a lot of detail on what exactly was targeted/hit, but just the geography indicates an effort to compromise infrastructure (airbases, rail, power, etc?) between Belarus & Moscow, ~ 180 miles away from Ukraine proper (blue line), well away from the Uk-Ru front lines.

Ukraine, overt or covert? Russia v. Russia? Isolate Belarus? Pull Russia troops away from Ukraine? The Iraqi mind fuck?

Thoughts?

  

[The Dog 44,067]

6 minutes ago, PTINS said:

Ukraine, overt or covert? Russia v. Russia? Isolate Belarus? Pull Russia troops away from Ukraine?

IMHO it's "all of the above"

[Brisketexan 105,161]

3 minutes ago, The Dog said:

IMHO it's "all of the above"

Yep.  It's a good bit of this:

"I wouldn't dig in if I were you....."

[Gengs1 2,583]

8 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

When we rotate aircraft into Europe, they need to be painted like this

 

Most of our air guard planes should have this type of paint scene. I would also like to see FAFO on them as well just as a nice gesture 

[Grade of D as in David 13,253]

55 minutes ago, The Dog said:

^Borat moving closer to the West. 

[Post Oak 20,253]

53 minutes ago, Captainant said:

 

Update: 

 

 

Sure AI. Whatever you say

[Kyrie Eleison 9,312]

 

[The Dog 44,067]

 

[Chad Fuck 17,693]

1 hour ago, Bevo said:

100% this paint job as designed by an Airman with a tribal tattoo.

[atomheartbevo 89,742]

3 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

an Airman with a tribal tattoo.

[atomheartbevo 89,742]

3 hours ago, statsman said:

I wonder if there isn’t a hard set time and place for the counter. Maybe the plan is to keep ratcheting up the pressure with raids and drone swarms, until Russia Re-positions defensive troops in response, and then hit the opening? 

Given how much NATO and Ukraine have Russia under surveillance, both tactical and strategic, I have a feeling they can spot any areas that Ukraine hits that suddenly become problematic. Hertling or Hodges have talked about how it may not even resemble a traditional counteroffensive, but instead kind of have a rolling start where they have a lot of assets in play (drone strikes, etc.) hitting s lot of areas, and then something clicks and they just point their forces that way. Also, it may not be a traditional massed counteroffensive, but instead multiple fronts at once with smaller actions.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12,301]

26 minutes ago, Kyrie Eleison said:

 

[Pato del Muerto 52,531]

15 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

100% this paint job as designed by an Airman with a tribal tattoo.

It’s a Nike design. 

[The Dog 44,067]

 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12,301]

So I’ll ask again, is this the biggest geopolitical blunder in the history of mankind?

Amateur historians, please stack rank…

[Parliament 14,266]

2 hours ago, dimyh said:

Things not only getting more heated around the border but also in the studio. Gotta love this one guy's "bitch please" looks when arguing with these morons.

 

 

Buzz cut, black t-shirt and a sport coat.  Look out, Guys.  We got a badass over here.

 

Quote

 

 

I'm gonna keep asking for more of this.  Throw shade, talk shit.  Have some fun with it.

 

Edited June 2, 2023 by Parliament

[The Dog 44,067]

Referendum on Sunday to withdraw from Russia. 

[Chad Fuck 17,693]

It’s a Nike design. 

So a former Airman with a tribal tattoo. Got it.

[The Dog 44,067]

take with a grain of salt; reports are from a Russian source without visual proof:

 

[tx 3 putt 77,180]

Russia realizes they have zero resource to occupy any land taken ? 

[Schulz2.0 28,975]

3 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

Russia realizes they have zero resource to occupy any land taken ? 

Russia:

[tx 3 putt 77,180]

 

[Rimbo 25,996]

2 hours ago, The Dog said:

The most matter of fact shit talking you’ll ever hear.

blinken fucks

@immamac get this guy an invitation to Surly

[Rimbo 25,996]

Schalke is here for it

[chainsaw 9,872]

 

[SquishMitten 10,420]

I heard Blinken may have thrown some shade at Russia. Anybody got the story on that?

[chainsaw 9,872]

3 hours ago, dimyh said:

Things not only getting more heated around the border but also in the studio. Gotta love this one guy's "bitch please" looks when arguing with these morons.

 

 

Can someone remind me why Russian political programming always looks like a game show?

[BamaATL 16,593]

2 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

Can someone remind me why Russian political programming always looks like a game show?

I'm not sure, but in fairness if the Russian people ever see our stuff I'm sure they are left speechless trying to figure out what Chuck Todd is.  

[chainsaw 9,872]

2 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

I'm not sure, but in fairness if the Russian people ever see our stuff I'm sure they are left speechless trying to figure out what Chuck Todd is.  

He's not even supposed to be here today!

[GopherRock 1,765]

1 hour ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

So I’ll ask again, is this the biggest geopolitical blunder in the history of mankind?

Amateur historians, please stack rank…

It's right up there with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Napoleon's march on Moscow. 

[atomheartbevo 89,742]

1 hour ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

So I’ll ask again, is this the biggest geopolitical blunder in the history of mankind?

Amateur historians, please stack rank…

Could be, given where Russia was seen prior to February of 2022, as the second most powerful country in the world.

And being this is 2022-2023, it’s particularly bad given the interconnectedness of the world’s supply chains, economies, etc. as well as how high-tech things are - economic sanctions have an incredibly powerful bite now versus say a century ago. They can’t even put fucking airbags in their Lada shitboxes.  They struggle to make more than a few dozen tanks a month, they are firing off nearly as many cruise missiles as they make every month. Gone are the days of peasants cranking out T-34 parts in low-tech factories. Now the parts they need for just their tanks rely on other countries’ manufacturing capabilities, which makes it harder for Russia.

As the former second most powerful nation in the world, this really has to sting for them. I’d consider these things major factors in your calculations of biggest blunder:

1. They’ve put their economy on the path that could break Putin’s grip on power.  Economic problems doomed previous Russian governments in the 1910s and after the Afghanistan war (and US’s SDI) in the late 80s.
2. Russian demographics heading into 2022 were already suffering. Now they are inarguably worse as the prime male population has taken a hit with deaths and injuries.  And many of those returning from the war will be broken and looked down upon, just as they were in Afghanistan and the two Chechen wars, and will struggle to provide for families. And they’ve lost potentially 750,000 young men in their prime who fled the country’s mobilization.  
3. Russian influence on surrounding countries, including former Soviet republics, has been greatly weakened, and these countries even mock Russia.
4. NATO is strengthened and has been given a brand spanking new lease on life. NATO is also expanding in a way that has shocked everybody - Russia forced Finland and Sweden to drop their neutrality, which is stunning.
5. Ukraine is going to be left much, much stronger in the long run.
6. Putin has gutted Russia’s conventional military.  They no longer have a reserve they can rely on. They could not stop a conventional invasion before it reached Moscow without nukes. They’ve lost so much institutional knowledge.
7. Putin has made Russia a vassal state of China, and India to a lesser extent. This is the biggest blunder.  The Chinese will take advantage of them, and are.

Given Russia’s power in the world prior to last year, I feel like it could be the biggest blunder., especially since it was mostly an attack on a single neighbor a third it’s size, and not a full-on war of conquest against an entire continent.  

Edited June 2, 2023 by atomheartbevo

[PTINS 3,472]

2 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

So I’ll ask again, is this the biggest geopolitical blunder in the history of mankind?

Amateur historians, please stack rank…

2 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

So I’ll ask again, is this the biggest geopolitical blunder in the history of mankind?

Amateur historians, please stack rank…

[SL Xpress 7,516]

1 hour ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

So I’ll ask again, is this the biggest geopolitical blunder in the history of mankind?

Amateur historians, please stack rank…

Well, I believe it's hard to measure those kinds of things in real time. 

Off the top of my head I'd say blunders that result in the end of civilizations or ruling classes probably rank higher. For example, Hannibal invading Rome - while brilliant, and I do think could've resulted in an ultimate victory had he been supported by his capital better - ended up with the complete annihilation of Carthage as a civilization. 

Cleopatra siding with Marc Antony ended with the massacre of her family and the ending of Ptolemaic rule and the Hellenistic domination of Egypt. 

The leaders of the Khwarazmian Empire probably should've traded with Genghis Khan rather than attack his caravans and behead his ambassadors. 

The Fourth Crusade sacking Constantinople didn't really do the Christian West a whole lot of favors in the long run. 

Charles XII invading Russia probably wasn't the best idea in retrospect. 

The Ottoman Empire siding with the Axis powers. 

Germany invading Russia and Japan attacking Pearl Harbor weren't great decisions at the time, but Germany is in great shape in many ways as a country/society, as is Japan. 

The War of 1812 didn't look like such a hot idea when Washington D.C. was being burnt to the ground and the British Navy was making plans to do the same thing to Baltimore (thanks Fort McHenry!).

Probably the decisions that led to the breakup of the Soviet Union - such as the invasion of Afghanistan - rank higher in some senses than this right now, simply because the Soviet Union was more powerful and a greater existential threat even beyond their possession of nuclear weapons. 

But a lot of these - maybe all of them - are foreshadowing dire circumstances which would have come into play eventually anyway.

There are a lot more that are more obscure that I'm leaving out. Lots of civilizations have come and gone in existential competition with neighbors, many of them after starting a war they thought they could win, or at least had to start on their own terms because it was "them or us."

But as of this moment, it sure seems like one of the great all time geopolitical blunders. Certainly within modern times. They had a nice lucrative trade going on with Europe. The countries there were loathe to do anything to piss Russia off for fear of the consequences. They had possession of Crimea, and no real consequences for taking it, and no one was going to do anything to force them to give it back. The country that would seem to benefit from this the most is China, since they have ambitions to lead the world in their vision of a new world order, and Russia's setbacks take them away as a potential rival to the West, while also drawing so much condemnation and enmity that they're forced to become vassals to the Chinese in many respects. 

[texasdago 7,575]

46 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

I heard Blinken may have thrown some shade at Russia. Anybody got the story on that?

Did you hear what Jim Rome said about the Aggies?  Its a doozy.

[The Dog 44,067]

 

[The Dog 44,067]

1 hour ago, SquishMitten said:

I heard Blinken may have thrown some shade at Russia. Anybody got the story on that?

[Brisketexan 105,161]

1 hour ago, SquishMitten said:

I heard Blinken may have thrown some shade at Russia. Anybody got the story on that?

He said something about Ukraine going through the Russian military like they were South Austin's mom, but I may have heard a garbled transmission.

[Jameslaw121 4,448]

3 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

So I’ll ask again, is this the biggest geopolitical blunder in the history of mankind?

Amateur historians, please stack rank…

Only other one I can remember:

 

Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!

[JesusSweatDuck 17,784]

2 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

"A case study in failure."

 

[texasdago 7,575]

34 minutes ago, The Dog said:

 

 

[statsman 5,473]

3 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

So I’ll ask again, is this the biggest geopolitical blunder in the history of mankind?

Amateur historians, please stack rank…

Honestly, there may be worse, but the 1890s Russian attack on Japan, that went so badly that Teddy Roosevelt was needed to mediate a truce, comes to mind first. 

Edited June 2, 2023 by statsman

[Brisketexan 105,161]

3 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

So I’ll ask again, is this the biggest geopolitical blunder in the history of mankind?

Amateur historians, please stack rank…

I dunno.

There was the time in college when there was this really, really pretty girl who I'd seen several times on campus, and even made some nice eye contact at a party or two, was at a smaller party I was attending.  Eye contact again, and it's undeniable, so I'm heading over.  And right before I get to her, the crowd parts enough for me to notice that she was a...big girl from the waist down.  So, I peeled off like a fighter plane after its attack.  I could even see the look of betrayal on her face.  COLLOSAL blunder, because 1) that was just a dick move, and I owe her an apology, and 2) she was plenty cute and clearly interested in me and you realize at a certain point that you regret EVERY girl you ever turned down.  That was a pretty colossal blunder.

There's also the time I drank half a 1.75 liter bottle of cheap tequila in about 30 minutes, Spring Break 1990, Padre.  Haven't been able to even stand the smell of tequila since.  HUGE blunder.

I mean, the most important things in history are the things that affect me directly, right?

[Nivek 16,946]

3 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

So I’ll ask again, is this the biggest geopolitical blunder in the history of mankind?

Amateur historians, please stack rank…

 

[Parliament 14,266]

3 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

So I’ll ask again, is this the biggest geopolitical blunder in the history of mankind?

Amateur historians, please stack rank…

Aggy to the SEC will nver be topped.  Or bottomed.  Or whatever.