Русский корабль - иди нахуй

[MissingInAction 25,135]

19 hours ago, Bevo said:

I’m at sea so it isn’t easy to read. Sorry if I misinterpreted what you were saying. After this war any power shift will be temporary. No one and everyone wants a single super power. It invites mistrust and will never create stability, no matter how benevolent that super power’s motives. 
 

The better outcome is the strengthening of NATO. That should help with Europe and Africa. OTOH, NATO will weaken again when China or Iraq come to the forefront. There will always be ebbs and flows in power so don’t expect things to be any better, safer, or different than they have been. The only constant in civilization is that human nature runs counter to civility.

I chose my words poorly. I think a better way to describe it is that the deck is reshuffling. How the cards land will set the tone for the next 50 years I think.

I really think that once Ukraine is rebuilt it will emerge as a dominant European power. Their geography demands it.

[Viper 12,111]

14 hours ago, Ten Bears said:

OK I see that now. So now to the orc that had a great vault but failed to stick landing... I think he was already dead before launch but question is what blew him 30 ft in the air?  Had to be something a little stronger than a grenade right?

 

Of all the crazy footage that one ranks up there. 

In fascist Russia, landing sticks you. 

[Bevo 13,591]

42 minutes ago, MissingInAction said:

I chose my words poorly. I think a better way to describe it is that the deck is reshuffling. How the cards land will set the tone for the next 50 years I think.

I really think that once Ukraine is rebuilt it will emerge as a dominant European power. Their geography demands it.

Maybe, right now the Czech Republic has 10M people and 500K refugees who are willing to work for nothing. This puts a strain on relations. Ukraine needs to get back on its feet quickly because absorbing the 40M population into these small Eastern European countries would create new problems.

considering Ukraine has natural resources, I think you will be right. But its location isn’t ideal if a bunch of refugees from the Stans start coming in. I doubt refugees from Russia will be a problem, though. 

[MillerEP 30,493]

 

[MillerEP 30,493]

 

[MillerEP 30,493]

^They're going to run out of room

[atomheartbevo 89,765]

1 hour ago, MissingInAction said:

I really think that once Ukraine is rebuilt it will emerge as a dominant European power. Their geography demands it.

41 minutes ago, Bevo said:

considering Ukraine has natural resources, I think you will be right. But its location isn’t ideal if a bunch of refugees from the Stans start coming in. I doubt refugees from Russia will be a problem, though. 

They've got agriculture and oil & gas, and out of the EU countries, even though they aren't EU, they would be a top 10 in population. And they've got access to the Black Sea. Definitely will be a major power.

Now if Zeihan had been pumping that story - that Putin was worried that Ukraine was about to be a major power, rather than "Russia has to push their borders out to geographical barriers so Putin felt he had to invade in order to protect Moscow", I'd agree with him more. I still agree with him on a lot of stuff, but I feel like Ukraine's potential is more detrimental to Russia's economy than the potential for invasion (and the fact that Putin has few troops inside of Russia proper proved that, plus Kaliningrad is lightly defended).

[atomheartbevo 89,765]

Ukraine will be in NATO before Sweden at this point. 

Hell, at the rate things are going, Ukraine is liable to have the support of everybody but Turkey and Hungary by the end of July.

[MillerEP 30,493]

https://twitter.com/UkraineINtoucH/status/1675203682046996482?s=20

^Like ZOINKS gang!

^Neat

[MillerEP 30,493]

Elon announced today that he is now limiting everyone to viewing only 600 posts a day, so I imagine this will severely limit the posting we do.

Edited July 1, 2023 by MillerEP

[MillerEP 30,493]

 

[MissingInAction 25,135]

[Rimbo 26,028]

41 minutes ago, MillerEP said:

Elon announced today that he is now limiting everyone to viewing only 600 posts a day, so I imagine this will severely limit the posting we do.

"I gotta great idea! Let's make people pay in order to see more ads!"

"Great idea, Elon!"

[atomheartbevo 89,765]

5 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

"I gotta great idea! Let's make people pay in order to see more ads!"

"Great idea, Elon!"

"Wait Elon, the people that pay get to see less ads. The people who don't pay aren't going to see any ads"

"Fantastic, you know that I hate advertising!"

"Okay?"

[bolverk 29,702]

 

[Rimbo 26,028]

6 minutes ago, bolverk said:

 

Negotiations?

Edited July 1, 2023 by Rimbo
because I like the whole scene

[bolverk 29,702]

 

???

Dude's full of shit, right?

 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11,819]

1 hour ago, MillerEP said:

https://twitter.com/UkraineINtoucH/status/1675203682046996482?s=20

^Like ZOINKS gang!

^Neat

Yeah, let’s just hope none of those guys step on any wayward mines going to and from the site.   F Russia.  

[BamaATL 16,593]

1 hour ago, bolverk said:

 

???

Dude's full of shit, right?

 

I hope Ramzon eplodes like Henry VIII.  

[956 Worldwide 34,742]

2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

They've got agriculture and oil & gas, and out of the EU countries, even though they aren't EU, they would be a top 10 in population. And they've got access to the Black Sea. Definitely will be a major power.

Now if Zeihan had been pumping that story - that Putin was worried that Ukraine was about to be a major power, rather than "Russia has to push their borders out to geographical barriers so Putin felt he had to invade in order to protect Moscow", I'd agree with him more. I still agree with him on a lot of stuff, but I feel like Ukraine's potential is more detrimental to Russia's economy than the potential for invasion (and the fact that Putin has few troops inside of Russia proper proved that, plus Kaliningrad is lightly defended).

Ukraine had dire demographic issues before the war and that will be accelerated. It was even worse than Russia. Their GDP per capita was about half of Belarus’ in 2013, before Russia As someone who has traveled much of the country save for the far East— they are saddled with a crumbling infrastructure and a hollowed out countryside. 
 

All this is even more reason to help them win the war quickly and then establish a crash EU plan to get refugees home and not just rebuild infrastructure, but replace. And the security guarantee of NATO so that “never again” is more than just a watchword. Because what they will have is a massive army and a traumatized population and that could absolutely devolve into something dangerous. 

[Neonmoon 38,130]

Getting closer to goal of Staromylnivka

[Rimbo 26,028]

https://www.ft.com/content/ef53a540-33a2-410c-80e8-a611d4fb4448

“we are asking Ukraine to fight in a way that we would not, and to take casualties that we would not.”

[Pods 7,586]

4 hours ago, MillerEP said:

https://twitter.com/UkraineINtoucH/status/1675203682046996482?s=20

^Like ZOINKS gang!

^Neat

Two weeks to excavate something that large is blisteringly fast. You're normally looking at months to years, depending on what type of sediment the object is preserved in, crew experience, funding and a bunch of other variables.

A lot of the information in archaeology and paleontology sites is how the objects and artifacts are deposited and preserved. Mapping the site is the most critical step, because you lose a shit ton of information if you don't do it correctly and you can't ever get that data back if you fuck it up.

On the video, you can see the vertical posts surrounding the boat that are used to make a grid for mapping purposes. Even in a war zone, they are mapping it properly. 

Major props that they care enough about their history to do this correctly, even in a war zone. Doing it properly in two weeks is a massive accomplishment. 

[Gravy Train 974]

Found in Bakhmut, this RU propaganda pamphlet was shared among fresh meat conscripts.  Title translates to "This is the difference"

https://imgur.com/a/aQ2wbZj

[MillerEP 30,493]

https://twitter.com/KrzysztofJano15/status/1675268610527309830?s=20

 

Edited July 1, 2023 by MillerEP

[Pods 7,586]

36 minutes ago, Gravy Train said:

Found in Bakhmut, this RU propaganda pamphlet was shared among fresh meat conscripts.  Title translates to "This is the difference"

https://imgur.com/a/aQ2wbZj

If the Russians are that scared of made up bullshit about the Ukrainians, the Russians could always just fuck off and go home. 

Just a suggestion. 

[The Dog 44,073]

 

[Pods 7,586]

21 minutes ago, The Dog said:

 

Love this. If it's true, awesome. If it's not true, it's still going to make Putin paranoid and reduce the effectiveness of his intelligence services, administration and military. 

Hey Vlad...

[Bevo 13,591]

55 minutes ago, The Dog said:

 

Why would we need to spy on a country in a civil war? What we really need is to be able to know every nuclear weapon location and to be able to secure them quickly and completely when things go to shit. 

[atomheartbevo 89,765]

7 minutes ago, Bevo said:

Why would we need to spy on a country in a civil war? What we really need is to be able to know every nuclear weapon location and to be able to secure them quickly and completely when things go to shit. 

We need to have an open checkbook and be prepared to start writing checks to any Russian leaders/generals/officers/whoever who help secure those nukes.  Money could do a helluva lot for securing those nukes quickly.

One fear is that all of the outer republics/nations in the area around Russia are going to want nukes and they have people working in Russia, and those areas want nukes because that's the only security guarantee against Russia.

[Brisketexan 105,186]

We need to have an open checkbook and be prepared to start writing checks to any Russian leaders/generals/officers/whoever who help secure those nukes.  Money could do a helluva lot for securing those nukes quickly.
One fear is that all of the outer republics/nations in the area around Russia are going to want nukes and they have people working in Russia, and those areas want nukes because that's the only security guarantee against Russia.

That last part is big. It’s one of the most dangerous things that Russia has done: shown neighboring states (and maybe current Russian regions that could break away) that having a nuclear deterrent is the only smart play.

[PTINS 3,472]

22 hours ago, Ten Bears said:

That was a little harder to watch than most Russian soldier death porn.

22 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Nahh. Gimme more.

21 hours ago, BamaATL said:

This, if you get to feeling badly, just remember: 

1.  The amount of children the Russians have killed - at least 400 (at thats probably sandbagging it a bit)

2.  The number of civilians targeted and killed by the Russians

3.  The amount of rapes and sexual assaults committed by Russians

4.  The deliberately placed murderers and all sorts of mentally unstable in combat

5.  The ecologic terrorism committed such as blowing up the dam

6.  They've attempted to freeze and starve the elderly via attacks on infrastructure

7.  They've destroyed over 3,000 school, hundreds of medical facilities, looted museums, stolen from farmers, mined fields

And the list goes on.  All the while, remember the vast majority of the Russian population is cheering all this on and even happy they are doing it.  

Did that one guy do it, maybe not?  But did his death prevent anymore of this from happening, probably even if in some small regard (and potentially a large one).  

If you bear all that in mind, you may find your sympathy eroding, and that's ok.

This SMO, war,  litany of atrocities has challenged by core beliefs in a big way.  What we see here damn near every day makes me want to throw in the towel, say "Fuck it!", and just ... 

"...just wipe it clean off the map. Knock everything down, every city, every castle, all the bridges, all the roads. Everything. Don't leave two stones standing together. Just wipe the slate clean. Turn Germany Russia into a prairie, then ship over a few buffalo and let them start from scratch. Now, what do you think of that, Colonel Surly?" - Major Wolenski

My desktop reaffirms my resolve, every day I turn on my computer. It also allows me watch karma personified, without guilt.

[Rimbo 26,028]

3 hours ago, Gravy Train said:

Found in Bakhmut, this RU propaganda pamphlet was shared among fresh meat conscripts.  Title translates to "This is the difference"

https://imgur.com/a/aQ2wbZj

like if you took those flags and reversed em it's more accurate

[PTINS 3,472]

7 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

They've got agriculture and oil & gas, and out of the EU countries, even though they aren't EU, they would be a top 10 in population. And they've got access to the Black Sea. Definitely will be a major power.

They have an incredible history, and a beach, and have instilled a want in every civilized person to extend a hand in friendship, and ..., I'm just spitballing here, a desire to extend a hand full of tourist $$$.

 

[dcbc 14,497]

40 minutes ago, PTINS said:

This SMO, war,  litany of atrocities has challenged by core beliefs in a big way.  What we see here damn near every day makes me want to throw in the towel, say "Fuck it!", and just ... 

"...just wipe it clean off the map. Knock everything down, every city, every castle, all the bridges, all the roads. Everything. Don't leave two stones standing together. Just wipe the slate clean. Turn Germany Russia into a prairie, then ship over a few buffalo and let them start from scratch. Now, what do you think of that, Colonel Surly?" - Major Wolenski

My desktop reaffirms my resolve, every day I turn on my computer. It also allows me watch karma personified, without guilt.

Dusty in here.

[atomheartbevo 89,765]

41 minutes ago, PTINS said:

They have an incredible history, and a beach, and have instilled a want in every civilized person to extend a hand in friendship, and ..., I'm just spitballing here, a desire to extend a hand full of tourist $$$.

They've still got a lot of problems though (as mentioned demographics being a big one, not helped by this war), but if the EU were to implement some kind of Marshall Plan, it'd make things really interesting.  At the very least, it's a buffer to Russia.

[MillerEP 30,493]

https://twitter.com/TheDeadDistrict/status/1675357504631455744?s=20

 

 

[butthurt 1,525]

I'm pretty sure that this is a reposted video but fuck it. 

 

[956 Worldwide 34,742]

I have a pretty close friend who decided to go back to Kyiv for a variety of reasons, not without some angst and struggling. It was a hard goodbye, and yesterday I checked in to see how the travels went and this is what I got:

So yeah, fuck the orcs in their trenches. I’m not having a ton of sympathy. 

[956 Worldwide 34,742]

SIAP, a WC-135 Constant Phoenix has been sent to Crete. This is where we send Global Hawk and Rivet Joint drones for the Black Sea. The WC-135 is a nuclear sniffing airplane. I imagine it’s been sent in connection to tensions at ZNP. 
 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by 956 Worldwide

[RPM 26,330]

On 6/30/2023 at 2:30 AM, MagicSoccerSpray said:

The Bradley was a success and always was.

Ask the Israelis why they had to redesign them before they would accept them. It will punch holes in your theory.

[MagicSoccerSpray 1,732]

34 minutes ago, RPM said:

Ask the Israelis why they had to redesign them before they would accept them. It will punch holes in your theory.

 

Why would I bother asking the Israelis? They never adopted or modified the Bradley.

[Bevo 13,591]

9 hours ago, PTINS said:

They have an incredible history, and a beach, and have instilled a want in every civilized person to extend a hand in friendship, and ..., I'm just spitballing here, a desire to extend a hand full of tourist $$$.

 

I’m not hanging out at a beach with mines. See a hot chick in bikini, roll over to hide, and blam! 

[Bevo 13,591]

3 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

I have a pretty close friend who decided to go back to Kyiv for a variety of reasons, not without some angst and struggling. 

Obviously for a woman.

[Schulz2.0 28,997]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/02/russians-hunted-down-veterans-of-donbas-conflict-ukraine

 

[Bevo 13,591]

17 minutes ago, Schulz2.0 said:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/02/russians-hunted-down-veterans-of-donbas-conflict-ukraine

 

comeuppance will come quickly

 

[Bevo 13,591]

On 6/30/2023 at 7:41 PM, Bevo said:

Both were a problem but since an unfortunate accident in the restroom, it’s just the eye patch. I don’t really need it. It just makes me look a little debonair, especially when I wear a long jacket.

 

- and the waves - and needing to see at a distance - so no reading glasses - and glare from the sun and water. It is a little easier now because we are moored for the night.

 

I forgot the biggest issue: The damn cell phone screen continuously moves due to the loading of pictures at slow internet speeds

[Schulz2.0 28,997]

The Ukrainians are reportedly saying the AMX-10 RC vehicles they got from the French aren't suited for front line assaults, but more for fire support because their armor is so thin.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/06/14/the-ukrainian-marine-corps-amx-10rc-recon-vehicles-didnt-last-long-in-a-frontal-assault-on-russian-defenses/?sh=3d174502103f

[SL Xpress 7,517]

Here's an incredibly tense 43 minute video of two days on the southern front, all from the sergeant's GoPro. He edits out the actual attacks, but the footage he does show of his communications with his people, and the stress of the environment they're in, is compelling. At the end he claims there were no killed in action during the two days, which seems unbelievable.

There were a lot of raw soldiers based on the conversations, but they all seemed extremely well kitted, and at least had some training. I know the southern assault groups were all volunteers, but many of them had not seen combat before. The troops around Bakhmut are composed of many of the veterans of the conflict, but they don't have western gear for the most part, other than artillery and mortars. 

Anyway, it's obviously a time investment. The biggest takeaways for me were the interrogation of the injured Russian at the beginning, the style of communication from the sergeant to the troops, his narration about midway through, and then the complete abandonment of positions by the Russians. Oh, not all the Russians abandoned their positions. Some of them will be there until their bodies are disposed of. 

 

[SL Xpress 7,517]

Just now, Schulz2.0 said:

The Ukrainians are reportedly saying the AMX-10 RC vehicles they got from the French aren't suited for front line assaults, but more for fire support because their armor is so thin.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/06/14/the-ukrainian-marine-corps-amx-10rc-recon-vehicles-didnt-last-long-in-a-frontal-assault-on-russian-defenses/?sh=3d174502103f

Is this news? I thought this was a known issue? I must have read this several dozen times when they were being donated.

I did read the article. Sounds like they were desperate for firepower, and so used them despite their terrible fit for the role. BTW, the article was written a couple of weeks ago.

One thing about those vaunted 6 Finnish engineering vehicles on the Leopard 2 chassis. The reason the Finnish donated them is because they didn't work during testing. The Finns said it was because of the rocky soil in Finland, but it may have been they just don't work period. 

The truth is the Ukrainians aren't ideally kitted out to fight this counter offensive, but they're doing it anyway. And, they're having successes. 

My biggest concern above all others is Zaluzhnyi talking about the lack of artillery shells in that recent Washington Post article. They're not getting F-16s anytime soon. Who knows when they'll get cluster munitions or ATAMCS. But for goodness sakes scrape together everything possible to get them artillery shells. Artillery shells and mobile air defense. Oh, and thank you thank you thank you to the Brits for supplying the Storm Shadows. Holy shit what a difference those have made.