Sanctions against Russia

[Marty_d]

1 hour ago, spacesailor said:

Indoctrination! .

Flouride is good for your teeth !

But never has children's teeth been as bad as todays.

Global warming  !,

Could be GOOD for our world .

Longer  growing season, for our food crops, 

Less houses wil burn down trying to keep warm.

No more burst water pipes after they are frozen.

 

 

 

Correlation is not the same as causation.  I'm not sure you're correct that children's teeth have never been as bad as today, but if so, look at the consumption of sugar, processed foods and carbonated drinks as related to dental health, you'll probably find that if it weren't for flouride they'd be a lot worse.

As for global warming being good for the world - there's cities in India which will become unlivable in the next few years.  Bushfires will be more intense and the fire season longer, storms and flooding will be worse, Pacific islands will disappear... put that on the scales against a few cold areas becoming warmer and I think you'll agree there's no net benefit here.

[Old Koreelah]

5 hours ago, spacesailor said:

Global warming  !,

Could be GOOD for our world .

Longer  growing season, for our food crops, 

Less houses wil burn down trying to keep warm.

No more burst water pipes after they are frozen.

No more cracked engine blocks from frozen coolant.

This list may go o  for ever !...

Spacey will you be comfortable with tens of millions of climate refugees insisting on being given a new home in Australia- the rich country that has contributed more than its fair share to creating their misery?

[spacesailor]

Those refugees  are scomo,s dream of a new world down under.

More housing needed, more tax payer,s. Lots of low payed workers all trying to get ahead here.

BUT

Why can,t they put houses on " none productive " land & leave the fertile farm land alone.

spacesailor

[kgwilson]

The latest Russian propaganda is that they have deployed a new Laser weapon called Zadira that can incinerate targets up to 4.8km away. Of course this is again another attempt to cover up failures with unsubstantiated claims of which no evidence exists. Zelensky mocked the announcement, comparing it to "Wunderwaffe" or wonder weapons, coined by the Nazis to bolster their egos & support when they were losing WWII.

[Old Koreelah]

Has anyone posted this gem yet?

 

[willedoo]

3 hours ago, kgwilson said:

The latest Russian propaganda is that they have deployed a new Laser weapon called Zadira that can incinerate targets up to 4.8km away. Of course this is again another attempt to cover up failures with unsubstantiated claims of which no evidence exists. Zelensky mocked the announcement, comparing it to "Wunderwaffe" or wonder weapons, coined by the Nazis to bolster their egos & support when they were losing WWII.

Just a bit of waffle in my opinion. On a front the size of the current one, the Russians would need at least hundreds of them, if not thousands, in the hands of skilled operators to make even a small difference. If a drone is within that short range of the laser, it would mean Ukrainian artillery would be within range of the laser crew. As soon as the laser was activated, you would think multiple drones would lock on their coordinates and activate the artillery to obliterate the laser crew.

 

One of the crappier Western press outlets was writing about Putin deploying the feared 'Terminators' to Ukraine. The BMPT Terminator tank support vehicle is well armed with anti-tank guided missiles, 30mm auto-cannon, grenade launchers, 7.62mm machine gun and explosive reactive armour. Big deal. It's just more shiny green stuff for the Ukrainians to terminate. If the Russians deploy the Terminators with the same level of intelligence we've witnessed so far, then we're just talking more future scrap metal. You can have all the flash gear in the world, but without brains and planning, it's limited in effectiveness.

[old man emu]

5 minutes ago, willedoo said:

a new Laser weapon called Zadira that can incinerate targets up to 4.8km away.

Can you imagine the electrical power a laser capable of incinerating targets that far away would consume?

 

I was working on a calculation, but had to get back to the reno. Maybe tonight I'll get back onto it.

[willedoo]

It's interesting to see the 100 year old+ ex Soviet Maxim machine guns showing up in videos in Ukraine. I don't know whether it's being used in front line fighting, but it has been seen used for training new volunteers of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces. The PM M1910 dates back to 1910 and is chambered in 7.62x54mm Russian.

 

 

[willedoo]

This war is getting crazier by the minute. The Mariupol occupation authorities have announced they will demolish the Azovstal steel plant and turn Mariupol into a resort city. Before the Russians destroyed it, the plant provided 10,000 jobs and billions of dollars of foreign exchange earnings and taxes. They've thrown all that away to build a resort that only a few Russian's will ever go to. With existing Black Sea resorts like Crimea and Sochi, who would bother to go to Mariupol? And if Russia or the Donbass rebels continue to occupy the Donbass long term, what are they going to do with all that iron ore now that they've destroyed the plant.

 

The best case scenario is starting to look like a long drawn out war of attrition where Russia is weakened to the point that Ukraine takes back their territory. If that happens, hopefully Russia will be too weak to think about trying it again. Whatever happens, the end of Putin is the only thing that will give long term peace a chance.

[willedoo]

I haven't seen the original of this photo, but in higher resolution and without the watermark, it would be a classic war photo.

 

[facthunter]

It's clearly photoshopped.. Nev

[willedoo]

How it goes for a Russian Colonel:

1. Capture an abandoned nuclear facility, the site of the world's worst nuclear accident.

2. Order your troops to dig in below ground level in The Forest, the most heavily contaminated area.

3. Stay long enough to suffer an eventual fatal dose of radiation.

4. Retreat back over the border in defeat.

5. Get awarded the Nation's top medal for your intelligence and leadership.

 

[willedoo]

13 minutes ago, facthunter said:

It's clearly photoshopped.. Nev

In what way, Nev? Do you think enhancement or a cut and paste job.

 

Expanding the photo until it pixelates, it looks like the face section from the hairline to the nose is shopped on.

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by willedoo

[facthunter]

Cut and paste . Different tone and the tank throws a shadow and the close figure doesn't . Nev

[willedoo]

12 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Cut and paste . Different tone and the tank throws a shadow and the close figure doesn't . Nev

The feet look odd as well. They don't look natural for walking on flat bitumen.

[Jerry_Atrick]

3 hours ago, willedoo said:

How it goes for a Russian Colonel:

1. Capture an abandoned nuclear facility, the site of the world's worst nuclear accident.

2. Order your troops to dig in below ground level in The Forest, the most heavily contaminated area.

3. Stay long enough to suffer an eventual fatal dose of radiation.

4. Retreat back over the border in defeat.

5. Get awarded the Nation's top medal for your intelligence and leadership.

 

To do anything else would be an acknowledgement the war is going terribly and their command is making atrocious decisions. Propaganda stops for no one.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Another interesting interview

 

[willedoo]

Today is three months since Putin's hoped for three day war began.

 

It's been interesting reading the daily analysis by retired Major General Mick Ryan. His current opinion is that the Russian campaign in Ukraine is very close to reaching it's high water mark. He stresses that doesn't mean defeat or withdrawal, but that Russia will soon lose the capability for large scale offensive actions. What comes next is Russia transitioning to a hold and defend strategy of the land they've captured so far.

 

General Ryan also noted that defending ground will also present a lot of challenges, and that to do that, Putin will need a lot more troops in Ukraine than they have now. A lot of numbers will be needed for support roles, units already in the field will need to be rotated, and administration of local areas will take up resources. Administration alone will be challenging. The Russian appointed Mayor of Enerhodar was blown up on the weekend in an assassination attempt and is in ICU. There will be a lot of that to come, either from local resistance or Ukrainian special units operating behind the lines.

 

Now Ukraine has abandoned any concession of land for a peace deal. That would mean Russia will be continually defending the land bridge to Crimea that they've taken. The Donetsk province ends not far west of Mariupol, so most of Putin's land bridge is not part of the Donbass regions. Ukraine will want Kherson back so they have Black Sea access from the Dnieper River. Conversely, Russia will want to keep it so they have a fresh water supply to Crimea. No doubt Putin's plan for that area is to run a scam local referendum on joining Russia. If he annexes it into Russia, he can then claim any attacks on the area as being an existential threat to Russia, and threaten nukes.

[kgwilson]

I read recently that Putin is considering scrapping the 40 year old age limit for call up duty so he will end up with Dads Army defending his positions.

[pmccarthy]

Sad thing is, re-taking ground will mean artillery duels where the Ukraine side has to destroy its own towns.

[facthunter]

WAR is MADNESS. Defending territory is basic to all living creatures. So is establishing a pecking order.   Nev

[onetrack]

Most wars bog down for extended periods until some kind of breakthrough is reached. The best we can do is give the Ukrainians all the modern weaponry they need, so they can show the Russians that Western weaponry is far better than Russian weaponry.

The Russian tactics are mired in Cold War thinking, the Russian military is run by aged generals who have all their priorities wrong, and who cannot adapt to modern warfare strategies, because they have been shielded by Putin BS, that they're running the best military in the world.

[onetrack]

A veteran Russian diplomat, Boris Bondarev, assigned to the Russian permanent mission to the U.N in Geneva, has resigned in protest over the Russian invasion of the Ukraine and verbally savaged Putin, Sergie Lavrov and the leadership of the nation, saying, "Never have I been so ashamed of my country.”

 

Bondarev went on to say. "“Today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not about diplomacy,” wrote the diplomat, a 20-year veteran of the Russian foreign ministry. “It is all about warmongering, lies and hatred. It serves interests of few, the very few people thus contributing to further isolation and degradation of my country. Russia no longer has allies, and there is no one to blame but its reckless and ill-conceived policy.”

 

I have little doubt the polonium tea will soon be on the menu for this brave bloke. It's good to see he's not taken in by Putins BS.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/23/warmongering-lies-and-hatred-russian-diplomat-in-geneva-resigns-over-ukraine-invasion

[facthunter]

TRUTH is the first victim in a WAR is so true of this one. With Modern IT it is first amazing that it still happens but on  the other side, manipulated. it can aid the deceit. Eventually (I  hope) Time will would all heels.. It's NOT guaranteed though. Nev

[willedoo]

Driving in the Donbass - footage from a Greek journalist/photographer:

https://twitter.com/ArisMessinis/status/1528763701859209216