Russia on brink of ... NOPE! Russia INVADES Ukraine!

[zinfamous]

It's almost as if selling off all your critical national infrastructure to the highest bidder is a bad thing. Thatcher would not approve.

All they've really got, though, is that brown frown (the leas efficient, preposterously devastating-to-mine-and-live-with version of coal in the world, the braunkhole, or lignite). It's really not even feasible with their stated path forward to ramp up such mining, considering so many of the old mining towns are pretty much uninhabitable now (Despite the demand for some to move back in an "get to work!").

The end of the world's capital of brown coal

Germany is slowly shuttering its prolific lignite mines, which produce the least efficient type of coal. The ghostly towns in the mines' shadows may hold a lesson for how to move on.

www.bbc.com

I mean, you can't live where you have to dig gigantic pits out of the earth

Can Germany Show Us How to Leave Coal Behind?

The country embarked on an ambitious plan to transition to clean energy, aiming to lead the fight against climate change. It has not been easy.

www.newyorker.com

Their options are pretty limited for the short term.

 

[Dave_5k]

Missing a zero but it's a start.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511142247533883393

Boo!

1) Confirms all of the 100 prior Switchblade systems (supposedly en-route) are just the 300 shorter range anti-personnel series. Although can take out unarmored supply trucks also, those are now far less critical given short supply lines backed by rail in South/East. Best use will probably be in counter-artillery - which may help but not decisive.

2) And they’ve just now ordered 10 of the anti-tank 600 series. No delivery date. Even if they come with 10 drones each again, that’s like 1-2 days of ammo for targeting armor.

US also still blocking plane delivery, inexplicably.

 

[Dave_5k]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that overall the Red Cross has helped a crap-ton more people then they've hurt over many decades.

The fact is that being politically neutral means they will also provide aid to civilians on the dreaded "other side".

Globally, absolutely. Can argue they’re not the most efficient, but they certainly do help, and have made a major contribution at times.

In Ukraine they’ve gotten a bad rap which goes back years - vast majority of the visible “Ukraine” aid post 2014 invasion has gone to the Russian controlled Donbas (which to be fair, was the most needy - as both Russia and Ukraine abandoned support for civilians in the Russian-controlled “republics” territories.)

And then the Red Cross were now seen to do nothing in Ukraine for the first month of the war, while internationally collecting $10’s of millions for “Ukraine” - advertising based on the crisis but delivering no aid.

 

[Dave_5k]

That's just a picture, so can't judge what was actually said.

True, but the tweet was by the ICRC rep being interviewed, so it is fair to judge her on the text content of her own tweet: “Both sides must take practical steps to limit the suffering of civilians in Ukraine”

Which can be read as being a neutral generic statement… but it also strongly aligns with Russian propaganda that Ukraine is causing the suffering of its own civilians. Going “both sides” here was taken poorly by Ukrainians.

 

[Zorba]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that overall the Red Cross has helped a crap-ton more people then they've hurt over many decades.

The fact is that being politically neutral means they will also provide aid to civilians on the dreaded "other side".

Yeah, in general I need a lot of evidence to believe the Red Cross is corrupt. But I do believe they aren't super human and that they can't go into an active battle area to render aid.

 

[K1052]

Boo!

1) Confirms all of the 100 prior Switchblade systems (supposedly en-route) are just the 300 shorter range anti-personnel series. Although can take out unarmored supply trucks also, those are now far less critical given short supply lines backed by rail in South/East. Best use will probably be in counter-artillery - which may help but not decisive.

2) And they’ve just now ordered 10 of the anti-tank 600 series. No delivery date. Even if they come with 10 drones each again, that’s like 1-2 days of ammo for targeting armor.

US also still blocking plane delivery, inexplicably.

The 600 is pretty new, they might not have a lot on hand in the first place. With the front shrinking 1000 of the 300s is certainly going to be disruptive to the Russians and we’ll likely send more.

There does seem to be a shift in our willingness to supply heavier weapons via NATO nations. Looking like lots of tanks, AFVs, and IFVs headed into Ukraine. Probably substantial artillery assets too.

 

[Muse]

None of those surrendering looked to have been wounded. Not even a scratch. After 40 days in a war zone. In a besieged city.


The video is appearing and disappearing on the internet, here is one link, not sure how long it will be good:

no blood, no grit, mismatched uniforms, no patches, just a bunch of relatively clean looking guys walking past a camera.

Not only that, none of them looked to be the least bit tired. After weeks of war a cadre of infantrymen are going to be beat. The Russians evidently staged that. A pair of Russians that left the country around 3 weeks ago stated that Russia is "having a moral crisis." That's way too positive an assessment. Russia is morally degenerate.

 

[Muse]

In a minor side note on who to not donate to, the International Committee of the Red Cross has earned themselves a horrid reputation in Ukraine.

Have echoed Kremlin propaganda, held photo shoots with Russian politicians, collected tens of millions in donations for Ukraine. And … that’s it since start of war.

Oh, they finally did send a half dozen or so reps to Ukraine finally in last few days, that were supposed to somehow magically evacuate the 100,000 or so remaining trapped civilians in Mariupol. But they’ve only managed photo ops and press releases from safe areas so far.

Latest gem of let’s “both sides” blame the victims:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511110575056642051

I made a couple donations over the weekend. International Rescue Committee and Save the Children. Get good marks by Give.org, seem probably OK, maybe really good. Not easy figuring out which are the best charities for this. I also considered Nova Ukraine, who are 501(c)(3) , staffed largely (almost wholly?) by volunteers? But they weren't on the list of the 30 "recommended" charities at IIRC give.org, so I decided on those others. Still, if you look them up they are recommended at give.org, IIRC. A big plus would be that they are Ukraine focused, those others aren't. STC and IRC are focused on the zones of major need and disruption, guess that's OK (Ukraine, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, ...).

 

[Meghan54]

In a minor side note on who to not donate to, the International Committee of the Red Cross has earned themselves a horrid reputation in Ukraine.

Have echoed Kremlin propaganda, held photo shoots with Russian politicians, collected tens of millions in donations for Ukraine. And … that’s it since start of war.

Oh, they finally did send a half dozen or so reps to Ukraine finally in last few days, that were supposed to somehow magically evacuate the 100,000 or so remaining trapped civilians in Mariupol. But they’ve only managed photo ops and press releases from safe areas so far.

Latest gem of let’s “both sides” blame the victims:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511110575056642051

I'm starting to wonder if this is actually real or not. Cannot locate the "interview" from Mar. 29 on Al Jazeera's website nor any mention of it. Nor find any mention of it on Synenko's Twitter feed, nor Al Jazeera's Twitter feed.

And why the six day delay between the interview and the "outrage" post on Apr. 4? If it was so outrageous, it seems to me it would've been posted that day instead of waiting almost a week to post.

Just askin' questions is all......

 

[Zorba]

I'm starting to wonder if this is actually real or not. Cannot locate the "interview" from Mar. 29 on Al Jazeera's website nor any mention of it. Nor find any mention of it on Synenko's Twitter feed, nor Al Jazeera's Twitter feed.

And why the six day delay between the interview and the "outrage" post on Apr. 4? If it was so outrageous, it seems to me it would've been posted that day instead of waiting almost a week to post.

Just askin' questions is all......

Based on the rest of her Twitter feed and this: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...to-evacuate-mariupol-after-red-cross-warnings I think it was at least taken massively out of context.

https://twitter.com/AlyonaSynenko

 

[Dave_5k]

One last random rant… Biden is certainly old enough to remember the Korean War. When the Soviet Union provided (and flew!) hundreds of MiGs to fight against the US and UN forces. Soviet pilots likely shot down hundreds of US/UN planes.

Without the Soviet Air Force and Soviet tanks and artillery, one could almost guarantee there would be no “North” Korea today.

Biden knows this history - and by blocking planes, tanks, and artillery, very well could have doomed Ukraine if Russia hadn’t been surprisingly incompetent & Ukraine very effective.

But it is also clear precedent for proxy support that planes and tanks are not an issue.

 

[Zorba]

Thought this was a good write up on what is going on with the Ruble. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/opinion/ruble-value.html

 

[Muse]

Thought this was a good write up on what is going on with the Ruble. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/opinion/ruble-value.html

This may get you past the firewall... Um, let me know, please.

Opinion | The Ruble Has Bounced Back. What Does That Mean? (Published 2022)

Russia’s financial position is stronger in the short term than many expected.

www.nytimes.com

At the bottom of that piece is this tidbit:

Quote of the day
“When the Soviet authorities during the 1940s exhibited the 1940 movie of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ as evidence of how miserable the poor were in capitalist America, it backfired. What amazed the Soviet audiences was that the Joad family fled starvation by car.”

— Deirdre N. McCloskey, “Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can’t Explain the Modern World” (2010)

 

[RnR_au]

This may get you past the firewall... Um, let me know, please.

Yup works. Cheers!

 

[Meghan54]

One last random rant… Biden is certainly old enough to remember the Korean War. When the Soviet Union provided (and flew!) hundreds of MiGs to fight against the US and UN forces. Soviet pilots likely shot down hundreds of US/UN planes.

Yes Biden is old enough to remember the Korean War. He was 8 when it started. How significant the war was to an 8 year old is another question, tho. You seem to feel Biden, at 8, should have had a complete understanding about the Korean War. Funny, that.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Official denial, for what it's worth.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511238802701959171

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Have we seen this?

Ukraine says video and intercepted audio show advanced SU-34 fighter jet crashing in flames after being hit by air defenses

Business Insider|20 minutes ago
Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces posted a video to Facebook showing a burning object plummeting from the sky in Kharkiv on Sunday.

 

[RnR_au]

A shit tonne of Russian diplomats are being chucked out of Europe; Germany - 40, Denmark - 15, Italy - 30, Sweden - ? about to have a presser.

 

[cytg111]

A shit tonne of Russian diplomats are being chucked out of Europe; Germany - 40, Denmark - 15, Italy - 30, Sweden - ? about to have a presser.

I think thats a mistake.
Center square gallows had been appropriate.

 

[K1052]

Now that’s a shot

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511292509619568640

 

[cytg111]

Now that’s a shot

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511292509619568640

Thats god damn beautiful.

 

[Iron Woode]

Interesting article on the Norman Unit in battle:

Canadian infantry veteran enters 'living hell' in Ukraine to capture village from Russians

War in Ukraine against a modern army 'is totally different than in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Taliban didn’t have planes'

nationalpost.com

The intensity of combat in Ukraine — and the deadly environment many Canadians are rushing toward — became apparent 10 minutes into last month’s attack, as two of the Ukrainians’ armoured vehicles were hit. The Ukrainian commander jumped off the troop carrier he shared with Hrulf and raced across the battlefield, managing to pull one crew member free of a burning vehicle.

The soldier was “bleeding profusely” from shrapnel wounds but the Ukrainians had only a piece of cloth to tend to him. Hrulf had an extra tourniquet and they used it to stanch the hemorrhaging as the group began taking small-arms fire. Moments later, the injured soldier called out to the Canadian, pointing to his neck, which turned out to also have been punctured by a piece of shrapnel. Miraculously, the burning metal appeared to have cauterized the wound and it wasn’t bleeding, said Hrulf.

Another of the Ukrainians was not so lucky. Hrulf saw a hunk of shrapnel smash into the back of his head, killing him instantly.

The Ukrainian commanding officer himself suffered a concussion as shells exploded around them, but kept leading his men, “puking and running at the same time,” said Hrulf. “It was inspiring.”

Entering the village finally, the attacking soldiers noticed a Russian BTR infantry vehicle firing “hard” at another group of Ukrainians with its 30 mm cannon. Hrulf said he aimed an RPG-22 — a Soviet-designed anti-tank rocket launcher — at the armoured car and hit the turret with deadly effect.

“After that round, it shut up and just scrambled away,” he said. “That commander and that gunner (inside the BTR) didn’t have any chance that day.”

 

[Muse]

Yes Biden is old enough to remember the Korean War. He was 8 when it started. How significant the war was to an 8 year old is another question, tho. You seem to feel Biden, at 8, should have had a complete understanding about the Korean War. Funny, that.

That was my thought exactly, and I was more than once tempted to say something similar, but you said it better than I would have.

 

[Muse]

Now that’s a shot

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511292509619568640

Replying to
@UAWeapons
$100,000 Anti Tank missile taking down a $16 Million (USD not rubles!) helo is not a bad ROI!

Stugna Stugna-P anti-tank guided missile technical data

Stugna Stugna-P anti-tank guided missile Ukraine technical data fact sheet pictures video

www.armyrecognition.com

 

[K1052]

Replying to
@UAWeapons
$100,000 Anti Tank missile taking down a $16 Million (USD not rubles!) helo is not a bad ROI!

Stugna P is I think 20-30K USD for a complete system, which is reusable except for the rocket and tube. On a per hit cost for basically anything its a screaming deal against targets that don't require more sophisticated approaches.