Sunday, February 16, 2020

I think I found my new breakfast mix...with a French or Japanese flair



Everyone using Twitter for their own particular interests.  But if you're a foodie or just someone that likes to experiment at home (I've gotten to a point where for a VARIETY of reasons I just don't trust fast food restaurants unless I'm familiar with the people that work there or its recommended by people I trust) then the above Twitter page is for you.
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l Be-200ES amphibious aircraft pics...




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Navy seeks to cut 40 Billion Dollars in 6 weeks...the budget trainwreck is here...

via Forbes.
The Department of the Navy is preparing to announce a crash program to find “at least $40B in real line-of-accounting savings” over the next six weeks. This lighting-fast cost-cutting initiative, called a “Stem-to-Stern Capability Strategic Review”, will begin on February 18 and end on Tuesday, March 31.
Here.

The trainwreck is here folks.  They can try and put lipstick on this pig but the fact remains that its finally time to pay for the foolishness of the past two decades.

This won't be pretty.  It won't be pleasant and no one is going to like it.

But there is a silver lining.  If they can SOMEHOW do it right then it'll be of benefit to the entire US govt.

Waste, fraud and abuse is rampant.

There are savings to be found.

Additionally if the US Navy/Marine Corps can take this kind of hit then certainly the other departments in the govt can do the same.

That's potentially good news if the President (of whatever party) actually holds feet to the fire.

One other thing.  With cuts of this type the military will have to start saying no.  No we can't be in forever war.  No we can't have bases in every freaking nation on the planet.  No we can't be a piggy bank for whatever domestic program you want funded.

Much danger and much opportunity here.
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Its finally being said out loud. IMF head says that the Coronavirus could damage global growth...

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Turks are threatening the Russian Ambassador...

via Sputnik.
Earlier this week, the ambassador revealed that the recent rise in tensions between Moscow and Ankara over Russian support for Syria in Idlib had led to threats being made against his life, recalling that the last crisis in relations between the two countries led to the assassination of his predecessor by a Turkish radical.

Russian Ambassador to Turkey Alexei Yerkhov has expanded on his earlier comments about the threats he and embassy staff have had to deal with in recent days, stressing that while he does not take them to heart, they’re unacceptable because he is a representative of Russia.

“As far as the threats are concerned, we’ve discussed them at length, and even publicized the most odious ones. Among the last which we’ve received last night and this morning are comments such as ‘We’ll build skyscrapers out of the skulls of your army’, and ‘You’ll pay the price for every drop of blood you shed’, and so on,” Yerkhov said, speaking to Zvezda on Sunday.
The ambassador noted that he could not help but treat this subject with the utmost seriousness, since it’s not simply a matter of threats against himself.

“Someone may say that this is a case of people letting off some steam and moving on, someone else may say this is democratic. It’s hard to disagree with these viewpoints. But at the same time such actions are unacceptable, because we’re not talking about the embassy or the ambassador, but about Russia and all of its representatives,” Yerkhov stressed.
Wow.

When it comes to threats the highlighted one is pretty inventive.  Wonder when Russian gloves come off when it comes to Turkey?

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Syrian Army has captured Aleppo...

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BMP turned VBIED in Syria...



What a waste of an armored vehicle.  AI would be ideal for outpost defense.  The problem is that to get the most out of the system you'd have to remove the man from the loop.  Could we design a friend or foe system capable enough to kill the bad guys and keep from raining 50 caliber rounds on the good when returning from patrol?
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Saudi Tornado shot down over Yemen...

Thanks to Αλεξικέραυνος Αλεξικέραυνος for the link!



Yeah.

This thing has been allowed to morph into something nasty.  Remember a bit ago when our MH-60 was downed off the coast?  Then we saw ships hit at sea.  Anti-tank missiles being lobbied at anything with wheels or tracks...and we can't forget the fact that major Saudi cities have been hit with ballistic missiles.

We've been in a regional war for at least a couple of years now and its intensity has been amping up with little notice.

Do the Saudis have an exit plan or are they stuck like we are in Afghanistan?
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Sunday Funny...


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Things are getting sporting in China...could a virus bring about the fall of this govt?





Have we reached a point where we should all be asking if this virus could cause the fall of this govt?

I'm not so sure we AREN'T there!

We've seen the explosion in cases.  We know that production/exports are taking a HUGE hit.  We've seen corporations warning that profits will be down because of production delays in China.  We have no idea what is happening with the social fabric of the country but we've seen anecdotal evidence that its at least under strain if not unraveling.

The bad thing for the Chinese?  Very few remember the "hard" times that they've suffered.  For many of the young and or especially hardcore all they know is of the seemingly unstoppable rise.

What would a blow of this type do to the psyche of those people?

I have no idea but I think its a question that policy makers that have a much better view of this thing probably should be asking.
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Open Comment Post. 16 Feb 2020.


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Northern Fleet's 200th Arctic Motorized Rifle Brigade on exercise....





The MTLB is old as dirt but I always thought it was an extremely functional vehicle.  Have the Russians been smart with updates or is it basically the old stuff inside the same wrapper?
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Saturday, February 15, 2020

Jesus! This Coronavirus must be worse than we thought...China is getting extreme...



Burying animals alive?  That is brutal as fuck!  This thing must be much worse than anyone is being told (meaning the general public).

Yeah.

This is a defining moment for China.
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A new Be-200ES amphibious aircraft for the Russian Navy completed its first flight.

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Телеканал "Звезда" (@zvezdanews) on


Good looking plane.  Too bad we have bad relations with Russia.  I'm sure it would make a great firefighter in the Western US, Australia, and Southern Europe.
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The Coronavirus is breaking China....this is a defining moment for them...











The Coronavirus isn't as momentus or stunning as T Square but it will be just as important if not more.

The rising China is being set on its back foot by this virus.  Faith in the govt will be shaken. 

Societal niceties appear to be breaking down.

Belief in their inevitable rise might take a hit.

This is a supreme moment of danger for the Chinese govt.  The chance for this danger to be turned into opportunity has probably past.

They're in trouble folks.  Big trouble.  Now is OUR CHANCE to push them back into the stone ages.
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Boxer Modded To Become A Credible Mobile Gun System...




I like the concept.  Could it be done in real life?  I'm not sure.  While it seems like a simple, straightforward and commonsense mod I'm positive someone will be able to shoot holes in the idea.

Wonder if we could get a bubba from Rheinmetall to weigh in?
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Destroyed Turk armor outside Aleppo (Turk terrorist allies)...Mildly GRAPHIC!



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VBCI Pilot...

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Saturday Funny....


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Lesson learned from conflict in Ukraine? Expect heavy vehicle losses in a peer conflict...


via RFEL.org
Ukraine's military says 2,576 units of its weaponized armored vehicles and equipment were damaged between April 2014 and June 2016 in the combat zone of the two easternmost regions where a war with Russia-backed separatists still rages.

Most of the losses -- 2,185 units -- were caused by enemy shelling, armed clashes, and landmine explosions, the Ukrainian-based Defense Express magazine reported on February 11, citing data received from the Defense Ministry.

Exactly 1,201 infantry fighting vehicles and 440 tanks were damaged during this period, the most among the various armored vehicles.

According to the cited data, the most common cause of damage was fire from rocket-launcher and artillery systems, as well as mortars.

Forty-five percent of the total damage, or 1,159 armored vehicles, were damaged in July-September 2014. This occurred around the time when Russia allegedly engaged in systematic cross-border shelling of Ukrainian positions, something which Moscow denies.

Russia followed up on the purported shelling from its side of the border with regular forces who crossed into Ukraine's eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions in late summer, culminating in the disastrous battle of Ilovaisk in which Ukrainian forces found themselves surrounded.

Altogether, 2,410 armored vehicles, including 475 tanks, were damaged in the first 365 days of the war.

In 2015, Ukraine lost 410 armored vehicles, including many during the battle for Donetsk airport and near Debaltseve in the Donetsk region, a key rail-transportation hub that Kyiv eventually lost to combined Russian-separatist forces.

Twenty-six armored vehicles were damaged the following year consisting of either infantry fighting vehicles or armored personnel carriers.
Here.

You know what has me spinning a bit?  The fact that lessons from the past are being forgotten.

In this instance I'm going over the USMC's plan for going against China.  I'm beyond stoked that they're focused on the threat.

I'm miffed that they're taking the approach that they are.

I have evolved on my thinking.  I don't think we'll see a straight match between the US and China at first.  I think we'll see smaller wars at first.  A return to the past of proxy wars.

China will lavishly fund a smaller nation to go against one of our allies.  Who that is I have no idea, but I believe that it'll be as much a spoiling attack as it is an effort to gain a particular objective.

China gets nation A to attack nation B.  We rush to supply military aid.  They do the same.  Suddenly we're digging into war stocks to keep them in the fight (and if we're using the old play book...sending advisors). 

How long could we keep up such an effort in the modern era before we start running out of gear?

Would we be forced to actually engage in a manufacturing war?  Could we win that type fight?

Ukraine is teaching us a lesson.  I hope we're paying attention.
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