Saturday, August 27, 2022
Always thought that candidates posting with weapons/gear was goofy but this Republican Congressional candidate pulls it off nicely!
How many of you are aware that India accidentally fired a Brahmos Supersonic attack missile into Pakistan?
Yeah boys and girls. Alot is going on in the world. Get your eyes off America and Europe and have a look around. We're all in the same storm, just in different boats. There is more to the world than just the West!!!!Just In: #Pakistan rejects India’s purported closure of the incident of the firing of a supersonic Missile into Pakistani territory on 9 March, 2022 and reiterates demand for joint probe, says @ForeignOfficePk https://t.co/asdupq3zwI
— Ghulam Abbas Shah (@ghulamabbasshah) August 24, 2022
Russia's 3rd Army Corps is their "breakthrough" force?
At this point I’d say it’s fairly clear that Russia’s leadership intends for the 3rd Army Corps (3AC) to be used offensively. Russia has held back a lot of high end kit including BMP-3, T-80BVM, T-90M, and even the latest AK-12 models (h/t @JakOSpades) https://t.co/8stomM0yYM
— tom (@tom_bullock_) August 27, 2022
Friday, August 26, 2022
Pakistan is getting smashed by hellacious floods
Horrifying footage from S. #Pakistan today of entire building washed away by floods. Over 935 people killed, more than 33 million affected, worst natural disaster for country in decades: pic.twitter.com/aO6ZMlQycf
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) August 26, 2022
Extreme floods continue this morning in Malakand division of #Swat, #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/JBPDZDcqmT
— Intel Consortium (HADR-FLOODS) (@INTELPSF) August 26, 2022
Kizilelma Fighting UAV
Turkish company BAYKAR has finished assembling the second prototype of Kizilelma Fighting UAV. Maiden flight is expected next year. [album] from /u/Prudent-Confusion343 at #WarplanePorn ➡ https://t.co/TcllCNjQRP pic.twitter.com/RDb8obyQwE
— WarplanePorn (@warplane_porn) August 26, 2022
It is in the best interests of Ukraine, and the west, to end this war as soon as possible
via The Guardian
Ukraine wins by seizing the opportunity, while its still can, to immediately begin a massive, western-funded reconstruction effort that turbo-charges its political and economic integration into Europe, strengthens its security, and speeds it down the path toward a democratic future. Ukraine wins by demonstrating the extraordinary resilience of political and economic liberalism to the world and starting that process as soon as possible, not in five years when the country is destroyed and the world has moved on. Ukraine wins by stopping Russia from extinguishing its independence, which so far has been miraculously preserved, but remained at risk until the fighting stops. Ukraine wins by channeling the national energy that has been generated by the war into a better peace and a stronger, more prosperous nation.
Western support for Ukraine has so far been extraordinary, reaching levels that almost no one could have expected just days before the war began. But today’s high levels of support will not last forever. Food and fuel costs worldwide are spiking. Nato has been unified in the first 100 days of the war, but over time divisions will emerge. Ukraine’s cause is widely viewed as just today, but the longer the war drags on, the greater the risk that moral clarity will fade.
Ukraine should prefer to spend the goodwill it now enjoys on rebuilding its economy, infrastructure and democracy, instead of on more weapons. Reconstruction is already a massive undertaking, which under the best conditions will take a decade or more and require hundreds of billions of dollars in western aid. The longer the war goes on, the more Ukraine will be destroyed and the more expensive it will get. A protracted war meanwhile increases the risk of deepening corruption and greater centralization and personalization of power in Kiev, both of which plagued Ukraine in the past and work against the overarching goal of strengthening Ukrainian democracy.
To be sure, de facto acceptance of a divided Ukraine, even if not de jure, means a hostile, potentially disruptive Russia on the border. This obviously presents challenges to Ukraine’s reconstruction, especially if Russia controls Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea. But a Russian presence on Ukraine’s border is unavoidable without a coup in Moscow or a broader war; transitioning to reconstruction now presents fewer challenges than an endless war that sees many more cities in Ukraine flattened and millions of its citizens living as refugees abroad.
It will be hard to convince Ukraine’s leaders that this is their best option, now that their nation has suffered so grievously at Putin’s hands. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is unlikely to see his nation’s longer-term interest in a prosperous European future unless the United States and Europe use the influence they have as Ukraine’s economic and military lifeline to encourage him to do so.
Accepting a limited victory will also require diplomatic leadership from Washington to overcome resistance in some allied capitals, and from the commentators who badly want revenge on the Kremlin. Indeed, in the zero-sum logic that prevails in many quarters, Ukraine can only win if Russia is dealt a humiliating and decisive blow. Unquestionably, Putin should pay a dear price for the havoc that he has wreaked on Ukraine and the resulting damage to European and global security. Justice also calls for this. But sanctions, diplomatic ostracism, and heavy losses to the Russian military are real costs that will bite more over time. Russia’s elites, meanwhile, have had their assets seized and doors slammed in their faces around the world. These costs will afflict Russia and its leadership for years to come.
Perhaps the most famous dictum of strategy is that war ought to be a continuation of policy by other means. Western leaders should thus remember: Ukraine doesn’t win this war on the military battlefield. Nor does the west. It wins it when Ukraine becomes a healthy, prosperous democracy.
We do NOT have the industrial capacity to match the Chinese ship for ship!
God I hate to say it, but its all about missiles. We've got to build ship killing missiles and a whole shit load of them. We do NOT have the industrial capacity to match the Chinese ship for ship!Five 052D destroyers 驱逐舰 under construction...下饺子 #解放军 海军 #PLAN pic.twitter.com/Fak5cvsiui
— China Made 中国制造 (@Anthony01375841) August 21, 2022
Apparently Ukrainian and Russian Marines are engaged in fights over Snake Island!
If this is true then this is a fight worth watching. I would imagine its just a series of raids being conducted by both sides. Additionally I imagine that outposts are being setup and then expelled by the other side and so on and so forth.Footage of 🇺🇦🇷🇺 clashes on Snake Island
— C4H10FO2P (@markito0171) August 19, 2022
Date unknown pic.twitter.com/VfYVnsTn1O
German power prices are spiking like crazy. European pain is just beginning....
Wow. That line practically goes straight up! Germans are about to feel pain. When Germany hurts the rest of the EU is in a pit of suffering!NEW - German benchmark power price surged over €700 per MWh for the first time today.
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) August 22, 2022
14x the seasonal average over the past 5 years. pic.twitter.com/2Npb75AqqB
Soldiers of the Amphibious Corps "Amf 4" of the Swedish Navy
Soldiers of the Amphibious Corps "Amf 4" of the Swedish Navy, during VBSS training in Greece (July 2022) pic.twitter.com/0O14DsHfjW
— SgtBlitz🇫🇮 (@SgtBlitz_fi) August 24, 2022
Drone dropped grenade
Wakey-wakey!
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 26, 2022
The Armed Forces of Ukraine gently awakened the occupier from his sleep. pic.twitter.com/f7CoR8X2Md
Have you been keeping up with the reactor story in Ukraine?
Have you been keeping up with the reactor story in Ukraine?
I have an absolutely nothing makes sense about it.
The Russians have captured it but for some reason still power the Ukrainian side. Additionally we had reports (that I didn't post because it looked like propaganda) that the Russians had wired the thing with explosives and were gonna blow it up.
As far as the Ukrainians go (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) they're shelling the fuck outta the place and having a good time while doing it!
This is not an ordinary war.
The Russians keep supplying power to their enemy. The Ukrainians cry about Russians blowing up the place yet shell it on a daily.
I don't get it but it is the way it is.
Thursday, August 25, 2022
US Dept Of Defense is going to give the assistance/training operation a "name" and pick a General Officer to lead it. We're tiptoeing to war!
So how will this go? European Assurance to Operation Democracy and finally (when we put boots on the ground early next year when Ukrainian positions get overran) Operation Restore Hope? Kidding but NOT kidding (hope you got the Star Wars reference)!new from us: in coming weeks, the Pentagon will name the massive assistance and training operation for Ukraine (like Afghanistan or Iraq) and name a general officer to lead it. me and @nancyayoussef https://t.co/Rcxzrr3Jx0
— Gordon Lubold (@glubold) August 25, 2022
Defense Priorities.Org's take on deterring Chinese action against Taiwan
via DP
KEY POINTS
1. The U.S. has a goal to avoid a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, but the overriding U.S. interest is to avoid a ruinous war with China. The imperative to avoid a conflict with China should take priority for U.S. leaders.
2. Proposals to deter China by bolstering U.S. military deployments in the Western Pacific are unlikely to succeed and fraught with danger. China has advantages in terms of geographical proximity to Taiwan and superior commitment to resolving the issue on favorable terms. The United States should not commit to fighting a great-power war at a time of China’s choosing.
3. The Taiwanese obviously have the strongest interest in deterring a Chinese invasion of their island. Regional powers such as Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia have the next-strongest interests in preserving stability in East Asia. These actors should do the heavy lifting in deterring China.
4. The U.S. should encourage Taiwan and other regional actors to develop their own means of deterring a Chinese invasion. Working with others, Taiwan has the capacity to inflict severe costs upon Beijing in the event of an armed attack. If calibrated correctly, Taiwan and others might convince Beijing that the various costs of invasion—economic sanctions, opprobrium, military balancing—outweigh the benefits and thus deter China from invading.
5. America’s role should be to support Taiwanese-led efforts to deter China while working to convince all sides that the status quo is sustainable and the U.S. remains committed to its longstanding One China policy. This is the best chance of preventing a war in the Taiwan Strait.
Another delegation is enroute to Taiwan in a military plane...WTF is going on over there?
Let me get this straight. Pelosi went to Taiwan and China went batshit crazy and started massive military exercises. In the middle of that we got warnings that China could attack Taiwan sooner than 2030. Another delegation went and now we have a third? Wonder what info we're not getting. This could be considered to be provocative. I'm sure the Chinese see it that way but they still keep going.JUST IN - Another U.S. delegation is en route to #Taiwan in a military plane, TVBS reports.
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) August 25, 2022
US forces under the operational control of a foreign govt during war?
Why not admit that the S. Koreans are more than capable of defending themselves now? Did you know that S. Korean citizens recently held a large protest against US forces in their country? Policy makers and the elite might want our forces there but apparently the S. Korean people don't.#SouthKorea is leading the entirety of a major combined military exercise with the United States for the first time, Seoul officials said Wednesday, in a sign of progress in the allies' plan for the transition of wartime OPCON.#UFS22 #UShttps://t.co/6D99GycoAW
— Indo-Pacific Defense FORUM (@IPDefenseForum) August 25, 2022







