|
What is the most powerful flying bug? This poll is closed. |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| 🦋 |
|
15 | 3.71% |
| 🦇 |
|
115 | 28.47% |
| 🪰 |
|
12 | 2.97% |
| 🐦 |
|
67 | 16.58% |
| dragonfly |
|
94 | 23.27% |
| 🦟 |
|
14 | 3.47% |
| 🐝 |
|
87 | 21.53% |
| Total: | 404 votes | ||
|
I do believe this is what the kids call "jebaited"
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 05:29
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 26, 2024 07:44 |
|
|
mlmp08 posted:I was just curious where FF was getting the idea that Ukraine was given defective stingers. Question answered. if they were given functional ones they would have won the war already
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 05:31
|
|
|
Marzzle posted:cnc generals is a fantastic piece of american history. heritage not hate How could you forget https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZQdaEFa_60 And https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00KSBpGBwmo Love this merry fellow
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 05:37
|
|
|
International Affairs: The threat of MANPAD proliferation Recent reports suggest that the United States and its allies in the Syrian Conflict are preparing a “Plan B” that involves supplying heavier weaponry to moderate Syrian rebel groups should the current ceasefire fail to hold. These weapons would have the specific function of countering the Syrian government’s aircraft and artillery advantage (1). While it is certainly important to plan for this realistic outcome, introducing advanced weapon systems into this warzone is a particularly perilous decision that world powers need to seriously reconsider. Presently the best defense against these systems is their absence – they are not readily available or transportable to many nations where a civilian airline shoot down would cause a public uproar. In particular, the introduction of Man-Portable Anti-Air Defense (MANPADs) into the hands of Syrian rebels – even so called “moderate” rebels – opens up the potential for these extremely dangerous weapons to fall into arsenals of extremist groups who do pose a direct threat to the civilian populations of the world. MANPADs are shoulder launcher missiles that are specifically designed to target, disable, and destroy fixed wing and rotor aircraft at a relatively low altitude. Most systems contain three main components: the missile tube, a grip, and a battery. Missile tubes are typical single-use and the batteries have limited power and storage life. The system is especially effective against aircraft as the munition is able to track the target’s engine infrared heat signatures against the sky. Proliferation of these launchers gives a terrorist an effective, easily concealable, and mobile weapon platform that is ideal for targeting civilian aviation – a historically favorite target of violent non-state actors for pressuring governments and causing fear among the public. (2) The United States famously provided the FIM-92 Stinger to the Afghan mujahedeen to combat the Soviet offensive in Afghanistan as part of the CIA’s Operation Cyclone (3). These stingers are, with some dispute, credited with blunting the effectiveness of the feared Mi-24 “Hind” multipurpose helicopter gunships that vastly outclassed anything that Afghan guerillas could field. At the very least, the gap between Mi-24 Hind and the low-tech guerrilla represented the disparity between the two sides; without advanced weaponry aircraft are incredibly difficult to take down. Counter-proliferation polices were put in place to attempt to contain the spread of the stinger such as requiring a spent missile tube to be presented to receive a new missile; yet as many as 600 of the nearly 1000 missiles were unaccounted for after the formal end of the conflict. The CIA’s main counter-proliferation strategy mainly consisted of instituting a buy-back program that increased the black market price to outside the price-range of many poorly funded terrorist groups. The conflicts in Libya and Syria have led to a large influx of MANAPDs to enter the inventories of non-state actors (4). These civil wars resulted in many of the weapons depots and airbases, where these systems are typically stored en mass, to fall out of the control of the local authority. Once the security of these facilities is violated and arms are allowed to spread from them, it becomes extremely difficult (if not impossible) to ensure the weapons are accounted for after a conflict. Auditors would be reliant on any recoverable documents and cooperatives sources to detail inventories – a questionable proposition and reliability in authoritarian regimes and even more so in the chaos following a violent revolution. Proliferation of anti-aircraft weaponry into conflict zones does drastically increase the ability of non-state actors to target aviation. This has been prolifically demonstrated at least twice in the Ukrainian conflict where anti-aircraft weaponry has been used to take down large aircraft. The shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on 17 July 2014 by a Buk vehicle based surface-to-air missile system (SAM) resulted in the downing of Boeing 777, western media attention, and nearly 300 deaths (5). While the spread of these weapons is much less prevalent than MANPADs, the use of this weapon in the conflict zone shows that there are serious concerns for aviation security once unrealizable actors are using guided missiles to target aircraft. The second major incident was the shoot-down of an IlyushinIL-76 Ukrainian Airforce transport plane on resulting in the deaths of the nearly 50 service members on board while the attempting to land at Luhansk International Airport (6). This highlights two major risks: that large aircraft are vulnerable when at a low altitude (such as when landing or taking off) and that the IL-76 and similar civilian airliners can be brought down by these weapons. Ultimately, there is the concern that if MANPADs become readily available and easily accessible to a terrorist organization then states face the real risk of civilian airliner being shot down with little to no warning. Increasing the availability and supply of these weapons outside of national inventories becomes a serious security risk to nations who are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. In 2003 a plot to target Air Force One, American commercial airliners, and the importation 9K38 Igla systems was detected and stopped by worldwide intelligence services when the perpetrators delivered an inert weapon system to an undercover agent (7) in New Jersey. There are alternatives to providing advanced weaponry that would help balance the desire for nations to support rebel groups versus their future security: No-Fly Zones. Sympathetic nations that have the capability to enforce no-fly zones for regions should project their power to discourage the use of aircraft in the region. The risk of destruction of aircraft should discourage the sitting regime from using their airpower. In the event that there are unauthorized aircraft in region, the means of controlling and neutralizing that aircraft are left within the hands of stable governments. This strategy proved effective in the Libyan conflict. Provide Low-Tech Solutions. Instead of providing man-portable fire-and-forget weapons, the possibility of arming groups with vehicle based heavy anti-aircraft artillery should be examined. It appears that militia groups in Syria do have a limited stockpile of self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons (likely ZU-23-2 autocannons) already (8) (9). These weapons provide deterrents against helicopters and can be used as to support infantry. They provide limited capabilities against fixed-wing aircraft as they are manually aimed. As they are vehicle based, they become easier to track and harder to proliferate once the conflict ends. These weapons also do not pose a large threat to advanced air forces or civilian air traffic. Governments who do choose to give these weapons to support their foreign policies should consider methods to safeguard them or consider alternatives. As MANPADs are advanced technology, they are reliant on their battery and computer systems to be effective. Some counter-proliferation tactics that are being considered include providing units with limited battery power to minimize the shelf life of a weapon or “geofencing” – using software and GPS to limit the geographical region in which the weapon will fire. These safeguards would definitely help minimize proliferation, but all safeguards can be overcome. Even if these weapons came equipped with safeguards to supposedly limit their effectiveness outside of the immediate Syrian conflict, these are weapon systems that should not vulnerable to acquisition by terrorist organizations. Power systems can be jury rigged to bypass the need for a battery; in fact, the Russian produced 9K32 Strela-2 in Syria have already been modified to use external powers sources (10). Geofencing is an interesting and new tool that can be used, but a software solution will only slow a resource rich and determined adversary such as ISIS. Location data can be spoof to trick the system into believing it is in Syria. With desperation comes ingenuity: no matter what safeguards are used to protect these weapons from being used against unintended targets, they remain a threat to states and the public at large. Voice of America: CIA Devised Way to Restrict Missiles Given to Allies, Researcher Says https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yMpSQV1-bsA
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 05:38
|
|
|
bonelessdongs posted:And you could order him to drive civ vehicles on maps that had them and become a car bomber lmao e: oh lol like half his lines are about that
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 05:40
|
|
|
The show “24” and C&C Generals can both very rapidly give someone an idea of how immediately loving insane post-9/11 US was.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 05:44
|
|
|
Frosted Flake posted:
good post. seeing the effect of propoganda on people in my real life is insane. I had a friend suggest that Russia blew up their own pipelines so they could get out of some theoretical gas supply deal. just twisting himself into knots.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 05:44
|
|
|
Did someone say car bomber? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNeZBCfSTVk
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 05:46
|
|
|
crepeface posted:I had a friend suggest that Russia blew up their own pipelines so they could get out of some theoretical gas supply deal. just twisting himself into knots. lol that this isn't even an uncommon take
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 05:47
|
|
|
nordstream sure dropped out of the news cycle in a hurry
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 05:50
|
|
|
i say swears online posted:nordstream sure dropped out of the news cycle in a hurry It's there maybe once a week, but most every update is something like "This pipeline that exploded was deliberately exploded. With explosives. No one knows who did it." Which isn't terribly exciting or surprising.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 05:51
|
|
|
If anyone wants some mud action https://t.me/ghost_of_novorossia/8301
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 05:57
|
|
|
Man no one I talk to ever brings up Ukraine where do you meet these people
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 06:01
|
|
|
i say swears online posted:nordstream sure dropped out of the news cycle in a hurry There wasn't a lot to say about it. The media basically reported that it happened and that it wad deliberate. People who could read between the lines figured it wad probably a Western nation that did it but exactly who and how and why are up for speculation.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 06:09
|
|
|
NeatHeteroDude posted:Man no one I talk to ever brings up Ukraine where do you meet these people I stand outside the Ukrainian and Russian cultural centers with a megaphone.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 06:31
|
|
|
speng31b posted:did read wow i cant imagine!!! what do you call it
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 07:01
|
|
|
crepeface posted:good post. seeing the effect of propoganda on people in my real life is insane. I had a friend suggest that Russia blew up their own pipelines so they could get out of some theoretical gas supply deal. just twisting himself into knots. publicly believing Russia didn’t blow up their own pipeline directly underneath NATO because they want to reduce their own diplomatic leverage (they’re madmen!) is still I believe officially an insane view to have. it’s like saying saddam didn’t bayonet incubators in 1991.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 07:19
|
|
|
Best Friends posted:publicly believing Russia didn’t blow up their own pipeline directly underneath NATO because they want to reduce their own diplomatic leverage (they’re madmen!) is still I believe officially an insane view to have. it’s like saying saddam didn’t bayonet incubators in 1991. I had an interesting exchange about this with my boss where the pipeline bombing came up and then we spent a minute or two trying to sound eachother out on who we thought blew up the pipeline.. "Well I think It's obvious who blew it up" "Yeah me too" .... "sooo who do you think did it?" "... who do you think did it?" "only one possibility makes any sense right?" "yeah.. I think so.." "so... who do you think blew up the pipeline" "The Americans" "WHAT? I think it was Russia" I don't talk about this poo poo at the office anymore lol **and yeah the proffered explanation on how / why Russia did it is that Putin is insane enough to do anything but also an evil genius who is pulling all the strings Starsfan has issued a correction as of 07:29 on Nov 25, 2022 |
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 07:26
|
|
|
That's why you should have thrown him the curve ball and said it was Poland.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 07:33
|
|
|
My favourite group in this war are the twitter people that have created a pseudo-science out of reading, or misreading, all the propaganda. It's not exactly the nafo crowd, it's a respectable liberal with their full name and a blue check, concluding through their twitter-based research that Russia is losing 100,000 soldiers a month, the Russians are completely cut off from Crimea, and that Ukraine is about to take Belgorod. Then another new military scientist will retweet them, using it as a citation for their own unhinged interpretation of events. "Thanks to @Danny_NadMan" for his great analysis of the Belgorod counteroffensive! By my estimation, if these losses continue, Putin will suffer a coup by mid-December. He will likely mobilize Russia's full reserve pool of 25 million in response, so there's no reason to count them out, but it's great to see a possible path to victory for Ukraine to unfold!" Slim Jim Pickens has issued a correction as of 07:57 on Nov 25, 2022 |
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 07:49
|
|
|
Atrocious Joe posted:north atlantic fellas organization 
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 08:01
|
|
|
HiroProtagonist posted:wow i cant imagine!!! what do you call it The aristukraines
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 08:04
|
|
|
If it’s any consolation, propaganda can be really loving lazy because it doesn’t matter because public opinion doesn’t matter anymore. We treat this poo poo and root for our favorite characters like it was an episode of Game of Thrones because we have been conditioned to see foreign policy as something completely detached from our lives, because it largely is. Even if you convinced them, what are they gonna do? Vote for the Democrats to support Ukraine because it supports democracy, or the Republicans who support Ukraine because it’s full of Nazis? Doesn’t matter because the money comes out of your paycheck and goes to the same Nazis, because that’s what capital demands.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 08:11
|
|
|
The Atomic Man-Boy posted:If it’s any consolation, propaganda can be really loving lazy because it doesn’t matter because public opinion doesn’t matter anymore. well yes, because national chauvinism is institutionalized just cold war mark 2
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 08:15
|
|
|
Frosted Flake posted:It's been a strange experience because I'm not like a James Burton or Jackie Fisher reformer or whiz kid or anything like that, so finding even basic military knowledge at odds with a news cycle is a novel experience for me. I suppose I never thought of myself as being in a bubble or having specialized knowledge but the news cycle around Excalibur and the M777, I've never had regular people like my wife make claims about the business of gunnery, then get testy at my reaction. I don't know how to explain it, other than my experience and expertise, such as it is, went from being considered uncontroversial albeit dull to wrong, bordering on Russian Disinformation for as long as it took for the news to move onto the next thing. According to my interaction with virologists, this appears have been their experience during most of covid. So go find some old virologist and bond over public idiocy.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 08:28
|
|
|
Zudgemud posted:According to my interaction with virologists, this appears have been their experience during most of covid. So go find some old virologist and bond over public idiocy. I was thinking that but didn’t want to compare myself to a virologist or epidemiologist. The War Understanders remind me of the twitter furry that got a checkmark and some level of fame for telling people basically whatever the Democrat party line was with more scientific jargon.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 09:34
|
|
|
Frosted Flake posted:It's been a strange experience because I'm not like a James Burton or Jackie Fisher reformer or whiz kid or anything like that, so finding even basic military knowledge at odds with a news cycle is a novel experience for me. I suppose I never thought of myself as being in a bubble or having specialized knowledge but the news cycle around Excalibur and the M777, I've never had regular people like my wife make claims about the business of gunnery, then get testy at my reaction. I don't know how to explain it, other than my experience and expertise, such as it is, went from being considered uncontroversial albeit dull to wrong, bordering on Russian Disinformation for as long as it took for the news to move onto the next thing. statistician voice: first time?
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 10:10
|
|
|
V. Illych L. posted:one thing which really irritates me about the coverage of this war is how crude a lot of the propaganda is - basically the mode of operation is that ukraine can make outlandish claims and they will be reported as 'ukraine (or "anonymous intelligence source" or whatever) claims X' in between 'glib (13) became a symbol of ukrainian resistance. this is his story' pieces and histrionics about how unprecedented russian attacks on ukrainian electric infrastructure are Most people experience 'the news' as a background hum of headlines and soundbites: very few people have the curiosity (and time, and energy) to dig deeper and review the publicly available information that would indicate that any one particular story is correct or incorrect. So long as the hum is tending in a certain direction, people will absorb that as an opinion without necessarily being aware that they're doing so: "What do you mean that HIMARS haven't transformed the war in Ukraine's favour? Everyone knows that they have, silly!"
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 10:19
|
|
|
For example, if I'd never read this thread, I'd have no appreciation of the importance of artillery in state vs state warfare and would be blithely assuming that Ukraine had an inherent advantage due to having more bods with rifles in the field than the Russians did. I wouldn't know, and wouldn't even know that I didn't know lol.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 10:23
|
|
|
Atrocious Joe posted:north atlantic fellas organization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUTe2ndjRew
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 12:00
|
|
|
can't remember which terran unit this is.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 12:02
|
|
|
Zodium posted:can't remember which terran unit this is. it’s the academy
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 12:09
|
|
|
The Atomic Man-Boy posted:If it’s any consolation, propaganda can be really loving lazy because it doesn’t matter because public opinion doesn’t matter anymore. All true. Personally I'm looking forward to the era where "they" realise that not only does the quality of propaganda not actually matter but also that general consent doesn't matter in the slightest if you already control the trusted supposed arbiter of public opinion. At that point they can skip the propaganda and/or excuses to do things and just tell the peasants "do this or else" and they will. What comes after? I don't think I'm going to speculate in writing but good luck to everyone regardless.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 12:38
|
|
|
crepeface posted:good post. seeing the effect of propoganda on people in my real life is insane. I had a friend suggest that Russia blew up their own pipelines so they could get out of some theoretical gas supply deal. just twisting himself into knots. this is more or less the most respectable position one can have in my country. again, coverage on the issue was mostly restricted to "while russia protests her innocence, our experts say that it could be a means of applying further pressure on the european energy supply in order to get concessions" - with all the obvious objections simply left unstated and unexplored.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 12:40
|
|
|
The Atomic Man-Boy posted:If it’s any consolation, propaganda can be really loving lazy because it doesn’t matter because public opinion doesn’t matter anymore. i don't think this is true - some level of consent *is* needed, because if people just decide that there's no social contract anymore they're going to start doing lots and lots of crimes. the police has more legitimacy than a common gang, at least in areas not directly controlled by those gangs. if the general disillusionment with society grows severe and universal enough, the problems start piling up very quickly - militias start popping up, petty crime and tax avoidance increases etc. there *is* an ongoing crisis of legitimacy in the US internally (and to an extent in the US' sphere) which is connected intimately to this sort of informational atrophy, and i think that the propaganda being how it is is both a cause and effect of that tendency.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 12:49
|
|
|
Jonah Galtberg posted:it’s the academy  DancingShade posted:All true. catabolism comes after. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 12:59
|
|
|
It's wild that even as Ukraine appears to be pushing back into Russian-held territory, the west is sounding the surrender siren. Russia may be having a rough time on the battlefield, but they're winning the economic war.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 13:29
|
|
|
Frosted Flake posted:So, people who can't tell high and low explosives apart, don't know a Rotating Band from a Obturating Band, or Mauser rifle from a javelin for that matter, were speaking from authority about a subject I've been unable to arouse any interest in at all at dinner parties. They'd bring up artillery at dinner parties, name specific guns (well, just one, and that should have been a tell), were very interested in the CEP of specific projectiles, ranges, tactical employment. I know I've brought this up several times before, but imagine you have a job people are vaguely aware of but not really interested in. You know, IT, SysAdmin, coding. Try to picture everybody talking about it out of nowhere, using some of the right terminology but drawing conclusions that are obviously not accurate, but not random either. Everybody has suddenly discovered some facet of your job, but only so far as it serves a very obviously ginned up media narrative. They argue with you about it, repeat gibberish confidently, get upset with you, and then forget it and move on. Any thought or effort you put into addressing the claims is wasted because they've already forgotten. friendo i was a womans studies major in college and work in media writing now and youre basically describing what life is like for me any time i get called on to use my expertise to explain anything i have to carefully tiptoe around whatever stupid bullshit was on john oliver's show last week because it offends people when i imply im more knowledgeable on a subject than a guy who has a tv show
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 13:29
|
|
|
the subway korean drama episode was especially enraging because i not only have to explain that this is a fan meme that doesnt show up that often and that the literal subway advertisement that plays on the cliche is an obviously self indulgent joke i also have to explain that these kinds of advertisements also exist in american social media and its grotesquely misleading to imply that anything about them is unique to either subway or korea also anyone who buys a subway franchise contract without doing enough research to realize its a scam is a moron who deserves to lose their money i have no technical expertise on that subject it just seemed like a really obvious conclusion to me based on how the contracts were described
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 13:48
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 26, 2024 07:44 |
|
|
Frosted Flake posted:They argue with you about it, repeat gibberish confidently, get upset with you, and then forget it and move on. Any thought or effort you put into addressing the claims is wasted because they've already forgotten. That was similar to my experience early on and throughout summer when dealing with people convinced of the wisdom of Russian Deep Operations or convinced this would be the war where more indiscriminate firepower would equal destruction of national will of defending armies and civilians, or who were convinced that the Ukrainian military was a rotten door waiting to collapse or that the Russians won the air war early or were convinced that any evidence that the Russian army was stalling was actually good news for Russia, just off screen. Or whatever other poorly justified idea held on a mix of faith or just reading garbage accounts all day and losing grips with very easily verifiable info. Similar feeling when talking with the overly wishfully pro-Ukraine crowd who convinced themselves that Russia’s failure in attacking Kyiv by land equaled “Ukraine already won” in back March. Or are waiting for Ukraine to literally retake every square centimeter of previously held territory, with a confidence of inevitability.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 14:22
|
|