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I know its not what you meant but thats like the most western liberal brainworm take about the function of natural power structure.
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Jan 31, 2023 14:43
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orange juche posted:The only problem is any Russian general who was too popular or has realized how raw of a deal the Russian people were getting, has had a tragic window accident, or took a bath inside of a duffel bag, or were cleaning their loaded sidearm when they accidentally shot themselves twice in the base of the skull from behind. Easier to just dead end them as colonels. Advancement past colonel requires playing politics very astutely or having a background in security services, but especially the latter. As an aside, there are a lot of Russian critics of how the armed forces are run who almost all happen to have ended up at colonel rank.
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Jan 31, 2023 14:54
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I mean in Russia, anyone who shows an ounce of motivation to agitate for change is swiftly dealt with, it's kinda wild how tight the lock is on stomping dissent. You have a point that waiting for a general to lead a revolution is pointless, but the problem is that of the meager resources and connections they would have more than most, and also potentially a skill set that might work with leading an armed revolution. Oleg Trackpants isn't going to be able to organize a movement to do away with the current head of state nor will they be able to get access to be able to do something on their own. Russia seems to have quite a higher threshold before stochastic terrorism kicks in, since Oleg isn't going to have access to guns or a way to set up a movement that isn't infiltrated by the FSB.
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Jan 31, 2023 14:55
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slurm posted:It's dangerous and morally corrosive to let a society like that exist, every time I think too hard about it I just want the whole mess gone. Russia is minting new fascists everyday!
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Jan 31, 2023 16:08
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Fragrag posted:A small defence contractor who bought them 20 years ago at 15k euros a pop. Here's an article in Dutch: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2023/01/26/tanks-dedonder/ For those interested, The Guardian published an article on this subject: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/31/ukraine-europe-tanks-belgian-buyer-oip quote:“Here we have the 50 Leopard 1s,” he said, pointing. “We also have 38 German Gepard tanks, 112 Austrian SK-105 light tanks, and 100 Italian VCC2 and 70 M113 armour carriers.”  Wasn't there a high demand fo Gepards because they were really effective at taking down Shaheds?
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Jan 31, 2023 21:56
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I mean, according to Luttwak coups are mostly done by pretty junior grade officers
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Jan 31, 2023 21:58
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Fragrag posted:Wasn't there a high demand fo Gepards because they were really effective at taking down Shaheds? These probably don't have the modernized radar. Should still be valuable though, and all Gephards are built on the Leopard 1 chassis so the old tanks can still be used for spares. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/opinion/afghanistan-ukraine-putin-special-forces.html Are there any actual reports of Afghan soldiers fighting for Russia in Ukraine? This op-ed seems to suggest it, but doesn't provide any evidence aside from "Putin made an offer they can't refuse"
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Jan 31, 2023 23:17
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orange juche posted:Oleg Trackpants I want to know what the Russians call us.
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Feb 1, 2023 00:29
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Godholio posted:I want to know what the Russians call us. Билли синие джинсы ? I don't loving know but track pants are kinda central to the Russian fashion theme, same as blue jeans are what people think about when they think of Americans.
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Feb 1, 2023 00:36
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Godholio posted:I want to know what the Russians call us. Johnny Coalroller? Homophobic slurs?
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Feb 1, 2023 00:48
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Reuters says an official is telling them that GLSDBs are on the table (via USAI specifically) https://archive.li/zHeOh Note that that is sourced to "an official" and white house is declining to comment on that, though Reuters apparently felt that there was enough there to go to press with. WSJ reporting that GA wants to send MQ-9 Reapers to Ukraine pending WH approval https://archive.li/Vwbbp 'The company is offering an older version of the drone, MQ-9A Block 1 aircraft, which would normally cost several million dollars a piece. ' I'm a bit unclear how those would not get shot down asap, though I guess they have a bunch of uses other than near the front lines. Herstory Begins Now fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Feb 1, 2023 |
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Feb 1, 2023 00:54
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Stultus Maximus posted:Homophobic slurs? It’s mostly this, in my experience.
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Feb 1, 2023 01:31
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Herstory Begins Now posted:Reuters says an official is telling them that GLSDBs are on the table (via USAI specifically) https://archive.li/zHeOh The max altitude on a MQ-9A is twice that of Ukraine's current ISR platform (TB2 Bayraktar), it flies significantly faster, and its payload and range is far far higher. Granted you can buy 3 Bayraktars for 1 MQ-9A, but it is a much more capable ISR platform than anything deployed by Ukraine and Russia to this point. You can even mount Hellfires for ground attack missions against armor in the open instead of itty bitty MAM-L bomblets that can't crack a tank from overhead. orange juche fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Feb 1, 2023 |
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Feb 1, 2023 02:10
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A post-war Ukrainian military equipped with the best US and NATO poo poo and with N years of experience using it to kill Russians probably isn't what Putin had in mind when he started this.
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Feb 1, 2023 02:18
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Godholio posted:I want to know what the Russians call us. I remember getting called fat hamburger back in the day
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Feb 1, 2023 02:23
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psydude posted:A post-war Ukrainian military equipped with the best US and NATO poo poo and with N years of experience using it to kill Russians probably isn't what Putin had in mind when he started this. When the war is over, Ukraine will probably be the 2nd most capable military in the world technologically in terms of equipment, on account of what they've been given by Western countries, as well as the most blooded and experienced military since WW2. Definitely they're going to be a country that others don't idly gently caress with, as getting invaded generally makes people swear that it will never happen again, and then take steps to ensure it never happens again. Already Western governments have developed a very healthy respect for Ukrainian grit and spirit in the face of overwhelming odds, since literally everyone thought the war would be over as fast as Russia thought it would be, and were handily proven wrong.
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Feb 1, 2023 02:24
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Herstory Begins Now posted:Reuters says an official is telling them that GLSDBs are on the table (via USAI specifically) https://archive.li/zHeOh It's hardly a bomb if it's launched from the ground on a rocket motor 
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Feb 1, 2023 02:45
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I corrected a Navy reservist at work today who started grumbling about the cost of the war to us. I told him that close to ten generations of Americans would hear him complaining that we're spending American money on weapons that are being sent overseas to a country that's killing Russian soldiers by the busload, and ask him if he's a Commie stooge.
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Feb 1, 2023 02:46
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This war is definitely a huuuuge return on investment, for a small handful of billions of dollars, the US and allies have basically managed to set back the 2nd largest military power in the world over 5 decades, to the point that they're whipping out tanks that haven't been new since the 60s, and are resorting to costly human wave attacks to gain inches of terrain as all their smart planners and equipment have been HIMARSed out of existence. Even better, NATO didn't start the war, no matter what Russia bleats on about. Russia started it, and can end it tomorrow if they just pack up and go home, but the head of state is too wrapped up in winning a nearly impossible war to just go home. orange juche fucked around with this message at 03:19 on Feb 1, 2023 |
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Feb 1, 2023 03:15
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orange juche posted:When the war is over, Ukraine will probably be the 2nd most capable military in the world technologically in terms of equipment, on account of what they've been given by Western countries, as well as the most blooded and experienced military since WW2. Definitely they're going to be a country that others don't idly gently caress with, as getting invaded generally makes people swear that it will never happen again, and then take steps to ensure it never happens again. Kievan Rus 2.0 with Ukrainians in control of majority of russian territory after internal russian collapse is not the worst possible outcome to all of this. Although Iraqi model may not be the best thing to emulate for spreading democracy.
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Feb 1, 2023 03:20
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GD_American posted:I corrected a Navy reservist at work today who started grumbling about the cost of the war to us. I told him that close to ten generations of Americans would hear him complaining that we're spending American money on weapons that are being sent overseas to a country that's killing Russian soldiers by the busload, and ask him if he's a Commie stooge. Ignoring the fascist love for Putin for a second: this is an excellent cost/benefit for the USA. We get to test our almost newest hardware against everything Russia has, at the low low price of materiel. Ukraine handles the personnel side of the equation. E: gently caress beaten
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Feb 1, 2023 03:21
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Yeah, if someone came from the angle of how this war is a terrible waste and how much people are suffering, and hoping for a quick end, I'd absolutely agree. But if they want to dabble in realpolitik and reheat some Fox News talking points about cost, I would love to point out how incredibly selective this sudden fiscal restraint in the area of weapons procurement seems to be. But he's a nice guy and not a chud, so I just pointed out how, in the bloodless, amoral math of global power brokering, America is getting a bargain drat near unseen in world history.
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Feb 1, 2023 03:29
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Russia keeps stepping on rakes and we own the rake factory
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Feb 1, 2023 03:32
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orange juche posted:Oleg Trackpants isn't going to be able to organize a movement to do away with the current head of state nor will they be able to get access to be able to do something on their own. Russia seems to have quite a higher threshold before stochastic terrorism kicks in, since Oleg isn't going to have access to guns or a way to set up a movement that isn't infiltrated by the FSB. Navalny made about a good a run at this as you could hope for (personally charismatic, knew intimately how to leverage web communications like Youtube and blogs, had a not-insignificant group of followers intentionally manipulating the fake election structure for their own benefit) and, well, you don't want to be Navalny.
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Feb 1, 2023 03:41
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Godholio posted:I want to know what the Russians call us. пиндосы (pindosy) -- penguins Originated in Serbia by militiamen mocking the US troops who were so weighted down by gear they waddled like penguins. Has since come to mean fat, over-supplied, and dissolute, specifically in the "American troops can't fight worth a poo poo" sense. Oddly, since state propaganda needs to paint NATO now as a horrible menace threatening the Russkiy Mir, less in fashion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-American_sentiment_in_Russia#Pindos
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Feb 1, 2023 03:44
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When I think of a competent fighting force, I think of the Serbs.
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Feb 1, 2023 04:03
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psydude posted:When I think of a competent fighting force, I think of the Serbs. Competent at rape and shooting down stealth jets.
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Feb 1, 2023 04:12
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Crab Dad posted:Competent at rape and shooting down stealth jets. TBH that was useful (F-117 not the rape). It proved that stealth isn’t a win button. If you get lazy and fly the same path every time, someone will notice and delete your high tech stealth plane.
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Feb 1, 2023 04:35
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GD_American posted:I just pointed out how, in the bloodless, amoral math of global power brokering, America is getting a bargain drat near unseen in world history. And as a bonus, America is on the side of opposing naked Imperialistic territory grabs again. We kind of fell off of that after 1991.
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Feb 1, 2023 04:36
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mllaneza posted:And as a bonus, America is on the side of opposing naked Imperialistic territory grabs again. We kind of fell off of that after 1991.
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Feb 1, 2023 04:41
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It is nice to be the good guys.
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Feb 1, 2023 04:41
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https://twitter.com/ManoolsAreCool/status/1620160026899025923?s=20&t=H3jasq0sufM9w48dAakZ2g
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Feb 1, 2023 06:13
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https://twitter.com/SamBendett/status/1620464114408779777 fpv drones have been having quite an impact lately and it makes sense: they're way more accurate, zero weight is wasted in a carry/release mechanism, and they remove almost all of the guess work of dropping small grenades from 75 meters up. Also some of the poo poo they're doing with them is horrifying, like flying them into occupied dugouts of course now that Ukraine has been having an impact with them, Russia is getting in on it too.
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Feb 1, 2023 06:16
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There are no good guys in the great game
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Feb 1, 2023 06:17
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In a daydream scenario where this ends with Putin gone and a less horrible government arriving that doesn’t prioritize sabotaging democracies, would be hilarious to see how many right wing parties/figures suddenly can’t afford rent. Bonus points if there’s somehow a document dump showing exactly who’s been on their payroll the last few decades.
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Feb 1, 2023 06:20
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Herstory Begins Now posted:fpv drones have been having quite an impact lately and it makes sense: they're way more accurate, zero weight is wasted in a carry/release mechanism, and they remove almost all of the guess work of dropping small grenades from 75 meters up. Also some of the poo poo they're doing with them is horrifying, like flying them into occupied dugouts Not sure who here has experience with FPV drones but I tried pricing one out and the cheap ones seem to lack range and the ones with range were in the "decently expensive for getting into a hobby" range north of $1k IIRC. But as a weapons system I guess that is still considered cheap. Pretty funny to know that they turn off EW systems because both sides are using commercial drones. No way around that for 2 armies fighting without a huge MIC behind them. Suicide Watch fucked around with this message at 06:50 on Feb 1, 2023 |
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Feb 1, 2023 06:43
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Cugel the Clever posted:Hey, we kicked Serbia's pathetic imperialist rear end right good. So maybe post 1999? Good catch, 1999 and that's still a long time to be the bad guy.
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Feb 1, 2023 07:00
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Suicide Watch posted:Not sure who here has experience with FPV drones but I tried pricing one out and the cheap ones seem to lack range and the ones with range were in the "decently expensive for getting into a hobby" range north of $1k IIRC. But as a weapons system I guess that is still considered cheap. Yeah even 1-2k for a weapon system that can pretty reliably hit a moving target or pretty much directly impact soft targets is a helluva deal. Idk the numbers, but I'd be surprised if there aren't 5-10 drone dropped grenade misses for every hit or possibly even worse, particularly in bad conditions. When you factor in the very short reported lifespan of those drones in the conflict, they might well be paying more money per actual hit for dropped grenades vs single use fpv drones. Some of the setups they've been using look extremely light weight and some of them are, like, the entire warhead of an rpg with an fpv quadcopter wired onto the top I'm curious if Ukraine might also have finally gotten some people comfortable with the switchblades, too. Reportedly they weren't that popular at first and crews were preferring to just stick with the tried and true drone dropped grenades, but it would be surprising if at least a few people hadn't learned to operate them proficiently. Herstory Begins Now fucked around with this message at 07:23 on Feb 1, 2023 |
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Feb 1, 2023 07:18
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdn-kvyAuvY Kinda long-form video from someone who was born in the USSR, witnessed the birth of the Russian state, and its slide into despotism and decay, and why getting rid of the top of the food chain won't fix what is wrong in Russia now.
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Feb 1, 2023 07:46
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orange juche posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdn-kvyAuvY Was hoping it would be him when i clicked the link, wasn't disappointed. 
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Feb 1, 2023 13:33
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