READ OP! War in Ukraine: a distressed blender making too many margaritas at once

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > Comedy Goldmine > The Goodmine > READ OP! War in Ukraine: a distressed blender making too many margaritas at once

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Is there any info about the quantity of intel being given to the Ukrainian army and at what level? It seems clear the NATO surveillance and communications interceptions are being fed to them, but is it going via the top brass or is some NATO dude calling up Ukrainian anti air units telling them to expect something from direction X in y minutes.

Same question for level of electronic warfare taking place - could NATO be disrupting russian communications or would that be treated as pretext for a war?

# ¿ Feb 26, 2022 19:19

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 10, 2024 17:27

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Antigravitas posted:

Not going to happen.

Lindner also called renewables "Freedom Energy" a few hours ago.

And nuclear reactors don't heat homes.

Not only do they heat homes, heat pumps are an extremely efficient way to do it, and are increasingly common in Europe, especially the Nordics. About 3x as efficient as resistance heaters.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2022 21:27

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

russian oligarch private jet tracker. Kinda crazy that these guys don't stop at one jet. Perhaps after this the UK gov will actually do something about all the dirty money in London and the UK/weird ex imperial island statelets financial systems (lol no they won't)

https://twitter.com/RUOligarchJets/status/1497739735753658371?t=XdxRENFg85D5_yoEk5JonA&s=19

# ¿ Feb 28, 2022 15:26

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Upgrade posted:

Curious at the response to indiscriminate rocket strikes in populated cities from the people who were falling over to praise Putin for his heroic efforts to avoid civilian deaths while purging Ukraine of Nazis

You can find out on these very forums. Turns out it's that Zelenskyy is using Ukrainian civilians as hostages/human shields

# ¿ Feb 28, 2022 16:24

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

I do wonder if this conflict will increase demand for easy to use drone systems. They seem to be very high value technology that can be fed to armed forces that you don't necessarily control yourself (or don't want to get involved in directly). Doesn't seem like a great development tbh, especially considering other conflicts.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2022 16:27

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Looks like they got another Buk from a drone strike :

https://twitter.com/UAWeapons/status/1498318586506588160?t=NGH8xYcIBu84L-fYC0xfgg&s=19

# ¿ Feb 28, 2022 16:30

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Alchenar posted:

Okay here's a thing that give a little bit of hope: it makes absolutely no sense for Ukraine to be targetting Buks unless they have some aspiration for exploiting the resulting degredation in anti-air capabilities.

Could also be that they are just super expensive bits of hardware. I can't find costs online but am confident they are orders of magnitude more expensive than any other set of vehicles in the Russian battle groups.

I'm sure there's a good reason but I don't get why the drones are able to get so close. Are they too small to be visible to the radars on these sorts of anti air systems?

# ¿ Feb 28, 2022 16:42

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

El Grillo posted:

Yeah I'm pretty interested in this too.

Also would be interesting to know how many of those kinds of drones Ukr has. The news is reporting that there's a 3km long line of armour almost at Kyiv. No word yet on whether there have been major attempts to stop the advance with air power but I suppose we assume they would be doing that.

At least 18 according to Wikipedia. Wonder if Turkey have shipped them some more.

Idk if this is an accurate representation but pretty lol at the crying about the economics
https://twitter.com/VeraMBergen/status/1498322250189217796?t=qaqOSqyl0bQ9-u8CElY1Eg&s=19

# ¿ Feb 28, 2022 16:51

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

I missed it at the time but Matt Levine has a really thought provoking take on the central bank sanctions and their wider meaning

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-02-28/russia-s-money-is-gone

quote:

But the response to the 2008 global financial crisis, and to its later European aftershocks, made it clear that something else was going on. Who has money and what they can do with it can be adjusted by the actions of central banks and national treasuries; banks can be bailed out; costs can be socialized. The fiscal response to Covid-19 reinforced this point: Money is a tool of social decision-making, not an objective thing that you get through abstract merit.

...

Russia�s foreign reserves consist, in the first instance, of a set of accounting entries. But in a crisis the accounting entries don�t matter at all. All that matters are relationships, and if your relationships get bad enough then the money is as good as gone.

There is a lot to dislike, or at least to be uncomfortable with, in this situation. There are the Bitcoiners� complaints: Financial transactions are a private matter, letting authorities interfere with them is bad for freedom, dictators (or democracies) can arbitrarily cut off money to people they dislike, etc. But there are also more specific complaints about �weaponizing the dollar�: The U.S.-dollar-based international financial system, and the international financial system broadly, is an extremely valuable engine for global prosperity because people basically trust it to be reliable and neutral and rules-based; they trust that a dollar in a bank is usable and fungible, that the dollar system protects property rights. �Money is a social construct,� sure, in the back of everyone�s mind, but it is a well-constructed construct, one that works. Making the Russian central bank�s money disappear undermines that valuable trust. This is arguably bad for the dollar�s long-run dominance: Russia will develop its own ways around SWIFT, China will push other countries to adopt its digital yuan, everyone will use Bitcoin, etc. But it is also arguably bad for global prosperity: Trustworthy rules-based trade works better and produces more value than arbitrary uncertain trade.

But what I want to suggest is that this weekend�s actions are evidence that the basic structure is good. What I want to suggest is that society is good, that it is good for people (and countries) to exist in a web of relationships in which their counterparties can judge their actions and punish bad actions. If money is socially constructed and property is contingent then money is a continuing, dynamic, ever-at-risk reward for prosocial behavior.
...

The bet of these sanctions is that the dollar represents a society � not just the U.S., but a global community of dollar users � and that that society is reflected in both a set of values that abhors the invasion of Ukraine, and in an economic system that other countries want access to, even if those countries do not share those values. It is a bet that economic power and moral values are connected. I�m not sure that that bet is right, but it�s a nice idea.

There's an interesting quote in there comparing the role of money to that of China's fledgling social credit system - how we've thoroughly naturalised the concept of money, but it isn't necessarily that different.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2022 11:42

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Tucker Carlson is going to have to re-evaluate his thoughts on antifa

# ¿ Mar 2, 2022 13:26

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

CommieGIR posted:

Yeah nobody can disagree that despite being right about Ukraine v Russia, the US is a massive hypocrite especially for stuff like Yemen, the UAE, Saudis, Palestine, the list goes on.

The Saudis haven't even returned the favour lol. Such garbage allies even if their leadership weren't pieced of poo poo in their own right.

e: like Ukraine post russian conquest will probably not be as bad as Saudi Arabia is right now for lots of people

distortion park fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Mar 2, 2022

# ¿ Mar 2, 2022 18:31

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

The civilian hostage thing is gaining steam
https://twitter.com/Dpol_un/status/1499080372117655557?t=GCFlV0iHcHvcAD9q4mpLDw&s=19

it's one thing coming from confused leftists, when it's a member of the russian government it begs the question of who the danger to civilians is coming from

vaguely similar to arguments about human shields in the middle east. What's the specific claim here, Ukraine isn't allowing civilians to leave cities and is then stationing troops near them?

# ¿ Mar 2, 2022 19:24

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Baronjutter posted:

Like a lot of bad-posters, Russia's argument is that Ukraine should surrender and totally submit to Russia in order to stop forcing russia to commit war crimes against them. I mean if you think about it, the victim of a war crime is really at fault for upsetting the perpetrator right?

I believe the specific argument made is that you can't control Russia and have to have a realistic view of what they are going to do and make decisions on the basis of what that makes possible. Doesn't work if you are in the Russian government though!

# ¿ Mar 2, 2022 19:28

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Michael Gove chanting quietly: no war but class war

https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/1499108232521990144?t=6BLnjb-TmuOx8qRB1nyu-A&s=19

# ¿ Mar 2, 2022 21:03

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

lollontee posted:

including the actual nazis. we can appreciate the difference of what denazification can mean depending on whos talking when we compare the amount of nazis left in positions of power in east and west germany, after the second world war. do you think the western view on denazification was preferable?

i don't think putin is actually interested in removing "nazis" in a serious manner.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2022 10:53

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Saladman posted:

Remember when Homework Explainer / R. Guyovich was literally a mod of D&D? Who somehow got made the very activist mod of a discussion forum after making a massive unhinged post about Stalinism?

Also on other news front, what the gently caress is the west/the IOC doing by banning Russian and Belarusian paralympians from the Paralympics? And banning Russian cats? The optics of that are horrific, even for a Western audience. Like guys, not every organization can or should "DO SOMETHING!!", like the insane people saying "we should shut Russia off from the Internet" or "we should post bad reviews for all Russian restaurants". A lot of these bans seem as stupid as when Russia used a steamroller to crush tons of brie after they took Crimea and France complained.

Like I could get banning specific Russian paralympians who are paralympians because they were fighting in Donbass or whatever, but banning the personal competitors seems petty and antagonistic and, if I were Russian, would make me start to hate the west even if I hated Putin even more.

There's a difference between banning Russian and banning the actual athletes - in the past (i think doping issues?) they've had to compete under a different banner "Russian Olympic Competitors" or something, is it not the same now?

# ¿ Mar 3, 2022 12:00

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Either things are going really well or really badly.

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1499696220457127939

# ¿ Mar 4, 2022 12:21

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

KitConstantine posted:

Very good article by a Russian journalist about how Russian government officials and oligarchs feel about Putin's war

https://twitter.com/faridaily_/status/1500426920558829571?t=niX-XX9n9xBSbwM8MoOo3g&s=19

This was originally released March 1st, today's release is the same article only translated into english. So prior to the letter yesterday. A lot of the politicians seem very intent on disclaiming responsibility, but it really seems like Putin didn't consult any of the usual power structure he generally at least pretends to consult.

Article link:https://faridaily.substack.com/p/theyre-carefully-enunciating-the?s=w

They were happy enough when he was looting their own country for their benefit, they don't get to completely wash their hands of him when he takes a step beyond their liking. Interesting that so many elites were willing to put their names behind their sentiments though - I suppose they (accurately?) think that the oppression of anti war sentiment won't apply to them for the moment

# ¿ Mar 6, 2022 16:24

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

The UK has generously implemented a special visa scheme for Ukrainians. This would be kind of lovely as it's hard to apply for a visa when you're fleeing a warzone. Fortunately they've also closed the visa application centre in Ukraine so you don't even have to take it seriously as an option

# ¿ Mar 7, 2022 16:42

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Nessus posted:

Are there many areas in Europe that are, at this point, genuinely untouched/pristine by human effort going back, let's say, to the early modern period?

Not much, and in the UK it's straight 0. Are national parks are just farms with special aesthetics. There's no reason we can't have low gas usage, wind/solar farms and nature at the same time but our politicians/populations are just totally unwilling to make the minor lifestyle changes required (heat pumps over gas boilers, eat less meat, drive less in more efficient cars).

In more relevant news the UK continues to be absolute garbage when it comes to refugees

https://twitter.com/mattuthompson/status/1501175179329916930?t=8X9fMKk9K_P5WvegsOj2Xw&s=19

The home office can't even imagine there not being some slow, complex process. The bureaucracy is fully naturalised.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2022 21:36

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Should be noted that high oil prices could be avoided if the USAs supposed allies in the Middle East were willing to do the tiniest thing in exchange for having an uninterrupted supply of bombs from the USA. A total moral and strategic failure to continue to depend on them and fossil fuels in general.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2022 10:13

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Charlz Guybon posted:

Just seize it and then sell it on the cheap to your own supporters in country while pocketing some of the money. Good press and Toey corruption at the same time. It's so simple.

those russian oligarchs are a key part of his in country support

# ¿ Mar 11, 2022 13:37

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

KitConstantine posted:

https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/1502992766397255680?t=PI4xLCKn-DfyrDq5QXs7Tw&s=19

Do you think he's dumb enough to be in the blacked out 4x4 and not a random support car

# ¿ Mar 13, 2022 18:44

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

Vampire Panties posted:

This is a really good video, thank you. Cocktail napkin math from the video - 300 javelins fired at 180k each (I believe that is the all-in price with CLU) would be 54m. Video says estimated 200 vehicles destroyed, and of course not all of those are T-90s (or T-14s ). With a unit price of 750k for an older BMP-3 and something like 4m at the high end for a T-90, (assuming they're not being used to blow up fuel trucks ) I'd assume an average of 1m cost per vehicle lost? 54m to 200m seems like a strong number, and most of the fighting vehicles are completely irreplaceable to Russia. With the military cost on both sides, the infrastructure damage, lives lost, sanctions and ruble=rubble, this must be one of the most expensive few weeks in human history.

They're also using a lot of cheaper atgms. NLAWs are way cheaper, less than a quarter of a Javelin depending on where you look and have similar destructive power (but shorter range). Not sure about the older gear they have but I would assume even less valuable.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2022 18:47

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

uXs posted:

You'd think that reliability would be #1 on the requirements list for vehicles that are supposed to operate in a variety of harsh environments with a bunch of people actively trying to destroy them.

They're built in the 1000s on much slower production cycles than say a ford focus or renault clio. I'd guess if reliability was the overwhelming goal you'd strap a 105mm Howitzer onto a John Deere.

# ¿ Oct 6, 2022 15:04

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

If the damage to the rail side is mainly from the burning train, it seems unlikely it's going to be out of commission for very long.

# ¿ Oct 8, 2022 07:26

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 10, 2024 17:27

distortion park: Apr 25, 2011

OAquinas posted:

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/10/glonass-k-17/

Russia's GPS equivalent just got a little more accurate. Kinda surprised that they've gotten in 13 launches this year; I mean I figure the launch vehicles were probably in the pipeline before the war but you'd think sanctions would start biting into their launch cadence soon.

Also of interest is that two of their launch sites are in areas that are either hostile to them or getting chillier--french guiana and Baikonur in Kazakhstan, respectively.

I was surprised by this and checked - the article does say that the launches from French Guiana have been halted. Unsurprising as it's part of the EU and satellite launches have obvious military applications.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2022 06:27

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > Comedy Goldmine > The Goodmine > READ OP! War in Ukraine: a distressed blender making too many margaritas at once