Andromache mourning Hector, Jacques Louis David, 1783
Steve…. I’m sure that Cash dawg is lovely… but all he does is stand around, panting. Let me know if…
Open Thread – Tue 24 Jan 2023
- Open Thread – Mon 25 Nov 2024
- The more you gets the less you eats
- Open Thread – Weekend 23 Nov 2024
- Open Thread – Thurs 21 Nov 2024
- Open Thread – Mon 18 Nov 2024
Cash! Cash 2.0 Great Dane on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills 70
At 12, Jaiswal moved from rural Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai for cricket. He slept in tents and sold pani puri to earn…
It’s not commonly known, but Teslas use Righteous Electrickery (RE), so all is balanced with Gaia. Namaste.
I see scrolling down at his Cricinfo [age that Joe Burns made 108 not out for Italy vs. Romania. Forza…
From Breitbart. I’d question the mental fitness of 100% of Demon voters.
Calli:
You’ll find that a common feeling among people who work and live among them. You will really only find good feeling toward them from people who don’t know of their less charming habits to each other and their children.
The experience after one and a half decades of looking after them is “It’s your problem – sort it out yourselves – the guilt trips don’t work with me any more.”
They remind me of the Indian beggars who cripple their children at birth then beg for money holding the crying babies in street. When they get money from some poor sap – and there are lots of them in the UN Agencies – they stop pinching the babies to make them cry until they spot the next westerner. Then it’s on again.
I detest people and cultures who do this to any child.
Just as the (suppressed and purposefully glitched) video surfaces showing Ray Epps at the second barricade, and long after it was established that there were active FBI-aligned people in the crowd, and Antifa goons leading the window-breaking squads, the BBC still has the gall to report this:
Donald Trump is being allowed back on Facebook. He was banned because he (and his supporters) was the driving force behind the January 6th attack on the Capitol in an attempt to interfere with the certification of the 2020 election.
Jorge:
Do I detect the scent of a Purge?
🙂
MiltonF:
Just like in the US?
Ukraine ambassador has called for Srdjan Djokovic to be banned
. He joined flag-waving pro-Putin Russian fans at the Australia Open
. The tournament favourite’s father has been warned about his conduct
I’m not into tennis elbow but how come the Serbian can fly on aircraft unvaccinated and be let into Australia? Tennis Elbow? And Albo and Dan the Dope? Wot’ is your answer? Answer please on a postcard in one word or less.. And unvaccinated people here cannot leave the country? Wot’ a load of Bollocks………………..
Fox must be rejoicing.
A the price of a couple of snags his client Albanese is going to destroy small operators in the transport industry.
It is very dangerous to view Labor as anything other than a crime gang.
Never mind the bollocks, Johnny.
Robert Sewellsays:
January 27, 2023 at 10:20 am
Eyrie:
I think this is the column about the Kurds you were thinking of?
Yes, that’s the one. Thanks. I see it was shared by Flight Er doc who posts in a few other places I read.
It is very dangerous to view Labor as anything other than a crime gang.
Which makes them the same as any other political party that’s been around for a long time. The danger with the Liars is that they are a competent crime gang, unlike the SFL’s.
Agreed, but I don’t think Westerners own the high moral ground here considering our abortion rates.
Federal ICAC now!
Oh, wait…
Is that true?
Robert Sewell says:
January 27, 2023 at 10:20 am
Eyrie:
I think this is the column about the Kurds you were thinking of?
A little digression is in order here. As mentioned previously, Kurdish kids are adorable. (The women are also quite fetching, right up until they’re worn out, usually by age twenty-four or so, from being used like mules, which is to say, beasts of burden, but who, unlike mules, can still bear young…and must.) Most people shy away from or are at least ignorant of the reason so many of those adorable kids died. It’s simple? the Kurds starved them to death themselves. It’s a cultural imperative among them, when times get hard, to let the little girls die of starvation (first, of course), and then the little boys.
Good guess, dear reader? why, no, I didn’t like that for beans. As a matter of fact, now that you ask, I’m not much for multiculturalism, in general, either.
The main town I ran was Assyrian and Christian, Catholic, actually, having their own rite but being in full communion with Rome. It was an experience to attend mass held in Aramaic, the language of Jesus, a memory I rather cherish despite not understanding a word of it. They are nice people, the Assyrians, seriously nice people. I’ve dealt with a lot of different kinds of foreigners, over the years, even married one, for that matter, and liked almost all of them. But the Assyrians have a special place. They’re also amazingly hardworking. They can’t defend themselves or, at least, they don’t think they can, which amounts to the same thing.
Everyone knows about the Armenian genocide. The genocide of the Assyrians, around the same time period, was about as bad and may have been worse, as a percentage of the premassacre population. And among the chief agents of that genocide? Of both of them, really? You guessed it, the Kurds.
I asked my Assyrian translator there, once, what he and the other Assyrians really wanted. He answered, “We’d like the British to come back and run the place, permanently. Failing that, we’d be very happy to be subjects of the American Empire, if you would just declare one. If that’s not possible, then letting the Iraqis back would be minimally acceptable. Under no circumstance, however, do we want to be under the Kurds.”
That main town was the only one in which no Kurdish babies died, of the smallish number that the Kurds didn’t let starve anyway, and the only one in which there were no political or ethnic murders in that time period. Part of that was probably my own rather forthright approach to domestic harmony – “One incident, just one, and I’ll cut off your food, medical care, and other goodies, causing all your followers to desert you for other groups and leaders I haven’t proscribed!” – but part of it, too, at least for the long term maintenance of the thing, was probably the perception among themselves that the various Kurdish groups needed one safe area in which to engage in local diplomacy, and, since this one area was peaceful, well, why not? That meant a lot of luncheons, meaning, yes, I had the chance to meet most of the bright lights of Kurdish domestic politics and self-determination of the day. I’ve long since forgotten their names, but am pretty sure I could identify most of them in a police lineup and wouldn’t, of course, mind doing so. One in particular stands out in my mind, a rather distinguished looking middle aged barbarian who had once, over what amounts to a domestic dispute, murdered some thirty-seven Christian men, women, and children.
And then there was the day the Kurds demanded to be paid. Paid? Why, yes, we were providing free food, free medical care, free shelter, and free security, but they saw no reason not to be paid for unloading the free food and other goodies. I sent the trucks back with the food until they knuckled under.
Thus, it might be better for the United States, before pinning too much hope and faith on the Kurds, to understand that they’re military imbeciles with an unearned and undeserved reputation, that their culture is barbaric, they their one talent seems to be propagandizing and manipulating liberal Western opinion, which is eager to be manipulated, anyway, that any kids who die usually do so because of their own neglect of those kids, that they have no sense of gratitude for any help you give them, that they treat women like donkeys, and that they place zero value on the lives of those who try to help them.
Did anyone else watch the bizarre performance of Hildebrand on Sky last night – re the Voice.
Sky have never learned that having lunatic lefties on a panel does not lead to genuine debate, simply exchange of ideology and ignorance.
Moderate lefties would work but Sky don’t understand that their audience is repelled by institutional marxists.
It would be interesting to conduct a survey of the number of viewers who click mute when their stable of lefties get trotted out to provide ‘balance’.
NATO the Greatest Threat to Civilization
From Armstrong Economics –
“NATO has no purpose if there is peace. Like ancient Athens, they must always scare the people and claim that Russia wants to invade and conquer Europe. The Russian people no more want war than the people of Europe and Europeans do not want to conquer Russia. NATO will prevent any peace and using arms only allows them to keep their jobs and spread propaganda to maintain their position. This hatred the is brewing will be the demise of Western culture just as the Peloponnesian war undermined Athens and allowed it to be conquered by Macedonia……………………..”
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/war/nato-the-greatest-threat-to-civilization/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS
to understand that they’re military imbeciles with an unearned and undeserved reputation, that their culture is barbaric, they their one talent seems to be propagandizing and manipulating liberal Western opinion, which is eager to be manipulated
The Bold could be describing Ukraine & Zelensky – the 1st part the shoe probably fits Ukraine & Zelensky as well
Moderate lefties would work”
They don’t exist.
Old Ozzie:
Doing the job he was imported to do by the government – terrorise the recalcitrant civilians who decided not to put up with the governments shit.
There are no other scenarios that fit the facts so neatly.
What about the poor sods who never make it back to Russia, either buried or left to rot or get incinerated?
Jesus christ man, press X to doubt.
“We want the British and Americans back in Iraq”
“Damn warmongering NATO neocons!”
All sorts of rubbish from trusted bloggers gets mindlessly reposted here without any critical thinking.
It should be remembered that Biggles had little time for Kurds & considered them to be intractable hard cases.
The Bee has a target rich environment right now…
Pfizer Introduces New Mascot ‘Clotty’ (25 Jan)
Billions Dead As Doomsday Clock Springs Forward For Daylight Saving Time (25 Jan)
Very black humour! Both stories via Instapundit.
Am I missing a banning? I have not seen Monty’s amusing talking points for maybe a week.
Not long until the Saddam Hussein apologetics begin.
genealogy in Aust gets murky with old foreign sounding names which, more than likely came straight out of the UK
in part, because of the UK’s Georgian kings who were essentially German
or at least the first two were proper Chermans, anyway.
same with French names for similar but older reasons
Cook sailed HMS Resolution on his second voyage and it was Tobias Furneaux commanded the other ship, Adventure
did Furneaux eat his ham with tarragon mustard and sound like Inspector Clouseau?
I doubt it
same timing for the First Fleet
and the American War of Independence
and Napoleon’s shenanigans
and The Slave Trade Act
etc
with my lot we don’t know for sure who came, and when, and why
my GG Father deffo had a very distinctively German name
he died in the 1970s at 94yo and I knew him as a kid
he certainly didn’t sound like either Klaus Schwab or Jane Austen for that matter
and that gets me to all this endless talk about UKR v RUS v NATO and who’s wrong and who’s right.
this warring and brinkmanship has been going on centuries and the current conflict is nothing but a projection from a not to distant, but largely forgotten, past
there is no wrong or right
there is only power and human capital
Paul Kengor has written a “spiritual biography” of Marx and the subsequent outworkings of his beliefs in Communism. He comes at the topic from a conservative Catholic perspective. I think he’s too cautious on some decisive points, perhaps because, being a RC layman, he doesn’t want to overstep the bounds of ecclesial authority.
“Moderate lefties would work”
They don’t exist.
Correct. They are all communists just biding their time.
“All sorts of rubbish from trusted bloggers gets mindlessly reposted here without any critical thinking.”
So writes someone who yesterday wrote that Putin was worse than Stalin. That’s what I call “critical non-thinking”.
I’m not sure you’re in any position to sanctimoniously lecture people about their comments.
Ban Novak Djokovic’s father from men’s finals, Ukraine ambassador says
The Ukrainian ambassador has called for the Australian Open to ban the father of tennis champion Novak Djokovic from the men’s singles finals.
Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine’s most senior representative in Australia, has also called on the 21-time Grand Slam winner to explain his stance on Russia’s invasion given his father’s actions.
“The fact that the father of the most famous tennis player in the world is supporting Putin, it’s not good. It doesn’t look good him either,” the ambassador told this masthead. “He has to address this question.”
Since when does Ukraine get to dictate what happens in Australia
– I support Novak Djokovic’s father and his right to suport Putin, as I also support Putin against Corrupt Ukraine, Zelensky, Julia Nuland, Hunter Biden, “Big Guy” President Biden and his 10%, Demorats & RINOs and their 10%, and the American War Manufacturers, happy to waste Ukranian lives for their Profits
Retired Col. Douglas MacGregor Discusses Status of Ukraine War and Background of Biden Sending Abram M-1 Tanks
January 26, 2023 – Sundance
Col. Doug MacGregor appears with Judge Andrew Napolitano to explain the complexity of the tanks Biden has pledged to Ukraine. Additionally, MacGregor gives a different perspective than western media about the status of the war in Ukraine, the position and motive of the Russians and the overall status of the EU and NATO coalition.
MacGregor emphasizes that what the western public are told about the war is not consistent with the reality what is taking place on the ground in Ukraine. The term ‘hybrid warfare,’ which includes the U.S. State Dept. pushing a very specific propaganda message to the media, eventually runs into the reality of actual war fighting on the ground that is far more conventional.
The U.S. led NATO alliance may be winning the narrative, as outlined by media; however, the Russians are winning the actual fighting on the ground in Ukraine.
In addition to noting the Russian cultural aspects of the conflict, Col MacGregor gives some somber analysis about how dangerous this is becoming as the U.S. political voices are not willing to concede or admit anything that runs counter to their promoted narrative. WATCH (prompted):
It not all about pushing Premiers down stairs.
“Not long until the Saddam Hussein apologetics begin.”
More rubbish and critical non-thinking.
DrBeauGansays:
January 26, 2023 at 8:35 pm
and the whole lot of us are going entropy …WTF?
First Law of Thermodynamics: You can’t win.
Second Law of Thermodynamics: You can’t even break even.
Third Law of Thermodynamics: It’s the only game in town.
And the Fourth Law is – No pooftahs…………………………….(Monty Python apparently). But Newton’s balls can also claim credit……………………….
Never forget,as Uren’s staffer even The Great Man left Albo in a hallway.
I doubt you really believe that.
Lefties at Work
How Tesla owners are punishing each other
Vigilante drivers are doling out a new form of justice to people who do the wrong thing in electric cars.
Frustrated Tesla owners are imposing a new form of vigilante justice on drivers who abuse charging sites.
Electric car drivers around the world are familiar with being “ICEd”, a slang term for when a regular petrol or diesel car with an internal combustion engine takes a space reserved for electric vehicle charging.
Now, drivers who need to charge electric cars are reporting that other EV owners are parking in charging spaces without plugging them in.
Teslarati.com reports that Tesla owners have been busted “taking up valuable charging stalls even if they’re not charging their cars at all”, prompting fellow owners to take action.
It’s not possible to move another Tesla owner’s car without their permission. But it is possible to plug their car into a charging unit, which will make them pay for electricity and, once fully charged, apply “idle fees” to their account.
Tesla’s $1 per minute idle fees discourage owners from leaving cars parked at charging sites, blocking access for other owners.
Twitter user “Jay in Shanghai” says owners can make sure that rival owners are connected to charging stations so that “Tesla’s idle fee is activated”.
Another Tesla owner on twitter, “BLKMDL3”, says he takes action to discourage people from parking without Supercharging.
He told followers “I plugged it in for them so they can get some idle fees since there’s a 5 car line”.
A Tesla left unplugged would not attract fines from the brand. But a model plugged in without charging for two hours attracts $120 in fees.
Electric car fans had mixed reactions to the emerging trend, with Facebook and Twitter users divided by owners’ actions.
and yet, here we are typing on computers and communicating at near the speed of light
all knocked together by whimsy from cosmic dust
…eat the bugs, peasants
When The Great Man himself was not left in the hallway.
Spinning Mousesays:
January 27, 2023 at 11:02 am
Am I missing a banning? I have not seen Monty’s amusing talking points for maybe a week.
MontyPox Virus or the new Genewall Muntygunnery is with Boris the Ex British PM working out how to use the 15 British Chieftain Tanks against Russia. No crews as yet but up and ready to go. Which way is Russia Boris? East. But we are still in Liverpool Docks. Does that mean that we will invade Yorkshire?
“Am I missing a banning? I have not seen Monty’s amusing talking points for maybe a week.”
He was around yesterday.
Putin has fundamentally weakened Russia. I do believe he is a worse military leader than Stalin, yes. He is perhaps the worst Russian military leader and statesman of all time.
Stalin eventually beat the most formidable army that ever existed pre MAD, despite his own stupidity and near capture & capitulation. Ukraine is known to be a basket case. Russia has been retreating since day 3 of the invasion. This is a total and utter embarrassment.
What credibility does Russia have as a military force outside of nuclear arms?
Most of their submarine fleet is inoperable or sunk.
Their armour is inadequate.
Their soldiers lack discipline and motivation.
They have industrial cities incapable of producing armoured fighting vehicles, missing thousands of planned next generation MBTs.
Ukraine is about 3/4 the land mass of NSW and 1/4 of the Russian population.
They have lost at least one million fighting age men since March 2022, maybe 1.4 million, some are invalids.
Their total industrial capacity is about 1/3o the size of America and the EU 27 zone.
You will take the lessons until the RT garbage stops being reposted robotically without any comments, brevity or regard to any contradictions in outlandish claims made in other articles; e.g., damn warmongering Imperialist NATO need to go back into Iraq to put the Kurds inline. How can people crap on Bill Kristol and then swallow that tripe the next day, a literal American middle-eastern Empire?
FMD.
Ukraine is far from perfect and will probably lose. Putin is an incompetent who has made his country vulnerable to Communist Chinese domination. They are the only entity that wants to partition Russia and that is what the west ought to be afraid of.
The Trouble with Western Tanks in Ukraine
Western nations have begun pledging a variety of Western armored vehicles to Ukraine including infantry fighting vehicles and even main battle tanks. Until now, the majority of armored vehicles sent to Ukraine had been Soviet-era weapons Ukrainian forces were familiar with both in terms of operating and repairing them.
However, following Ukraine’s Kherson and Kharkov offensives, much of this equipment has been destroyed, leaving the West little choice but to begin sending Western systems or leave Ukrainian forces in the field with only small arms.
While Western leaders and the media claim that Western armored vehicles represent a significant increase in Ukrainian capabilities, the reality is quite the opposite. Far from giving Ukraine an advantage on the battlefield, Ukrainian forces will struggle merely to get the vehicles on the battlefield and keep them there. Additionally, recent conflicts elsewhere in the world have proven Western armored vehicles including main battle tanks are neither “invincible,” nor “game-changing.”
Thus, if Ukraine’s hundreds of Soviet-era tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and armored personnel carriers failed to achieve favorable outcomes for Kiev, it is unlikely replacing these systems with Western hardware will make any difference.
Logistics, Training, and Maintenance
In order to get Ukrainians into Western armored vehicles they will have to be trained in their basic operation, in using them effectively on a modern battlefield together with other tanks and weapon systems, and keeping them on the battlefield (maintenance). Entry-level tankers can take up to half a year to acquire these skills – time Ukraine doesn’t have, meaning that unless Western operators will be manning them posing as Ukrainians, heavily abbreviated courses will be given instead, producing subpar operators compared to the training and effectiveness Ukrainian tank crews had on the battlefield using their own equipment at the beginning of Russia’s special military operation.
Another aspect of most Western main battle tanks is that unlike Soviet and Russian main battle tanks which feature autoloaders for their main guns, Leopard 2, Challenger 2, and M1 Abrams require a crew member to manually load their main guns. So, while Soviet-era and Russian tanks have three crew members, a driver, a gunner, and a commander, Western main battle tanks require a fourth, the loader.
This means that for every 3 Western main battle tanks sent to Ukraine, four Ukrainian tank crews will be required to man them – more trained tankers spread across fewer tanks.
Before these newly trained Ukrainian tankers can crew their Western armored vehicles, they have to be moved onto the battlefield. Western infantry fighting vehicles like the US Bradley and the German Mauder are heavier than their Soviet and Russian counterparts. So are the Challenger 2 and Leopard 2 tanks pledged by the UK and Poland. The US M1 Abrams is heavier still.
This presents a challenge to moving the vehicles by truck or rail just to reach the battlefield. The second option, rail, is complicated even further by the fact that much of Ukraine’s rolling stock is moved by electric traction which has been severely inhibited by Russia’s systematic targeting and destruction of the Ukrainian power grid. There is also the matter of sustaining these armored vehicles on the battlefield as they operate. They will consume much larger amounts of fuel than Ukraine’s previous armored vehicles, meaning more fuel will be required and much more often.
Heavier vehicles place more wear and tear on mechanical components including the vehicles’ transmissions, suspension, road wheels, and tracks. Increased maintenance required by newly trained, inexperienced crews will prevent the vehicles from being operated to their maximum potential. More problematic still is that Western armored vehicles – both infantry fighting vehicles and especially Western main battle tanks – possess complex optics and computerized fire control systems. It takes months just to train technicians to diagnose these systems, and a year or more to train and gain experience in actually repairing them.
What is much more likely is Ukrainian armor crews will be forced to regularly send broken vehicles to the border with Poland to be repaired. Depending on where fighting is taking place this can be up to 1,000 km away from the front line. It is then another 1,000 km back to the front. Ukrainian maintenance facilities manned by Western technicians cannot be established in Ukraine itself because Russia possesses the means to target and destroy them with long-range precision weapons like cruise missiles and drones.
This means Western armored vehicles may spend more time either in transit or being repaired than actually fighting on the battlefield.
Because NATO armored vehicles use different types of ammunition than Ukraine has been using with its own armor vehicles, it will need to be shipped in constantly to the front to keep these vehicles firing on the battlefield. While many NATO main battle tanks fire 120mm rounds from smoothbore main guns, the British Challenger 2 fires unique ammunition from its 120mm rifled main gun. This means that two supply chains will need to be established for Challenger 2 and Leopard 2 tanks. The same applies for basic spare parts for mechanical repairs Ukrainian crews may be capable of performing in the field.
Western Main Battle Tanks are Far From Invincible
Pundits argue that despite the many challenges facing Ukraine in employing Bradley and Marauder infantry fighting vehicles along with Challenger 2 and Leopard 2 main battle tanks, the capabilities of these vehicles will give Ukrainian forces a decisive advantage on the battlefield over Russian forces. However, the performance of these armored vehicles in recent conflicts indicates the exact opposite.
The Leopard 2 main battle tank is widely used across NATO, including by Turkey. Turkey deployed Leopard 2 tanks during several incursions into northern Syria against irregular Kurdish and “Islamic State” forces. Their performance was described in a 2019 National Interest article ominously titled, “Turkey’s Leopard 2 Tanks Are Getting Crushed in Syria,” which noted:
…evidence emerged that numerous Leopard 2s had been destroyed in intense fighting over ISIS-held Al-Bab—a fight that Turkish military leaders described as a “trauma,” according to Der Spiegel. A document published online listed ISIS as apparently having destroyed ten of the supposedly invincible Leopard 2s; five reportedly by antitank missiles, two by mines or IEDs, one to rocket or mortar fire, and the others to more ambiguous causes.
The article links to photographs of the destroyed Leopard 2 tanks, sometimes side by side Turkish infantry fighting vehicles and with at least two with their turrets completely blown off the hulls of the tanks, illustrating just how vulnerable any main battle tank is, Russian or Western, to modern anti-tank weapons. The National Interest lists AT-7 Metis and AT-5 Konkurs antitank missiles, both produced by the Soviet Union and now the Russian Federation, as the culprits in at least 5 of the destroyed Leopard 2 tanks.
While the most widely produced Western main battle tank is the M1 Abrams, because of its fuel-hungry turbine engine and exceptionally heavy weight, it is impractical to send in large numbers to Ukraine. The Leopard, produced in large numbers and used widely across NATO with its diesel engine makes it the most likely candidate to replace the bulk of Ukraine’s tank force, but considering its performance against even irregular forces on the battlefield, this leaves only bleak prospects for Ukraine.
The British Challenger 2 has fared no better on the battlefield. The myth that it has is owed to cover-ups and deliberate war propaganda as exposed by a 2007 Telegraph article titled, “MoD kept failure of best tank quiet,” which noted:
The Ministry of Defence had claimed that an attack last month that breached a tank’s armour was the first of its kind in four years of war in Iraq. But another Challenger 2 was pierced by a powerful rocket-propelled grenade in August last year during an attack that blew off part of a soldier’s foot and injured several others.
The article pointed out that the weapon that likely damaged the Challenger 2 was the Russian-made RPG-29. It notes:
The RPG-29 is a much more powerful weapon than the common type regularly used by insurgents to attack British troops. It is specifically designed to penetrate tank armour, although this is the first occasion on which it has managed to damage a Challenger.
And what of other Western main battle tanks which share similar design and doctrinal philosophies? Have they performed any better? It is a question worth considering both to assess the combat potential of Western armored vehicles in general and to get ahead of additional transfers to Ukraine that might include these other vehicles.
The M1 Abrams, like the Challenger 2, has a legendary reputation. However, the US itself had multiple M1 Abrams knocked out in Iraq from 2003 onward. A CBS New article from 2003 titled, “U.S. Tank Hit, 2 GIs Dead In Iraq,” noted that the knocked out M1 Abrams was damaged by either a bomb or an improvised explosive device.
The M1 Abrams has been transferred to US allies including Saudi Arabia. A 2016 Defense One article titled, “Saudi Losses in Yemen War Exposed by US Tank Deal,” would explain:
The U.S. State Department and Pentagon Tuesday OKed a $1.2 billion sale of 153 Abrams tanks to Saudi Arabia Tuesday. But that’s not the real news.
Turns out: 20 of those tanks, made in America by General Dynamics Land Systems, are “battle damage replacements” for Saudi tanks lost in combat.
Even though the formal announcement of the sales does not say where the tanks were fighting, the Saudi military is believed to have lost some of its 400-plus Abrams tanks in Yemen, where it is fighting Iranian-backed Houthi separatists.
It is very clear that far from invincible, despite the massive weight and heavy fuel consumption of the M1 Abrams, even irregular forces are capable of facing off and defeating the US main battle tank.
Pundits have claimed that heavy losses of Saudi M1 Abrams are owed to the fact that exported M1 Abrams lack key features including special armor and fire control elements responsible for their poor performance. However, it is unlikely the US would ever transfer M1 Abrams to Ukraine with classified armor or highly sophisticated fire control systems for precisely the same reasons the US has not sent any of its modern unmanned aerial vehicles like the Gray Eagle. The capture of either of these weapon systems by Russian forces – a very common phenomenon amid the special military operation – would mean these advanced features would quickly be under examination by Russian engineers.
And finally, while Israeli Merkava main battle tanks are highly unlikely to end up in the hands of Ukrainian forces, the Merkava is considered one of the best main battle tanks on Earth. They too, however, have not only performed poorly against modern anti-tank weapons, but anti-tank weapons produced by the Russian Federation.
Haaretz in its 2006 article, “Hezbollah Anti-tank Fire Causing Most IDF Casualties in Lebanon,” would report:
The Hezbollah anti-tank teams use a new and particularly potent version of the Russian-made RPG, the RPG-29, that has been sold by Moscow to the Syrians and then transferred to the Shi’ite organization.
The RPG-29’s penetrating power comes from its tandem warhead, and on a number of occasions has managed to get through the massive armor of the Merkava tanks.
It should be noted that in each case, whether it was Turkish forces in northern Syria, Saudi forces in Yemen, US and British forces in Iraq, or Israeli forces pushing into southern Lebanon, each military operation consisted of well-trained tank crews supported by large-scale logistical lines and as part of well-organized combined arms combat including infantry, artillery, and air support.
What will happen when Ukrainian tank crews given abbreviated training attempt to employ Western main battle tanks on the battlefield, only without the proper logistical or combined arms support Turkey, the US and UK, Saudi Arabia, and Israel were capable of? And what will happen when these Ukrainian tank crews go up against Russian-made anti-tank weapons proven over the years to be highly effective against the very best Western main battle tanks now that these anti-tank weapons are in the hands of Russian troops themselves?
It was Russian forces destroying hundreds upon hundreds of Ukrainian armored vehicles over the course of the special military operation, exhausting both Ukraine’s initial inventories and then NATO’s inventories of Soviet-era equipment that has prompted the West to consider sending their own armor in the first place.
Effective Russian-made anti-tank weapons like the guided AT-7 Metis and AT-5 Konkurs but also the newer 9M133 Kornet missile along with RPG-29 and now RPG-30 rocket propelled grenades will surely produce the same destructive results experienced by Turkish, US, British, Saudi, and Israeli tank crews. But Ukrainian forces will also face hundreds of Russia’s own main battle tanks including modernized T-72 and T-80 tanks, as well as the newer T-90 Proryv. Russian military aviation also has a variety of weapons capable of precision strikes on armored vehicles and Russian artillery is more than capable of destroying main battle tanks even on the move using laser-guided Krasnopol artillery rounds.
In other words, Ukrainian tank crews will be less prepared and fighting under less-than-ideal conditions than their Western counterparts and fighting against a much larger arsenal of anti-tank weapons both in terms of quantity and quality. Just as other Western “wonder weapons” had supposedly “turned the tide” including the M777 155mm howitzer and the HIMARS GPS-guided multiple launch rocket system, Ukraine finds itself in need of yet another “wonder weapon” to induce yet another badly needed “turning of the tide.” Western main battle tanks will help Ukraine prolong the conflict, but ultimately Kiev and its Western sponsors will find themselves right back to where they started.
Did you mean entopy* or entopy*?
*When your 5th and 6th form Science Instructor was an Indian LCDR.
Note Article above – written 17 Jan 2023 –
17.01.2023 – The Trouble with Western Tanks in Ukraine
I’m shocked.
It turns out the Kurds are a horrible mob.
It begs the question, why were the yanks doing deals for the last 20 years with the Kurds?
Very unlike the US to be dealing with unsavoury types.
Let alone having them as a key partner in two wars.
Good to see some old fashioned Slavic scores being settled at the AO, even if there weren’t any white plastic chairs flying.
Re: the Russia v Ukraine analysis:
“The first casualty in war is the truth”
Never a truer word said. And how do we deal with this? Critical thinking and analysis with best data available. The trouble occurs when we bring, even to critical thinking, beliefs based on personal observation. It happens to all historians, although in today’s almost atavistic society, current “historians” would not concede this.
Dot is probably correct.
I’m not as emphatic about it, but think that is the most likely case.
The Covid lockdowns have created a witches brew of distrust exacerbated by the never ending woke push and election shenanigans.
I believe we have been at war since Trump initiated a rethink of trade with China.
If not the bio weapon itself, then the response to it which was an abandonment of our own long standing plans for pandemic response replaced with actions the idea for which came directly from the Chinese via the wonderful folk at the WHO. Trump gone, trade disrupted, internal distrust fostered, Ukraine invaded. Taiwan next.
It would be if it happened more often. Better to watch than Skanks R Us.
I’m looking for a connect four issue for the social media virtue signalling club.
Syringes &/or photo of them getting jabbed.
Ukraine flag.
Now the lamentations of Australia Day & stating their intentions to work on the day.
What’s connect four?
Or bingo.
Munty is round every day.
I don’t recall Taiwan ever shelling china.
Ban mUnty? And miss this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aRq1Ksh-32g . That is not a world I want to be a part of.
Incidentally – & I will probably cop some flak with this – although we are sending assistance to Ukraine, Australia is not (in terms of strict diplomacy) at war with Russia.
Why, then, the virtue signalling ban on Russian flags at the Australian Open tennis tournament? I feel for the Russian competitors who bear the brunt of the decision.
“Stalin eventually beat the most formidable army that ever existed pre MAD, despite his own stupidity and near capture & capitulation. “
Stalin was never “near capture”.
That would be the 40-60%. The 500K KIA and WIA number just doesn’t pass the smell test. Firstly, it totals their initial deployment and the partial mobilization number so who is currently on the frontline and in their mobile reserve? Secondly, on which fronts where these large losses taken? Kherson front in Oct/Nov? Not even the UKR claim any such thing; rather they claim that RUS retreated in good order and they couldn’t inflict anything more than minimal losses. Kharkov front? The biggest boast here is about 20K here, but that is contradicted by the Kharkov front being only held by a skeleton crew that allowed the front to fall at all, back to the Oskil River where RUS could then establish a defensive line that would slow and then stop any further breakthrough. That leaves the line from Zaparozhye to Luhansk. Do you really think about 350K KIA and WIA on that line alone since Feb against the side that has at least an 8:1 advantage in artillery? Thirdly, one of the biggest points of criticism of RUS was that their initial deployment was too lite on infantry, and even latter on before the partial mobilization that they had too few infantry in the field, certainly not enough to effectively hold the line from Kherson to Kharkov.
That’s contestable. It’s not a indicia of valour, it is just dumb.
MatrixTransformsays:
January 27, 2023 at 11:16 am
Third Law of Thermodynamics: It’s the only game in town
and yet, here we are typing on computers and communicating at near the speed of light
all knocked together by whimsy from cosmic dust
…eat the bugs, peasants
My free range chickens eat the crickets and bugs, The hens then lay the eggs, I eat the eggs. Nice.
The Problem Is FBI Corruption
The Real Differences Between the Biden and Trump Document Troves – By Victor Davis Hanson
Former President Donald Trump for now certainly seems to have had more documents labeled “classified” at Mar-a-Lago in Florida than did President Joe Biden at his various homes in Delaware.
Yet otherwise, the comparisons between the two cases, contrary to popular punditry, hardly favor Biden.
First, a stranger would face a far greater challenge entering a post-presidential Mar-a-Lago than a pre-presidential Biden home, office, or garage — or who knows where?
Secret service agents and private security were stationed at Mar-a-Lago. Prior to the 2020 presidential election they were not at citizen Biden’s various troves for most of 2017-2020, much less prior to 2009.
Second, we seem to forget that for much of the developing controversy, Biden’s own team was investigating Biden.
On the other hand, the Biden Administration’s Justice Department and the FBI were not just investigating Trump as an outside party, but as a former president — and possible 2024 presidential candidate and opponent of Biden himself.
Remember, the narrative of the first Democratic impeachment of Trump was the allegation that Trump had used his powers of the presidency to investigate Biden and his family, a likely 2020 challenger to Trump’s reelection bid.
Third, no one in a position of government authority had passed judgment on Biden’s alleged security violations.
That was not the case of the still alleged violations of Trump.
Biden, as president, had weighed in, during his own Justice Department’s ongoing investigations of Trump. Indeed, he proclaimed the former president to be guilty: “How could anyone be that irresponsible?” In contrast, he also dismissed the ongoing investigation of himself with “There is no there, there.”
Fourth, Trump is certainly right that as president he had a far more substantial claim of declassification rights than did Biden, who took the papers out either as a senator or vice president.
Fifth, the FBI was not merely asymmetrical in melodramatically raiding the Trump home while allowing Biden lawyers to inspect various Biden stashes. The FBI also leaked the purported contents of the subjects of the Trump classified documents (falsely spreading the lie of “nuclear codes” and “nuclear secrets”) in a way it has not with the Biden cache.
Ninth, Trump’s documents did not expose other liabilities of the constantly investigated Trump. The Biden files so far have directed attention to the mysterious tens of millions of dollars in Communist Chinese money that poured into Biden’s think tank at the University of Pennsylvania, the proximity of members of the quid pro quo Biden consortium to these classified papers, and the files’ relevance, if any, to the Biden family’s overseas businesses.
Did Hunter Biden ever consult or view classified documents while living in a home with them? Will there be fingerprint or DNA tests on the documents? If Hunter consulted any of these classified documents, then the Biden presidency is finished.
Tenth, Trump possessed contested documents as a private citizen. Biden’s files under contention involve the current behavior of the president of the United States. Biden ran for office, was elected, and serves as president with the full knowledge that during all this time he unlawfully possessed classified documents.
This war is just a disaster on so many levels, where nato has deliberately sabotaged any chance of a negotiated settlement, with the revelations of the sham minsk agreements.
“That’s contestable.
Please provide a reputable source which states that Stalin was nearly captured, by the Germans or another axis power, during World War II.
Various reports in the meeja this morning about violent riots, and injured cops, in Wellington Square and Moore Park East Perth.
“Strange” they don’t mention the type of person who generally inhabits these two areas…
“Incidentally – & I will probably cop some flak with this – although we are sending assistance to Ukraine, Australia is not (in terms of strict diplomacy) at war with Russia.
Why, then, the virtue signalling ban on Russian flags at the Australian Open tennis tournament? I feel for the Russian competitors who bear the brunt of the decision.”
No flak from me Vicki, you’re 100% right. And watch TA ban the Oz flag in the next five years as well as the Israeli flag, saying that both flags hurt some people’s feelings.
I believe we have been at war since Trump initiated a rethink of trade with China.
If not the bio weapon itself, then the response to it which was an abandonment of our own long standing plans for pandemic response replaced with actions the idea for which came directly from the Chinese via the wonderful folk at the WHO.
Arky, this is a line of thought obtaining currency of late. Sasha Latypova is a former Big Pharma R&D executive claims that “There is now evidence to suggest that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was interpreted by the US as a national security threat in early 2020 and that the Department of Defense (DOD) has always had total control of the COVID program” – see Phillip Altman’s Substack.
In view of the murky involvement of the US government in funding bio weapon virus research by organisations such as Dr Peter Daszak’s EcoHealthAlliance, who knows????
Vickisays:
January 27, 2023 at 11:38 am
Incidentally – & I will probably cop some flak with this – although we are sending assistance to Ukraine, Australia is not (in terms of strict diplomacy) at war with Russia.
Why, then, the virtue signalling ban on Russian flags at the Australian Open tennis tournament? I feel for the Russian competitors who bear the brunt of the decision.
No flak from here. However, flag waving at tennis is uncool and can put off the Umpires, ball persons and maybe even the tennis players…………………And the pigeons who want to crap on the tennis crowd.
Having Iran, Iraq and Turkey all on the hop would be good geopolitics. Plus it kept oil dosh out of the hands of Iraqi ferals (ok, feraller ferals), and also the Syrian government (remember when the Kurds and the Yanks pasted a whole battalion of little green men who were trying to take some Kurd-controlled oil wells in Syria?) All of which was a neat bit of assistance to Israel of course.
The interesting thing is the Great Game had been on hold for almost 80 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but it now seems to’ve gotten a new lease of life.
NEAR capture
NOT
NEARLY captured
Which by the way supports your idea he was a terrible leader. He was very close (no more than 30 miles IIRC) to the front by choice (he ordered others to be evacuated) in the biggest land war theatre in history.
Please provide a reputable source which states that Stalin was nearly captured, by the Germans or another axis power, during World War II.
There isn’t one.
As with much of the ALPBC News you find out by filling in the blanks. It’s really a game show.
“NEAR capture
NOT
NEARLY captured
Which by the way supports your idea he was a terrible leader. He was very close (no more than 30 miles IIRC) to the front by choice (he ordered others to be evacuated) in the biggest land war theatre in history.”
Stop playing semantics with me. You’re not particularly good at it. On no occasion was Joseph Stalin ever near capture or nearly captured. Period.
You’re losing the plot.
and
..
-General Dynamics annual report 2021.
https://s22.q4cdn.com/891946778/files/doc_financials/2021/ar/GD_2021-AR_Final_Bookmarked.pdf
Just for the rotten one;
Flash! Top Secret Documents found in VP Kamala Harris’ house. Curiously enough, they’re all in Crayola…
“There isn’t one.”
Correct. In fact Hitler was closer to “near capture” than Stalin ever was, particularly when he visited Rastenburg, East Prussia and when he was in the Berlin bunker.
The Ukraine Mess That Nuland Made
Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland engineered Ukraine’s regime change without weighing the likely consequences.
Published July 15, 2015
As the Ukrainian army squares off against ultra-right and neo-Nazi militias in the west and violence against ethnic Russians continues in the east, the obvious folly of the Obama administration’s Ukraine policy has come into focus even for many who tried to ignore the facts, or what you might call “the mess that Victoria Nuland made.”
Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs “Toria” Nuland was the “mastermind” behind the Feb. 22, 2014 “regime change” in Ukraine, plotting the overthrow of the democratically elected government of President Viktor Yanukovych while convincing the ever-gullible US mainstream media that the coup wasn’t really a coup but a victory for “democracy.”
Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland, who pushed for the Ukraine coup and helped pick the post-coup leaders.
To sell this latest neocon-driven “regime change” to the American people, the ugliness of the coup-makers had to be systematically airbrushed, particularly the key role of neo-Nazis and other ultra-nationalists from the Right Sektor. For the US-organized propaganda campaign to work, the coup-makers had to wear white hats, not brown shirts.
So, for nearly a year and a half, the West’s mainstream media, especially The New York Times and The Washington Post, twisted their reporting into all kinds of contortions to avoid telling their readers that the new regime in Kiev was permeated by and dependent on neo-Nazi fighters and Ukrainian ultra-nationalists who wanted a pure-blood Ukraine, without ethnic Russians.
Any mention of that sordid reality was deemed “Russian propaganda” and anyone who spoke this inconvenient truth was a “stooge of Moscow.” It wasn’t until July 7 that the Times admitted the importance of the neo-Nazis and other ultra-nationalists in waging war against ethnic Russian rebels in the east. The Times also reported that these far-right forces had been joined by Islamic militants. Some of those jihadists have been called “brothers” of the hyper-brutal Islamic State.
Though the Times sought to spin this remarkable military alliance – neo-Nazi militias and Islamic jihadists – as a positive, the reality had to be jarring for readers who had bought into the Western propaganda about noble “pro-democracy” forces resisting evil “Russian aggression.”
Perhaps the Times sensed that it could no longer keep the lid on the troubling truth in Ukraine. For weeks, the Right Sektor militias and the neo-Nazi Azov battalion have been warning the civilian government in Kiev that they might turn on it and create a new order more to their liking.
– Clashes in the West
– Another Neocon “Regime Change”
Much of what has happened, of course, was predictable and indeed was predicted, but neocon Nuland couldn’t resist the temptation to pull off a “regime change” that she could call her own.
Her husband (and arch-neocon) Robert Kagan had co-founded the Project for the New American Century in 1998 around a demand for “regime change” in Iraq, a project that was accomplished in 2003 with President George W. Bush’s invasion.
As with Nuland in Ukraine, Kagan and his fellow neocons thought they could engineer an easy invasion of Iraq, oust Saddam Hussein and install some hand-picked client – in Iraq, Ahmed Chalabi was to be “the guy.” But they failed to take into account the harsh realities of Iraq, such as the fissures between Sunnis and Shiites, exposed by the US-led invasion and occupation.
In Ukraine, Nuland and her neocon and liberal-interventionist friends saw the chance to poke Putin in the eye by encouraging violent protests to overthrow Russia-friendly President Yanukovych and put in place a new regime hostile to Moscow.
Carl Gershman, the neocon president of the US-taxpayer-funded National Endowment for Democracy, explained the plan in a Post op-ed on Sept. 26, 2013. Gershman called Ukraine “the biggest prize” and an important interim step toward toppling Putin, who “may find himself on the losing end not just in the near abroad but within Russia itself.”
For her part, Nuland passed out cookies to anti-Yanukovych demonstrators at the Maidan square, reminded Ukrainian business leaders that the US had invested $5 billion in their “European aspirations,” declared “fuck the EU” for its less aggressive approach, and discussed with US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt who the new leaders of Ukraine should be. “Yats is the guy,” she said, referring to Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
– Ethnic Hatreds
What the coup also did was revive long pent-up antagonisms between the ethnic Ukrainians in the west, including elements that had supported Adolf Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union during World War Two, and ethnic Russians in the south and east who feared the anti-Russian sentiments emanating from Kiev.
First, in Crimea and then in the so-called Donbas region, these ethnic Russians, who had been Yanukovych’s political base, resisted what they viewed as the illegitimate overthrow of their elected president. Both areas held referenda seeking separation from Ukraine, a move that Russia accepted in Crimea but resisted with the Donbas.
However, when the Kiev regime announced an “anti-terrorism operation” against the Donbas and dispatched neo-Nazi and other extremist militias to be the tip of the spear, Moscow began quietly assisting the embattled ethnic Russian rebels, a move that Nuland, the Obama administration and the mainstream news media called “Russian aggression.”
Amid the Western hysteria over Russia’s supposedly “imperial designs” and the thorough demonizing of Putin, President Barack Obama essentially authorized a new Cold War against Russia, reflected now in new US strategic planning that could cost the US taxpayers trillions of dollars and risk a possible nuclear confrontation.
Yet, despite the extraordinary costs and dangers, Nuland failed to appreciate the practical on-the-ground realities, much as her husband and other neocons did in Iraq. While Nuland got her hand-picked client Yatsenyuk installed and he did oversee a US-demanded “neo-liberal” economic plan – slashing pensions, heating assistance and other social programs – the chaos that her “regime change” unleashed transformed Ukraine into a financial black hole.
With few prospects for a clear-cut victory over the ethnic Russian resistance in the east – and with the neo-Nazi/Islamist militias increasingly restless over the stalemate – the chances to restore any meaningful sense of order in the country appear remote. Unemployment is soaring and the government is essentially bankrupt.
The last best hope for some stability may have been the Minsk-2 agreement in February 2015, calling for a federalized system to give the Donbas more autonomy, but Nuland’s Prime Minister Yatsenyuk sabotaged the deal in March by inserting a poison pill that essentially demanded that the ethnic Russian rebels first surrender.
Now, the Ukraine chaos threatens to spiral even further out of control with the neo-Nazis and other right-wing militias – supplied with a bounty weapons to kill ethnic Russians in the east – turning on the political leadership in Kiev.
In other words, the neocons have struck again, dreaming up a “regime change” scheme that ignored practical realities, such as ethnic and religious fissures. Then, as the blood flowed and the suffering worsened, the neocons just sought out someone else to blame.
Thus, it seems unlikely that Nuland, regarded by some in Washington as the new “star” in US foreign policy, will be fired for her dangerous incompetence, just as most neocons who authored the Iraq disaster remain “respected” experts employed by major think tanks, given prized space on op-ed pages, and consulted at the highest levels of the US government.
Victoria Nuland Today
Victoria Nuland, the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, believes that a possible condition for easing some of the sanctions implemented against Russia is the withdrawal of troops from all of Ukraine and an agreement to negotiate seriously.
They always Fall Upwards
I’m not usually into recommending shows for Cats to watch but there’s a great one hour docco “The Race” on Netflix about how Alan Bond, Skipper Betrand and designer Ben Lexcen were the first team in 132 years to beat the yanks in the America’s Cup… a really good story and great to see footage from Australia of a much more patriotic time.
Matt Kean, or someone, has a eureka moment!
NSW drivers encouraged to pay more to offset emissions (27 Jan)
Classic wet Liberal brainfart. It’ll annoy righties, lose more votes than it gains, and the number of poor deluded numpties who actually pay it will be so tiny it’ll be a hilariously embarrassing faceplant once the MSM FOIs the data.
Then stop bowlderising my adjectives into adverbs, please.
What credibility does Russia have as a military force outside of nuclear arms?
Most of their submarine fleet is inoperable or sunk.
Dotty dot and in your holy dottiness. There is one Nuclear Powered Russian Submarine 100 miles off the East coast of the USA in the Atlantic Ocean ready and armed with loads of nuclear missiles ready to be lobbed at most of the US major cities and military facilities. Boris, my mate from next door told me so.
“Then stop bowlderising my adjectives into adverbs, please.”
What is bowlderising? Do you mean “bowdlerizing”?
Sadiq Khan CONFRONTED with the evidence over his FALSE and DISHONEST ULEZ statements
Classic wet Liberal brainfart. It’ll annoy righties, lose more votes than it gains, and the number of poor deluded numpties who actually pay it will be so tiny it’ll be a hilariously embarrassing faceplant once the MSM FOIs the data.
In my World, every time a ‘Pollie’ farts then they will lose 1 dollar off of their very ‘genery arse’ taxpayer funded pension. When they talk, it will be 2 dollars……………………………
“Losing the plot”
No, that would be Putin’s idea that he is some sort of great military leader and coping on the next Russian victory that never materialises.
How accurate were Gonzalo Lira’s tweets?
How accurate were Armchair Warlord’s tweets?
How accurate are and were Big Serge’s tweets?
There is never reflection on why they were wrong, just cheerful glad handing of any failure into a broadly hopeful future promise and a laundry list of excuses why NATO weapons are a joke.
It was shocking to see the RT spam actually decry the M 777s and HIMARS. That’s just total denial of significant Russian losses suffered from these platforms.
“How accurate were Gonzalo Lira’s tweets?
How accurate were Armchair Warlord’s tweets?
How accurate are and were Big Serge’s tweets?”
I don’t follow any of those people. I’d never heard of “Big Serge” until a day or two ago. I don’t do Twitter. I don’t do Facebook.
The NSW Liberals are gonski.
Remarkable.
The lieborals – betraying their base since 1975. Openly abusing their base since 2015.
STEP RIGHT UP
HOW LOW CAN THEY GO?
NAME YOUR NSW LIBERAL PARTY PRIMARY VOTE IN THREE CATEGORIES
1. Assembly
2. Council
3. Average of all votes cast
27 %
23 %
25 %
The Kiev Purge: What has spurred a wave of resignations among senior Ukrainian officials?
Turmoil in the capital and the regions may be a result of the West’s dissatisfaction with how things are unfolding
On the way out
The Kiev government has once again been shaken by staffing dramas. On January 24, three high-ranking officials resigned in one day: Deputy Head of the Office of the President Kirill Tymoshenko, Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, and Deputy Prosecutor General Alexey Symonenko.
Four bosses of regional administrations were also dismissed — in Dnepropetrovsk (Valentin Reznichenko), Zaporozhye (Alexander Starukh), Kherson (Yaroslav Yanushevich) and Sumy (Dmitry Zhivitsky). It’s worth noting that all these areas are in close proximity to the front and the Russian border, which may indicate that the Ukrainian authorities are preparing for a new stage of hostilities.
According to local media, the list is not limited to the above-mentioned names. Resignations may affect other senior officials, including Prime Minister Denis Shmigal.
The personnel changes were preceded by a series of corruption scandals involving senior officials. This led to a sharp escalation of conflict in Ukraine’s domestic politics and talk of major reform in the leadership of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the government, and certain law enforcement agencies.
The front is getting closer
The anti-graft stories are being driven by media outlets connected with Ukraine’s Western partners and Poroshenko, who has become Zelensky’s main competitor, since the latter had opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk jailed. For example, on January 23, a number of pro-Western journalists launched a direct attack on Andrey Yermak – the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine and a key player in the system.
The Bihus.Info project published an investigation into his ties with “pro-Russian” deputies Vadim Stolar and Medvedchuk from the Opposition Bloc – For Life party. Popular Ukrainska Pravda journalist, Mikhail Tkach, appealed to President Vladimir Zelensky to dismiss and punish the politicians.
There are suggestions that Washington and its allies want to limit Zelensky’s power. Western media occasionally expresses dissatisfaction with his dominant position in domestic politics, and it follows that, as the Ukrainian outlet ‘Strana.ua’ [banned by Zelenksy] claims, limiting Zelensky thus demonstrates that the US and EU intend to retain control over how the multibillion-dollar aid that goes to Ukraine (presently, about 50% of the national budget) is spent. Under such circumstances, the Kiev authorities would be forced to respond to accusations of corruption under pressure from the West.
The US was able to convince the Office of the President of Ukraine to fill the post of the director of NABU, according to the chairman of the Servant of the People party, David Arahamiya. This means that Ukraine could soon establish a power structure independent of the decision-making center.
For his part, Zelensky is trying to ease the pressure from his Western backers by dismissing a number of deputies. However, he likely plans on keeping the main figures in office – at least the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andrei Yermak and Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov. Any damage to their reputations would seriously weaken the position of the President.
An alternative version of events also exists. Ukraine’s corruption scandals are not favorable for the Biden Administration.
They fuel Republican criticism of the Democrats over uncontrolled assistance to Ukraine and support accusations that the plundering of funds allocated to Ukraine is ongoing.
According to this version, the scandals are highlighted by activists and journalists for their own purposes, such as gaining additional influence over the decision-making process in Kiev. Amidst the military hostilities, such scandals may cause a rise in distrust of the authorities. Political struggles create tension in society and open a second, internal front. Put together, these factors may lead to a severe internal political crisis in Ukraine.
What’s next?
The combat operations in Ukraine merely accelerated these processes. In fact, only three powers can now speak out against the Zelensky-Yermak team— Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko and his cabinet, the army led by Valery Zaluzhny, and US-controlled structures such as NABU and media affiliated with them. At the same time, decisions regarding resignations are made exclusively by Zelensky and Yermak, who by all means wish to hush up the scandals.
Changes are imminent. The Ukrainian President is being pushed towards structural reform from several sides, including his own officials, the government, the power structures, and particularly, foreign benefactors. Major corruption scandals may lead to fall in the Western public’s support of Kiev.
After all, Ukraine is a very expensive project, regardless of its geopolitical value. In addition to risky investments and painful costs, its financiers need clarity in terms of internal management control. The US government regularly says that it will finance Ukraine until its victory, but it also has to account for the money it’s splurging.
Of course, the quality of work is evaluated by the employer, not the employee, and this case the Americans are the undoubted bosses.
I just came across this in a novel. It’s a nice summary, you could even call it a “Law of Woke”.
But it might apply to me as well. Better to be self-aware and test everything.
As with much of the ALPBC News you find out by filling in the blanks. It’s really a game show.
And in Dotty Dot’s case you just need to join up the Dots.
Stalin nearly captured. Stalin nearly captured. Stalin nearly captured…..Stalin dead……oh dear, and not nearly captured anymore.
I must admit Calli it took me a while to accept that Howard was no good. But I did eventually. His attitude to Trumble and Trump really changed my opinion of him along with examination of the 96 to 07 era.
What a shit show.
Dot says:
January 27, 2023 at 12:10 pm
“Losing the plot”
There is never reflection on why they were wrong, just cheerful glad handing of any failure into a broadly hopeful future promise and a laundry list of excuses why NATO weapons are a joke.
It was shocking to see the RT spam actually decry the M 777s and HIMARS. That’s just total denial of significant Russian losses suffered from these platforms.
Dot,
do you actually ever read posts or just regurgitate “Garbage”
17.01.2023 Author: Brian Berletic
The Trouble with Western Tanks in Ukraine
Brian Berletic is a Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.
Just as other Western “wonder weapons” had supposedly “turned the tide” including the M777 155mm howitzer and the HIMARS GPS-guided multiple launch rocket system, Ukraine finds itself in need of yet another “wonder weapon” to induce yet another badly needed “turning of the tide.” Western main battle tanks will help Ukraine prolong the conflict, but ultimately Kiev and its Western sponsors will find themselves right back to where they started.
Absolutely Nothing to do with RT!
US company, Eventbrite, has decided to cancel all tickets to the Peter McCullough and Pierre Kory speaking events. Events were scheduled for major venues in Sydney, Melbourne, GC, and Sunshine Coast. Sydney and Melbourne sold out in a day.
I bought my ticket through Ticketek but have not been informed yet. I did see on Twitter a Dr posting part of email explaining content of event does not agree with Eventbrite.
Events were organised and obviously funded by Clive Palmer / UAP. Craig Kelly says trying to reorganise tickets. Not sure how easy that will be as they probably don’t have the details of those who bought the tickets.
Craig says they are going to sue and I hope they get millions from Eventbrite/ Ticketek as they presumably agreed to selling tickets when venues were booked and started taking money.
An American company deciding Australians can’t listen to well credentialed Dr’s shows how scared somebody is about alternate opinions being heard.
dover0beach says:
January 27, 2023 at 12:26 pm
Baron of the Taiga
@baronitaigas
·
4h
????: The German Foreign Ministry says the German Foreign Minister is wrong, and that the country is not at war with Russia.
What a shit show.
dover,
you can add – France denies the West is at war with Russia
Sending tanks to Ukraine doesn’t make the country or its allies a party to the conflict, Paris declared
The fact that the US, Germany and several other countries announced they would be supplying Ukraine with main battle tanks doesn’t mean NATO is at war with Moscow, the French Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The comments from Quai d’Orsay come after the controversial speech by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in the European Parliament earlier this week.
“We are not at war with Russia and none of our partners are,” ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said on Thursday, according to AFP. “The delivery of military equipment… does not constitute co-belligerence.”
The day before, Washington announced it would send more than 30 of its M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev, while Berlin said it would contribute over a dozen Leopard 2 panzers and not stand in the way of Poland and other EU and NATO members who wish to hand theirs over to Ukraine as well.
Seeking to drum up support for tank deliveries on Tuesday, Baerbock told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that the EU must move in lockstep “because we are fighting a war against Russia and not against each other.”
Toss up with Visegrad24, Mick Ryan and Illia Ponomarenko. 😀
Well, Mick Ryan probably stands out being a retired Maj Gen of the ADF academy. I haven’t been looking at any war bloggers or tweeters for many months though because the whole theatre is pretty static. Lots of meaningless “offensives” going nowhere much and killing the poor damned infantry stuck in them, on both sides.
the entire western leadership is just incompetent
An American company deciding Australians can’t listen to well credentialed Dr’s shows how scared somebody is about alternate opinions being heard.
It’s that American Woman called ‘Miss Information’ again. She sure gets around…………………….
the entire western leadership is just incompetent
There is NO leadership…………………………….
Yes, but it’s not 1941.
I doubt IBM has the capability to include assault rifles in their production lines.
Good to see some old fashioned Slavic scores being settled at the AO, even if there weren’t any white plastic chairs flying.
Serbs and Russians are brothers by different mothers — hence the front-page headline in today’s Herald Sun: BAN DJOKER’S DAD.
Dotsays:
January 27, 2023 at 12:18 pm
STEP RIGHT UP
HOW LOW CAN THEY GO?
How about Zero? You Dotty Dot……………………………….
Tom says:
January 27, 2023 at 12:38 pm
Good to see some old fashioned Slavic scores being settled at the AO, even if there weren’t any white plastic chairs flying.
Serbs and Russians are brothers by different mothers — hence the front-page headline in today’s Herald Sun: BAN DJOKER’S DAD.
Joining Russia sanctions would be ‘inappropriate’ – Serbia
Foreign minister Ivica Dacic said the embargo on Moscow would harm Belgrade
Serbia’s reasons for not joining the US-EU sanctions against Russia remain entirely valid, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic insisted on Thursday. He was speaking in Ankara after meeting his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The European Parliament last week demanded Belgrade’s “full alignment” with the bloc’s foreign and security policy – including the embargo against Moscow. Dacic explained that his government has not joined the anti-Russian embargo out of “national and state interests, economic cooperation, as well as problems Serbia has with Kosovo,” referring to the NATO-backed breakaway province.
“It would be inappropriate for Serbia to sanction Russia now, and it would be harmful to our interests,” Dacic said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t do everything to clearly say we don’t support the infringement of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and help as much as we can.”
Dacic has sought the support of Türkiye in helping Serbia deal with US and EU pressure over Kosovo. He also indirectly reminded reporters that Ankara has not joined the sanctions against Russia either.
“I think Serbia and Türkiye want to be constructive factors of peace and stability,” the Serbian FM said. “Our interest is not to be on anybody’s side in some conflict, we advocate the respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of every UN member state.”
While insisting that Serbia must sanction Russia because of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the EU and the US also demand Belgrade recognize Kosovo, or face economic and political “consequences.”
Belgrade insists on the principle of territorial integrity because the US and the EU have been pressuring it to recognize Kosovo as an independent state since 2008. NATO troops took control of the province in 1999, after months of bombing Serbia on behalf of ethnic Albanian insurgents.
Serbia’s position on Kosovo has received support from Russia, China and many other countries – including Ukraine – on grounds of international law.
This is one of the reasons Serbia officially does not recognize Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporozhye, or even Crimea, as parts of Russia.
I doubt IBM has the capability to include assault rifles in their production lines.
There are now 3 D printing machines that can make an intercontinental ballistic missile out of a plastic washing up container. Not too sure about the nuclear warhead though………………………………..
Back on bearings.
I suppose it’s been mentioned but make sure the cone isn’t spinning in the hub. That’ll heat up and stuff bearings quickly.
…………………………………………………………………..
Tucker says NATO has declared war on Russia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntJpnz1MOx8
… and notes mission creep into Crimea…
Absolutely Nothing to do with RT!
Very interesting author/podcaster.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23883612/
Brian Berletic: How and why the west lies about Myanmar
Dot rails against RT propaganda and then barfs up the following garbage:
You’re a crank.
Russia has MAYBE made 40 T-14s in 8 years, they were meant to have 2,300 delivered by 2020.
Don’t kid yourself, listen to Joe……. 28 Secs
Friday, 27 January 2023
Just Understand and Don’t Kid Yourselves, no matter what You all say – That’s called World War III
It’s all true.
On Stalin and capture…
The idea probably comes from Stalin allegedly refusing to leave the Kremlin when there was still a chance the boxheads might have broken through.
Fairly easy now to scoff or sneer that he wasnt in danger, but in early winter of ’41 with only the evidence of your troops being slaughtered, encircled and captured to go on it was at least a partially ballsy move.
also
Ukraine is far from perfect and will probably lose. Putin is an incompetent who has made his country vulnerable to Communist Chinese domination. They are the only entity that wants to partition Russia and that is what the west ought to be afraid of
This is a reasonable take. Putin obviously was drinking his own bathwater on the awesomeness of his own military and had no idea of the rotten state of his troops.
China is a funny parallel with the japs preWW2, which faction will win, the “strike north” (army) or the “strike south” (navy)? One is Russian territory taken, the other would be Taiwan..
Both would be rectifying what Chia would see as a humiliation..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amur_Annexation
The Amur Annexation was the annexation of the southeast corner of Siberia by the Russian Empire in 1858–1860 through a series of unequal treaties forced upon the Qing dynasty of China. The two areas involved are Priamurye between the Amur River and the Stanovoy Range to the north, and Primorye which runs down the coast from the Amur mouth to the Korean border, including the island of Sakhalin. The territory now known as Outer Manchuria, part of the wider region called Manchuria, was formerly under the sovereignty of Qing China.
US doesn’t have enough tanks to send Ukraine, Pentagon admits – NY Post
WASHINGTON — Ukraine must wait months to receive the 31 M1 Abrams tanks promised by the US because the Pentagon does not have enough of the critical vehicles in its own stockpile to send now, spokeswoman Sabrina Singh confirmed Thursday.
While the White House has said Ukrainians need the more advanced capabilities to gear up for a fresh Russian offensive expected this spring, the US tanks won’t roll into eastern Europe until the predicted push is a distant memory.
“We just don’t have these tanks available in excess in our US stocks, which is why it is going to take months to transfer these M1A2 Abrams to Ukraine,” Singh said, referencing the specific newer version of the tank the US will send.
White House officials warned Wednesday it could take up to a year before Kyiv receives the tanks that President Biden publicly pledged because they would be purchased new with Congressionally approved funds as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
While the Pentagon typically takes about four days to prepare and deliver weapons that come from US stocks to Ukraine, those sourced through the USAI program can take months to deliver — or even years — as the government identifies and hires defense contractors who then build the weapons from scratch.
On Jan. 19, Singh had said, “it just doesn’t make sense to provide [M1s] to the Ukrainians at this moment” when asked about the prospective package. The spokesperson pointed at the time to the US tank’s logistical challenges, as its gas turbine engine requires jet fuel — unlike the diesel engine used by the Leopard and Challenger.
On Thursday, Singh said she stood by her prior comments, but denied that the Biden administration opted to use the USAI program to slow-walk the tanks’ delivery.
“We are using the USAI to show a long-term commitment,” Singh said. “It’s not about delay; we just do not have these Abrams available in our stocks to give the Ukrainians at this time.”
A senior White House official on Wednesday could not say precisely when the tanks will be ready to send, saying, “we’re talking months as opposed to weeks.”
“If we do not have [them] readily within US stocks, then we go the procurement route to make sure that we can procure the right capability for Ukraine and that is what we’re doing here with the Abrams in terms of sustainment maintenance, training, these are all really important considerations,” the official added.
The Pentagon did not provide an exact timeline for how long it would take the defense industry to produce the 31 US tanks, which highly complex and weigh about 45 tons each.
A lightweight howitzer not built for sustained shoots failing because it’s a lightweight howitzer not built for sustained shoots isn’t RT spam.
It’s all true.
I read it in the Daily Mail………………….lol
Dot uncritically parrots the most absurd exaggerations of Russian weakness whilst accusing others of falling for propaganda. How embarrassing.
Just take the first claim:
Dot is apparently stuck in 1998.
Eventbrite cancels Dr Peter McCullough: ‘dangerous speech’ or the rise of truth?
Spectator Australia – Flat White -27 January 2023
‘Trust and Safety’ – a phrase that sends a cold shiver down the spines of free-thinking Australians. Enough damage has been done over the last three years in the spirit of ‘trust and safety’.
Former Liberal MP, now leader of the United Australia Party Craig Kelly took to Twitter this morning to address the cancellation of the conference.
Go on then, dot. Let’s see your sources.
Or on crank.
Liddle’ Adam Schiff booted from Intel Cmte and immediately turns to Chinese spyware to grovel for cash
California’s creepiest little congressman — Shifty Schiff, Pencil Neck, Adam Schitt, call him whatever you like — recently received the boot from the House Intelligence Committee, and he’s showing just how wrong new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is… by pleading his case using Chinese spyware. Watch the video below:
As a former member of the Committee, there’s no doubt that Schiff-for-brains has been included in briefings which would have detailed the privacy dangers of using TikTok; yet that’s the medium he chooses to get across the message that he’s been unfairly removed from the Committee which handles sensitive national security information?
You can’t write irony like this.
It didn’t take long for the Twitterverse to do what it does best; take a look at the simplest, most profound edit here:
Yes, the man who abused his position on the Committee to spread disinformation regarding the Laptop from Hell lost the seat because of “petty, political payback” — give me a break. As Monica Showalter notes:
Keeping Schiff off the Intelligence Committee will just keep him from using his position to spread falsehoods and lies to the public based on his committee status. He can continue to lie without it now.
Naturally, when you’re accused of being a serial liar and leaker of sensitive material, you turn to questionable ChiCom social media platforms to prove your innocence.
Never one to waste an opportunity to beg for campaign cash (he just announced his run for the Senate), Shifty declared this wasn’t the end of his fight for “democracy” and asked the viewers to “contribute” — for Democrats, shameless money-grubbing always accompanies “civil service.”
Is any Cat able to advise? I am wondering if anyone has read “Tiger,Tiger,Tiger The Lindt Café Siege” and if so is it interesting for a civilian reader or is it more of interest to military/police readers?
More from Brian Berletic.
Yes, this is from Chinese state news, literally owned by the CPC.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202208/1273543.shtml
The US is out of time. China’s economic and military rise means that as each year goes by the US is less and less able to hold any sort of advantage over China should it provoke a conflict either directly or by proxy, said Brian Berletic (Berletic), a geopolitical analyst and a former solider of US Marine Corps. He argued that the US in fact is using Taiwan island as a proxy against the rest of China to exhaust it politically, economically, and militarily. Global Times (GT) reporters Yu Jincui and Bai Yunyi interviewed Berletic via email.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Times
TRUSTED! BLOGGERS!
The Covid Narrative Tide is Turning
Crisis Magazine – January 26, 2023
As more information about the Covid vaccines and other media narratives are released, those of us who’ve been consigned to the Conspiracy Theory bin for the last few years are being sadly vindicated.
In Deep State news:
So the Italians alerted Durham and Barr to Trump crimes… and they sent it to the forgettory. Of course.
What a dystopian swamp the political scum have implemented.
Good people in NSW in an attempt to escape a corrupt crony government are forced to vote for an immensely more corrupt marxist crony government.
Of course, Photios et al don’t care. Cronyism is now institutionalised so government is irrelevant for any purpose other than repression of freedom.
I was at the (up market) Burnside Village in Adelaide recently and spied a C63 AMG Merc not only parked in the ‘Tesla Bay’, but also left idling whilst the owner was shopping inside!
Viva la revolucion!!
You’re a crank.
Yes, and she/he/it/whatever knows that. Could be MontyPox Virus in disguise. Or even worse Head Case and a Suitable Case for Treatment. Or, Mrs Stencho Pantyhose or Jerkoff JC. They all seem to be of the same ilk…………………………..
Pay the rent?
How about they start paying license fees on all the “whitefella magic” appliances and services that they use?
Should just about break even I guess.
Global Times obviously should have interviewed internationally renowned expert Dot on such matters. He’s such a credible source of data and analysis. Just read his contributions here and see for yourself!
The M777 is good for 2500 rounds before barrel replacement.
Muellerween was 90 days late?
Hark at m0nty pretending that he, Barr and Durham aren’t on the same team.
Yes, this is from Chinese state news, literally owned by the CPC.
Dotty Dot. It’s the CCP. You have those capital letters in the wrong order. Just like your 2 brain calls…………….lol
Congrats to Russia for capturing the major global city of Ugledar. Next up they will conquer the formidable redoubts of Peatbogville, Nowheretown and Dafuqawi.
But hey, Mr Wagner gets to move his desk six inches closer to Kyiv every week.
St George at the head of The Bowmen of Old England slayed ten thousand Huns at Mons.
In an instant.
Apparently.
Actually if you want to be pedantic, CPC is correct.
Whoops. Brain cells I mean……………Sorry Dot……………………..lol
Aaaany day now Monty.
I wonder if the stuff you’re referring to is retreaded Carter Page smears? The Dems just keep on wheeling the same things out over and over expecting people will be taken in this time.
“Stories my Nanna told me.”
The Busselton settlers of 1841 had access to automatic weapons and field artillery…..
Dotsays:
January 27, 2023 at 1:16 pm
Actually if you want to be pedantic, CPC is correct.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Where? The same place that Stalin nearly got captured? LOL
Ah, and now the MAGAts send their loyal henchmen to the forgettory. Much Stalinist.
January 26, 2023
America’s Future is Bleak When Only 27% of the Younger Generations are Proud to be American
I first encountered unabashed pride in being American when I came to the United States in 1951. I sailed across the Atlantic alone. Perhaps someone along the way told me tht I was going to the United States; however, as a seven or eight-year-old I knew nothing about the nation that had granted me refuge. Upon disembarking in New York what stood out was not the awe-inspiring and intimidating skyscrapers seemingly reaching to the heavens, or for the first time in my life seeing a city not lying in ruins from the ravages of war, but that there was a palpable atmosphere of confidence, optimism, self-reliance and above all pride among the people in this new and mystifying country.
I soon learned that this mindset permeated the entirety of this vast nation and had since its founding, thus, enabling it to evolve into the most successful nation-state in the annals of mankind.
While no nation can ever create an ideal society, due to certain immutable characteristics of the human race, no country has come closer to doing so.
It is the only nation in history committed to right societal wrongs, to live by the underlying tenets of Judeo-Christianity and govern itself by means of a written Constitution that reflects those values.
As recently as 2004, 91% of Americans were extremely or very proud to be American and the United States ranked first in the world in national pride. However, in less than twenty years there has been a stunning reversal that portends a dire future for the United States as a precipitous erosion in national pride has undermined societal confidence, self-reliance, optimism, and cohesion.
A recent poll revealed that a record low of just 68% of the citizenry are extremely or very proud to be American.
However, underlying that overall dismal outcome is the reality that among the two youngest generations only 38% of Millennials and 16% of Gen Z are proud to be American despite being the beneficiaries of living in a unfathomably prosperous nation that has not known any profound national adversity since the Great Depression.
mUnty … where about in the USA do you live?
What about the capture of Soledar? Such a trifle that the Ukrainians refused to acknowledge its fall for weeks. Perhaps it was too insignificant for them to do so.
But I agree with your point, m0nts. These aren’t places of importance for us. And yet we’ve made them so.
m0ntysays:
January 27, 2023 at 1:15 pm
Congrats to Russia for capturing the major global city of Ugledar. Next up they will conquer the formidable redoubts of Peatbogville, Nowheretown and Dafuqawi.
But hey, Mr Wagner gets to move his desk six inches closer to Kyiv every week.
MontyPox Virus, while you have been advising the Brits on where to send their 15 Chieftain Tanks, the Russians have been building up their forces in Belarus and the Crimea region ready for a major pincer movement in the Northern Spring. Game over soon and Monty demoted to Janitor at best.
How often are UKR firing them each day? I hear a number of stories they are destroying equipment through overuse.
If you mean the outer race, no both were tightly bedded and needed to be drifted out.
But on that topic, and after some ‘googling’ of how tos, a few Q remain
1) Do you have to replace the outer race every time you replace the bearing? … I always have, but drifting out and driving in makes the job harder. Some ‘sources’ say you can leave the old outer race in place if it looks OK but I dont like the sound of that
2) I have always seated the new outer race by using an old bearing race or a convenient sized socket to mate with it and tap it in, that seeming more gentle than tapping around the circle with a punch, but Timken strongly advises not to, perhaps concerned about the hardness of such damaging the new outer race?
PS.. have (after all these years) ordered a ‘bearing seating kit’ to do this job.
Oh, brilliant work, m0nts. So snappy! You really are at your finest when posting here. Truly top shelf stuff.
Project Veritas did drop the 2nd video and shows the Pfizer guy reacting when discovers his conversation been recorded. Far from happy and trying to make out making stuff up to impress a date.
Russia’s moves always seem to be throwing more bodies while NATO’s moves are always setting up guns to shoot them with. Who will run out first, the Western military-industrial complex or Russian prisons? Hard to tell.
LOL. Barr and Durham have not been on the MAGA team ever. We thought Durham might possibly be, but with a degree suspicion which turned out to be correct. Barr though has always been a swamp thing.
Durham was appointed by Barr, of course. So no surprise how it all went, especially since he also had Wray and Haspel “help” Durham. Funny how that works.
The M777 is good for 2500 rounds before barrel replacement.
Sounds over optimistic, the stated barrel life of a WW2 naval 6″ was less than a thousand rounds
It’s tough competing with such quality wit as The Lying Slapper and Tits Shorten. Although I must admit Luigi the Unbelievable is a good one, kudos for whoever thought that up.
Just noted over 2000 comments on the open thread.
Suggestion for Dover – given most of your traffic goes to the open thread, which stays up for multiple days, can you arrange it so as the current open thread is ‘always on top’… certainly would help for those times (like for me now) where the ‘auto refresh’ function is iffy, requiring multiple re-opening of the open thread.
Barr did some yeoman’s work in protecting your boy from the consequences of his crimes. For that faithful service, you declare him to be verboten and airbrush him out of your potted history.
Durham was supposed to be your Muellerween! And he turned out to be… your Muellerween.
Have we missed the big announcement?
It’s now 27th January.. did Trump become prez again on the 23rd?
Is Q keeping this secret?
I read somewhere they were putting up to a thousand rounds a day through the German SPGs, for which the max was supposed to be 100. I can’t recall where I saw it but I linked the story this week about the guns being completely worn out within a month.
Be interesting to know what is happening on the Russian side, since they’ve been firing up to 10 times as many artillery shells as the Ukies. Do they have an artillery barrel production line going somewhere in the Urals?
those trailer hubs on stubs or an axle?
is everything firm firm and square?
For a very cynical reason.
Russia has some historical claims to some of Ukraine’s land, no one is denying this.
Go to a map from 1917-1922 of Ukraine. A lot of their territory and recognised ethnic settlement was in Belarus and even north and east into Russia.
He did? News to me. He’s a snake, and had been undermining Trump all the way.
Btw what crimes do you refer to Monty? Mueller didn’t find any. Not for want of trying either. That DC AG has been stitching him up with compliant lefty judges and all-Dem juries, but the cases were total politicized rubbish.
I am $10,000 poorer for others not having the heart of a true punter.
That was quite the meltdown. Guy seemed genuinely terrified – kind of like the way you’d expect someone who’d just been sprung snitching on the Mob to behave, like a cornered rat. He even threw himself under the bus to protect Pfizer (‘I was just lying!’).
Also, did he own that restaurant or something?
dover0beach says:
January 27, 2023 at 1:23 pm
The M777 is good for 2500 rounds before barrel replacement.
How often are UKR firing them each day? I hear a number of stories they are destroying equipment through overuse.
The war in Ukraine has a rate of artillery shelling not seen in a war since the Korean War. That Intensity is so high that it’s putting a strain on the artillery pieces themselves, with a third out of commission at any point.
That’s according to the New York Times, which is reporting that a large portion of the approximately 350 howitzers provided by Western nations to Ukraine — including 142 American M777 howiterzers — are damaged, destroyed or simply breaking down from overuse. Citing multiple U.S. defense officials, the report said that repeated use is wearing down the barrels. The artillery pieces have to be taken out of service and sent to a repair center outside of Ukraine.
That facility is in Poland and overseen by European Central Command. Work most generally is on the howitzer barrels, as it’s work that can’t be done in the field.
The heavy rate of firing can lead to internal damage in the barrel, as well as other mechanical pieces tied to loading and reloading. The howitzers that are not taken out of the action can still have problems from overuse, with the wear and tear impacting accuracy. It’s not clear where in the country the damaged howitzers are being removed from.
“With every capability we give to Ukraine, and those our allies and partners provide, we work to ensure that they have the right maintenance sustainment packages to support those capabilities over time,” U.S. European Command spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Daniel Day said in a statement to the New York Times.
Western nations have provided all kinds of weapons to Ukraine, including anti-tank missiles and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, but it’s the larger artillery pieces such as the howitzers that have been key in Ukraine both in countering Russian artillery during fights over urban centers and in counterattacks in the country’s east. It’s also unclear how the coming winter could exacerbate the damage to the artillery.
The biggest issue so far has been keeping the artillery crews supplied. The heavy use of artillery in the war has already put a strain on Western nations’ own stockpiles of ammunition, including the United States. The United States has initiated measures to boost munition productions and recently negotiated an arms deal to buy 155mm rounds from South Korea to ship to Ukraine, rather than tap into its supply. Russia for its part is firing a similar level of artillery rounds, wearing down its own supply.
This a very dumb take. Was Sedan world renowned? No. Was it significant? Sure was.
Jamie Lee Curtis .. all doubts dispelled .. LOL!
https://ibb.co/FxhY5n5
Trump is easily the least corrupt President in my lifetime and possibly ever. The entire weaponised security state has been turned on him and they’ve come up with nothing – not even the crumbs they normally require to frame someone. Trump’s integrity is truly remarkable.
Further to above article on HIMARS M777 – Chinese analysis
Russian experts analyze why America’s advanced M777 howitzer didn’t work in Ukraine
2023-01-27
The American M777 howitzer is seen as a miracle weapon capable of turning the tide of hostilities in Ukraine. However, after the guns appeared on the front lines, they were urgently withdrawn due to serious defects.
The first and foremost problem with the use of American howitzers is the shortage of ammunition.
Much of the arsenal in eastern and central Ukraine has been destroyed, and Kalibr missiles and Russian aircraft regularly conduct raids to destroy “Western military aid” even as weapons are brought to the midpoint for distribution. But this problem was partially solved by sending 20,000 shells. However, their transfer and distribution among several divisions with howitzers is unlikely to help Ukrainian artillery.
The first M777 howitzers were destroyed by Russian forces a week ago. Artillery positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were discovered near the settlement of Podgornoye, and according to some reports, at least three American-made 155mm M777 howitzers were destroyed in a fire attack. First, these positions were hit by drones and then, when trying to move foreign weapons, by heavy Hyacinth-B self-propelled guns. The Ukrainian military is still trying to understand why the Russian forces destroyed the M777 position so quickly, Ukraine seems to have met all the conditions of secrecy and the transfer of the howitzer was carried out according to all camouflage rules.
According to a closed report by the U.S. Personnel Retraining Center – Naval Graduate School , the M777 is far less capable of combat than any comparable system. As a comparison, analyst Kyle Brown cites several foreign-made artillery systems — the French Caesar self-propelled gun, the South Korean K9, and even the Russian BM-21 Grad.
The basic M777 self-propelled gun delivered to Ukraine (it was the first on the list) lost out to the self-propelled artillery system, which had a lot of restrictions on weight, ammo load and everything else.
American howitzers take the longest to deploy to a combat position, have the most calculations (at least 7 people are required to fire), cannot be used from bunkers, only the extended-range ammunition can reach a maximum range of 40 km, but this ammunition conq was not delivered to Ukraine .
A conventional projectile has a range of 20 kilometers. By the way, the 152-mm D-20 howitzer developed immediately after the Great Patriotic War has the same capabilities, the self-propelled artillery of the Russian Armed Forces, such as the self-propelled artillery “Msta”, is also inferior in range and overall.
The first trained officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will receive the M777 howitzer to join the force, and they are transferred to a U.S. training center in Germany a few weeks before delivery of the first guns to Ukraine. It took eight days for American gunners to impart knowledge to Ukrainian gunners, and the accelerated course consisted only of theory and some test firing. At the same time, according to the Naval Graduate School report, the basic learning course is at least 5 weeks and 25 days of practical training. However, that time is not enough for combat coordination and interaction: According to Edwin Wiley, a Marine veteran and former deputy chief of the Arms Store at Camp Pendleton, it takes at least six months to train a gun.
The skill of artillery shooting takes months or even years of training. Experienced Marines and any other operator with these weapons know that you can’t become proficient with a cannon in a short period of time, so regular training is required. The one-week course will teach them how to properly load and unload such weapons, and they won’t learn anything useful without actually fighting them. Edwin Wiley said.
As a result, Ukrainian gunners who studied in Germany and acquired American weapons not only failed to fire at the given coordinates, but were also three times slower in the basic indicator of rate of fire: instead of one shot per minute, they were every three to five minutes Launch once. At the same time, Wiley pointed out that most of the Ukrainian sergeants and lieutenants who were trained by American instructors in Germany for a week would not live to see the end of “Operation Z”, but also had a chance to die in the first battle. Due to a lack of reconnaissance equipment, surveillance and camouflage, the Ukrainian armed forces use the M777 howitzer “in open fields, without aiming and often without even reliable firing coordinates”.
Without long-term training, weapons can become dangerous and ineffective. On August 12, 2017, a U.S. M777 howitzer crew died while attempting to fire on a terrorist position inside Iraq. The compartment where the projectile was located suddenly stopped locking , and the shock wave of the explosion killed the battery commander and two other officers. The rest of the crew were wounded by shrapnel and retired.
In situations where mental abilities were not the most prominent, American engineers came up with DFCS—Digital Fire Control System, or Digital Fire Control System. In simple terms, this is an electronic unit that works like a car navigator and tells the calculation what coordinates you need to enter in order for the shell to hit the target accurately. However, 80% of American howitzers arrived in Ukraine without such a device, and an elegant solution was found when gunners started complaining that they “did not know how to shoot”. The Ukrainian M777 has Canadian GDMS installed instead of the original module produced by General Dynamics. Features are similar, but no US electronics inside.
Using an onboard inertial navigation system, GPS and motion sensors brought to the M777 howitzer, the coordinates of the combat mission can be passed to the gun via tactical communication channels. About a year before the start of “Operation Z”, the Americans also equipped the Ukrainian army with a communication system in advance.
But it can’t solve the problem of shooting accuracy. Suddenly it was discovered that American gunners were using howitzers with DFCS systems to fire on enemies armed only with small arms. The positions of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Donbass, which were destroyed by Russian troops, were, among other things, equipped not only with air defense systems, but also with electronic warfare systems, which could suppress any electronic system at a distance of tens of kilometers. After the electronic warfare was turned on, the Canadian GDMS unit stopped working and 25-30 minutes after the deployment load, a sudden shelling was launched at the position of the M777 howitzer.
The satellite navigation unit was hastily removed when Ukrainian gunners and their American operators realized how Russian troops were tracking the M777’s location. The effectiveness of American self-propelled artillery returned to its previous level of almost zero, but for some reason the oncoming shelling did not diminish.
The clue to this phenomenon may lie in the Russian anti-gun radar “zoo”.
Since the operation to force Georgia into peace, the system has been linked to a database that stores not forest sounds or sleep music, but key features of artillery pieces from around the world, including the United States.
The M777, like any artillery piece of a NATO country, has its own acoustic portrait, and its working signal is “surveilled”, according to an acoustical officer of the Reserve Ground Forces Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Soshkin.
The M777 howitzer has special firing parameters. But most importantly, the “zoo” anti-artillery system allows not only to distinguish one system from another, but also to distinguish conditional trunks from trunks, because there are different variables and constants there. Ivan Soshkin said.
According to Soshkin, the constants are the length of the barrel, the caliber, the type of gunpowder used, etc., which constitute the “basic data” of the target’s parameters. The M777 has long been known to Russian counter-artillery systems – it is a howitzer for 155mm projectiles with a barrel length of 39 calibers. In addition, there is a characteristic low frequency sound after each shot, as well as a hissing sound from the special cylinder used to level the recoil. With this set of features, the M777 delivers a dull bass. As soon as the “Zoo” system detected these fluctuations, a drone flew to the positions of the Ukrainian armed forces. If the drone visually identifies the parameters of the target (by the way, this is done by Russian intelligence) and the commander of the artillery battalion obtains several indications of the reliability of the target, then the enemy’s position is hit .
The Russian military has not commented on the attack on Ukrainian Armed Forces artillery positions equipped with M777 howitzers, however, the artillery is lost almost every time the Ukrainian army leaves the deployment site.
Zulu
The Busselton settlers of 1841 had access to automatic weapons and field artillery…..
IIRC, the Brown Bess muskets of the era were effective at ranges greater than 50 yards only if used in volley fire. They also took at least 30 seconds to reload.
I am shocked, shocked, I say, that the noble Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance were unable to run forward those 50 yards to impale the attackers with their spears in that 30 second interval.
As I said earlier, the criticism has always been that RUS had too few troops in the field and they enjoy a 8:1 artillery advantage so the above simply makes no sense.
Well, banned Melbourne Victory supporters have to go somewhere.
Up to episode 4 of A Man Called Intrepid. Michael York is the predecessor of Hugh Grant. In all my years of working for English companies and having English friends none have come remotely like either of those two. Does this character exist in England or is it as I suspect a fondness for someone more hopeless than themselves. I don’t know any Englishman that isn’t very good at what they do. I am perplexed.
Bruce of Newcastle says:
January 27, 2023 at 1:40 pm
Barr did some yeoman’s work in protecting your boy from the consequences of his crimes.
He did? News to me. He’s a snake, and had been undermining Trump all the way.
Btw what crimes do you refer to Monty? Mueller didn’t find any. Not for want of trying either. That DC AG has been stitching him up with compliant lefty judges and all-Dem juries, but the cases were total politicized rubbish.
Why is Bill Maher still trying to resurrect the Mueller Report?
Bill Maher speaks for many who simply cannot let go of the Mueller team of Trump-haters and their efforts to conjure a crime to pin on Donald Trump.
Specifically, he cannot let go of Mueller’s statement that “we cannot exonerate [Trump]” of obstruction of justice. He said so on his television show, “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Jan. 22, 2023.
Maher here manages to get things precisely backwards. Mueller’s statement that he cannot exonerate Trump is precisely what displays Muller’s bias against Trump.
Meanwhile, Maher’s determination to resuscitate Mueller’s inappropriate attempt to smear Trump demonstrates his own bias against Trump.
Before, however, we examine the details of Maher’s accusation against Barr, one must remember the context.
What Maher is unhappy about is Barr’s alleged “shady” dismissal of Mueller’s refusals to “exonerate” Trump.
First, however, Mueller’s team was not set up to investigate Trump for obstruction of justice. It was set up to investigate Trump for collusion with Russia. Mueller was unable to find any collusion with Russia because the Steele dossier used to justify the Mueller investigation was paid for by Hillary Clinton and the DNC to frame Trump and cheat the American people out of their right to choose the president in a fair vote.
That is, since the Mueller investigation, having been established on dishonest grounds, should not have been started in the first place, Trump, and the nation in general, was the victim of typical Clinton “dirty tricks”. If Maher wants to find something “shady” one would think that should be at the top of the list but for some mysterious reason, perhaps the big “D” behind Hillary’s name, he does not seem concerned about that. Instead, Maher is exercised because he thinks Trump obstructed an investigation that was established on false pretenses to frame him of a crime. Recall that Maher once comically said that Trump’s public joke about Russia hacking Hillary’s e-mail to get her mishandled classified files was treason.
Returning to Maher’s original accusation that Barr did something “shady” by summing up the findings of the Mueller report inaccurately since, according to Maher, the Mueller report “speaks for itself,” Barr was wrong to give a summary of the main findings of the report. “You didn’t have to do that,” Maher says to Barr.
In fact, Barr’s response to Maher on this charge is entirely precise and correct, which is just what one expects of someone with a J.D. from a top law school.
Barr states that he asked Mueller for a redacted report because it would be illegal to release the unredacted report, which contained classified information, but Muller only gave him an unredacted report.
Since the level of hatred for Trump generated by the Left had people at the time calling for Trump to be sent to prison, and since uncertainty would damage the economy and America’s image abroad, Barr replies that if he was to diminish the potential damage to the country he had no practical choice but to sum up “the bottom line” of the report, namely, to state that, first, Mueller found no Trump-Russia collusion, and, second, that Mueller “punted” on the obstruction charge. Maher is just wrong that Barr “didn’t have to do that.”
Barr also shows that Maher is wrong again when he states that he (Barr) said that Mueller found Trump innocent of obstruction. Barr correctly replies that since Mueller “punted” on obstruction, he [Barr], states his own opinion on the obstruction charge. That is, he [Barr] did not say that Mueller found Trump not guilty. Barr stated that Barr found Trump not guilty. Got it yet, Maher?
Finally, consider the point that many still take as the coup de grâce to Trump, namely that Mueller stated that he “could not exonerate” Trump!
Can Bill Maher prove that he never had sex with his frequent guest Michael Moore? Let’s see the proof!
It was, therefore, inappropriate of Mueller to state that he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice.
If one assumes traditional American principles of justice, which, admittedly, can no longer be assumed when Trump and other conservatives are accused, Mueller should have stated that he could not prove obstruction and left it at that.
The fact that Mueller did not do this, and that some people cannot let this go, demonstrates that they are not interested in justice. They are interested in smearing Trump “by any means necessary” and that is un-American.
Durham was supposed to be your Muellerween! And he turned out to be… your Muellerween.
Is this an admission by m0nty=fa that the Mueller effort was never going anywhere? And after all the time that m0nty=fa put into boosting Mueller. “Aaaany day now, tick, tick, tick, walls closing in.”
Well, it is coming from field marshal m0nty so no surprises there.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. LOL.
‘Straya – so much to be proud of.
Friday, 27 January 2023
Thank you Newbposter – this is a brilliant postcard from a land far away and long ago.
Comical Dot, Minister for Information. Previous experience in Iraq.
Busted Pfizer R&D Exec Claims He Lied About “Mutating COVID” To “Impress A Date Like Normal People”
Update (1750ET): Project Veritas’ James O’Keefe was physically assaulted after approaching Jordon Trishton Walker, Pfizer’s Director of R&D, Strategic Operations, who had been caught on tape admitting to the fact that the company is exploring a way to “mutate” COVID via “Directed Evolution” in order to anticipate new strains for their Covid-19 vaccine.
When O’Keefe first approached him about his admission, Walker erupted in denial, exclaiming that “I was just lying to a person to impress them on a date.” He then lunged for O’Keefe and his staff in what appeared to be an effort to take away the iPad that O’Keefe was holding.
The situation escalated when Walker urged the restaurant owner to call the police, but the restaurant owner asked O’Keefe to leave… which left Walker pressuring him to stay until the police arrived.
As Walker raged around the empty restaurant, he once again claimed: “I was on a third date with a man and like normal people you lie to impress a date…”
Yeah, we are not sure lying about mutating the COVID virus in order that the company you work for can make more money will get you to 3rd base (let alone first base).
Walker went on to admit that “I’m not even a scientist by background…”
When speaking to the NYPD, Walker said “there are… five white people… and I am feeling very unsafe right now.”
O’Keefe also draws attention to the fact that it appears Google has gone into full suppression mode on this story…
Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives
@dom_lucre
This dude is very very good.
Satire Or Serious: “Why Didn’t The Unvaccinated Do More To Warn Us?”
by Tyler Durden
Given the gargantuan level of gaslighting going on globally, it is difficult for us to judge whether the following is the most serious reframing of the entire COVID crisis yet or the most satisfyingly satirical take on the farcical narrative-managers op-eds we’ve ever read.
You decide…
Via iqfy.com,
They knew: why didn’t the unvaccinated do more to warn us?
The unvaccinated knew what we didn’t. Some of them said too little. Most said nothing at all. A lot of blood is now on their hands.
If you are thinking of visiting Brahmapur one day – don’t.
Shit city with grumpy buggers everywhere.
On highlight was a seeing couple of young ladies who were all class and would give any Bollywood lovely a run for their money. It’d be nice to be twenty again and hope to catch their eye.
In Labor Will Always Be Better at Socialised Medicine news:
Albanese Government leads historic Medicare overhaul amid rampant cost blow outs and ballooning GP wait times
Luckily, the Queensland Government is doing its bit.
Dinner last night with GP friends who run a small suburban practice informs me that the Queensland Office of State Revenue has confirmed that it will require all doctors currently on contract to be treated as employees as of December 2022, with:
– practices liable for payroll tax contributions back to July 2021;
– practices liable to provide leave, superannuation for their employed doctors going forward;
– employed doctors left with a wide range of tax consequences arsing from their changes status;
– large scale legal and accounting issues, with chortling advisers rubbing their hands at the prospect of feeeez.
The net result is significant cost increases well beyond the 4.75% payroll tax impost.
Tiny violins for bloated doctors bathing in Bollinger after a day on the golf course courtesy of kickbacks from Big Pharma, obviously, but the other net results are:
* some GP practices will close (mainly smaller ones in the outer ‘burbs);
* fewer practices able to offer bulk billing,
* less access and longer waiting times at mixed-billing practices;
* higher gap payments;
* longer queues at hospital A&E; and
* an exodus of doctors at the older end of the GP cohort who don’t want to be PAYG employees.
Apparently this smart regulatory approach is slated to apply uniformly across Australia because of ‘harmonization’ and ‘administrative efficiency’.
In the very best of hands.
Russian experts analyze why America’s advanced M777 howitzer didn’t work in Ukraine
2023-01-27
What a fascinating article, Old Ozzie. Where on earth do you get this stuff??
Keep it coming! You dont get this level off analysis in the MSM.
Russian experts analyze why America’s advanced M777 howitzer didn’t work in Ukraine
2023-01-27
What a fascinating article, Old Ozzie. Where on earth do you get this stuff??
Keep it coming! You don’t get this level of analysis in the MSM.
On the artillery issue.
Russia historically had to make gear “Ivanproof”, that is rugged, reliable and with simple requirements for maintenance and care.
I wonder if that is still a factor given they were apparently going for a more professional army (less reliance on conscripts) pre-Ukraine?
So large quantities of 2nd rate gear vs the best “thoroughbred” engineering from the “west”.
I remember reading on the king Tigers that the tactics to defeat them were basically line up everything that could shoot, even 45mm ATG stuff and blast away until a lucky shot took off a track or disabled it.
Is this similar, the yanks putting together beautiful high performance weapons systems which do the job awesomely, but needing much higher skills to maintain and resource hungry to keep going.
Vs
Big round thing go “boom” – 100 big round things go boom, boom, boom.
The Billionaires Behind The Gas Bans
The hypocrisy of the billionaires who are funding anti-hydrocarbon campaigns, including bans on gas stoves. Natural gas bans are more about class than climate change.
The Climate Imperative Foundation is the newest and richest anti-hydrocarbon, anti-natural gas group you’ve never heard of.
How rich is Climate Imperative? According to the latest report from Guidestar, the group took in $221 million in its first full year of operation. (Guidestar calls the income “gross receipts.”) That means that Climate Imperative, which is less than three years old, is already taking in more cash than the Sierra Club, which bills itself as the “nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization.”
The emergence of Climate Imperative — which has received virtually no attention from legacy media outlets — is important for several reasons.
First, it shows that the effort to “electrify everything” and ban the use of natural gas in homes and businesses – and that includes gas stoves — is part of a years-long, lavishly funded campaign that is being bankrolled by some of the world’s richest people.
Second, despite numerous claims about how nefarious actors are blocking the much-hyped “energy transition,” the size of Climate Imperative’s budget provides more evidence that the NGO-corporate-industrial-climate complex has far more money than the pro-hydrocarbon and pro-nuclear groups.
Third, banning the direct use of natural gas in homes and businesses may be worse for the climate. You read that right. Burning gas directly allows consumers to use about 90% of the energy contained in the fuel. Using gas indirectly — by converting it into electricity and then using that juice to power a heat pump, stove, or water heater — wastes more than half of the energy in the fuel.
The final bit of hypocrisy at work here is the regressive nature of the gas bans. Indeed, it’s clear that banning natural gas will mean higher costs for consumers. Last March, in the Federal Register, the Department of Energy published its annual estimate for residential energy costs. It found that on a per-BTU basis, electricity costs about 3.5 times more than natural gas. It also found that gas was, by far, the cheapest form of in-home energy, costing less than half as much as fuels like kerosene, propane, and heating oil.
That means that efforts to ban natural gas are, in practice, an energy tax on the poor and the middle class
Hehehe that is really rather good.
Vs
Big round thing go “boom” – 100 big round things go boom, boom, boom.
Black Adder towards the end “Boom, Boom, Boom” – Baldrick “How did you guess Sir”
Another point that many people are missing in the Russia/NATO war is that the Russian military is currently getting the chance to destroy and capture/study Western military equipment.
In addition, Russia’s military is getting an excellent opportunity to test out its combined arms/joint operations functions.
The end of this war will leave Russia with a large part of its military having seen actual combat as opposed to just training and war games that western countries have been circle jerking with since WWII.
Russia’s surviving military will be that much more deadly after this ends.
Why Shipyards May Be The Future of Fission
The nuclear sector needs to build lots of reactors quickly. Shipyards could be the way to make that happen.
Robert Bryce
That’s why the recent announcement by Samsung Heavy Industries and Denmark’s Seaborg Technologies about a new nuclear powership is a potential game changer.
The companies announced they have completed designs for a nuclear power ship using compact molten salt reactors that could produce up to 800 megawatts of power. They also said they are aiming for commercialization by 2028.
Shipyards have the production capacity – including their own steel mills and armies of welders – to churn out reactor vessels at the scale needed to make a difference in the global electricity mix. Indeed, they have the ability to build powerships at rates that could transform the nuclear industry.ThorCon International an American startup company that wants to build nuclear powerships, claims that if it can get enough key components, including steam generators, it could be producing some20,000 megawatts of new nuclear capacity per year in Asian shipyards.
In a phone interview this week, Robert Hargraves, a co-founder of ThorCon, told me that “shipyards are the obvious way to go forward with nuclear because they can produce reactors at the scale that we need to make a dent in the global energy mix on a timeline that could really make a difference.” (Hargraves came on the Power Hungry Podcast back in 2021).
Estimates vary, but as much as three-quarters of the people on the planet now live within 50 kilometers of the ocean. If shipyards could begin churning out these ships at scale, they could be deployed to electricity-starved nations throughout Asia and Africa. They could be towed to those locations, anchored in a convenient spot in the harbor, and plugged into existing power grids.
To be clear, nuclear powerships are not a new idea. In 1968, the US military deployed the MH-1A Sturgis Nuclear Barge in Panama. It was docked in Gatun Lake and provided about 10 megawatts of power to the Canal Zone until it was unplugged in 1976.
In 2019, Rosatom deployed a nuclear powership in the Siberian city of Pevek. That vessel, the Akademic Lomonosov, has an electric power capacity of 70 megawatts. It uses two KLT-40 reactors which is what Russia uses on its nuclear-powered icebreakers. Rosatom is also reportedly planning to develop more nuclear powerships.
Oh dear!
They were not the Ukie refugees she was looking for.
What strikes me about all these demands (e.g. mining royalties, payment for tourist activities on Aboriginal land) is that none of it requires any work or effort by the recipients. It is sit-down money by another name. What they seem to want is a class (or race) of people who simply live off the work and effort of others as a birthright.
Apart from the corrosive effect of this mentality on the beneficiaries, do we really want to re-introduce feudalism into Australia in the 21st century?
That none of the massive intellects that inhabit the Australian ‘intelligensia’ have asked this question is a remarkable example of groupthink, not to mention that they are as intelligent as a shoal of fish.
On another topic, picked up a copy of Clive James’ Unreliable Memoirs at Vinnies recently. Heard about how brilliant it is for years.
Well, I’m a bit disappointed so far. Firstly, it is full of typos (lots) and factual errors (e.g. about the toxicity of various local critters.) For the great champion of high literacy to not proofread – or maybe he did – is a big letdown.
Secondly, I must admit that while he made me laugh sometimes, I never liked the man. Words like smug and smarmy come to mind, even a bit creepy at times. The book does nothing to alleviate those reservations.
Still, as a depiction of growing up in suburbia it is a kind of updated Saturday.
I much prefer Ross Campbell’s slightly later version – the fact that it didn’t include details of his son’s early masturbation experiences didn’t detract from painting a picture of family life, IMHO.
Cant you feel the reconciliation oozing from her piss holes in the snow eyes…
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That’s some bizarre kill stats, 100 no hang on 800
ABC had a story on this I couldn’t see these kill stats in it.
The Ghosts are not silent
Alice Springs bottle shop: Police officers stationed outside Liquorland as town battles crime wave
Two police officers are stationed outside this busy Liquorland bottle shop as crowds line up to buy booze – but there’s a tragic reason they’re there.
In Alice Springs, buying booze starts with a police interrogation.
“Where are you taking the alcohol back to?” asks one of the pair of officers posted inside the bottle-shop entrance.
“Which hotel?” he demands to know, examining your driver’s licence.
“Room number?” he continues.
“Will you consume the alcohol?” — yes.
“Share it with anyone?” — no.
With that, customers queuing outside the busy Liquorland in the town’s CBD are allowed in to buy their Australia Day drinks.
Under the new rules, which started on Monday, customers are limited to one purchase per day, and can buy up to two cartons of full-strength beer, cider or RTDs, one 750mL bottle of spirits, or six bottles of wine.
Additionally, takeaway sales of alcohol have been banned on Monday and Tuesday, and opening hours have been shortened to 3pm to 7pm.
Problem with those restrictionns – having arrived Alice the night before, in 14 Ton 4WD Truck (back up to 4WD expedition across Madison Line Simpson Desert) Non- Stop from Sydney via Adelaide to Alice (2 drivers), collected & loaded 44 Gallon Drums of Diesel for expedition, but had to wait to 2pm to buy some Liqour Supples for Trip, which meant setting off for overnight stop at Station start of Colson Track, with sun setting (Winter) – so fun with Kangaroo Hoppers and arriving at night
In his professional life he can across as an insufferable show off: look at my massive intellect and wonder as I self-deprecate in public.
Carefully tuned to the London market.