"The 1980's are calling to ask for their foreign policy back."

Like… why doesn’t it move?

Good read.

McDonald's is leaving Russia altogether

A voluntary mobilization of 35-45 year olds?

Russia's done.

It's a question of whether Russia will withdraw or the Ukrainians will have to claw back all their territory.

"So, Piotr. You have choice. You can volunteer for special operation in Ukraine. Or stay home, at Vozdvizhenka Street, 13, Moscow, 125009, with your wife Ilena and your two children Pasha and Sofia. Who are schooled at Park Place Daycare. And like to play in Zaryadye Park."

https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-su34-jets-basic-gps-receivers-taped-to-dashboards-uk-2022-5

It’s not clear from the article something that’s actually important to know: What sats were the units talking to? Russia has its own GPS system, called Glonast, and any phones sold in Russia have to be capable of using it. There’s also the EU system, called Magellan, and ours, of course.

The built-in units, I would assume, use Glonast, but what do the portable units use? And are they all the same brand?

Assume, for illustration purposes, they’re all Russian made Sonysky units, and they can use non-Glonast satellites. Nobody else but the Russians use the Sonysky units, so if you can figure out a code that’s compact and can be inserted into the GPS signal, you could completely fuck the Russian military.

"GLONASS"

Глобальная навигационная спутниковая система

GLO NA S S

FF's hero's heroic effort to heroically make sure government funds aren't wasted fails.
The Senate on Monday voted to limit debate on a nearly $40 billion Ukraine aid bill after it was initially blocked by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) last week, allowing the bill to move toward passage. The vote was 81-11, with all votes against coming from Republicans.
Paul objected to the deal between Schumer and McConnell to pass the bill with unanimous consent, calling instead for the addition of an amendment to create a special inspector general to monitor how the aid is spent, which is unlikely to pass.

Well here's something guaranteed to improve morale among Russian troops.
As Russian troops scramble to keep fighting a stiff Ukrainian resistance, leaders are not only leaving their wounded for dead but are contributing to the killing, according to a report. A video of captured Russian intelligence troops, made by Ukrainian journalist Volodymyr Zolkin and obtained by the Mirror, shows the captured troops explaining how commanders “finished off their wounded.”
Last week, Ukrainian soldiers said Russia was leaving troops’ bodies behind rather than gathering their dead. "If they (Russian forces) won’t do what they were supposed to do as a matter of honor, then we will do it out of respect for the dead," a soldier going by the call sign "Mukhomor" told AFP. "It doesn’t matter if he is the enemy or not — we don’t judge. These are the rules of international humanitarian law.”

Damn.



Dude spittin’ fire. Either Putin is preparing folks for the inevitable or he might not make it to work tomorrow.

Did anyone else see the red lower-third overlaid on the guy's black shirt, buttoned all the way up, and immediately read it as a TNG-era command division Starfleet uniform?

Interesting how much they seem to like FFs mate Rand Paul.

Good commentary:

Sounds like somebody is softening up the populace for some bad news down the road. That would raise the question of who's doing this? Is it Putin? Or is an opponent laying the groundwork to justify a coup?

Page 12 headline in forthcoming issue of Pravda:

He ain't wrong, though.

Hey Germany. Some free advice:

RESTART THE NUKE PLANTS YOU SHUT DOWN FOUR FREAKIN’ MONTHS AGO!

He makes some good points.

I think Putin needs an off-ramp *IF* the alternative is wider conflict with NATO. If it's not, then I'm happy to see his invasion force ground down to nothing.

Let's make the hole so deep that Russia will be sorry they ever crawled into it.

The problem is that letting him have anything that let's him claim victory will just encourage him to try something else. As one commentator noted about Saddam Hussein, the fact that he survived the first Gulf War led him to believe that he won. He didn't give a shit about anything or anyone except himself. Survival was all that mattered. On the other hand, if you humiliate him too publicly, you run the risk of turning him into some sort of Russian martyr. A defeat that can't be denied and can't be blamed on anyone else is what's needed, but damned if I know how it can happen.

While technically I agree with you, Snyder's point is that Putin will be able to proclaim anything a victory. And Russians will believe it, or at least say they believe it. Russia really has taken a giant step backwards.

A few things can't be denied: lots of dead Russians, a wrecked economy, and the knowledge that Ukraine still exists.

Russians aren't stupid and, unlike earlier times, aren't cut off from the rest of the world. They'll know.

And, hopefully, some enterprising person in Putin's inner circle will...fix the problem.

If someone with more time than sense could please split this into two threads one on the war itself, the other on geo-poli-econ fallout I’d pay them 5 bars of gold pressed latinum.

This is why God and Heinz Guderian created encircling movements. The Nazis were an invading force too - Zhukov trapped them numerous times. They lost a million men at Stalingrad when they couldn't break out.

The Ukrainians were definitely trying to cut off chunks of the eastern salient via an encirclement but the troops that the Russians transferred when they fled the north of the country seemed to help prevent that.

Try, try again!

Turkey disagrees!

Russia to close Moscow bureau of CBC News