The road to Hell is paved with good intentions...

By Michael F Guntly (Ares) on Monday, July 08, 2024 - 01:52 pm: Edit

Yes, but given there is a Stairway to Heaven and a Highway to Hell says a lot about anticipated traffic patterns.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Monday, July 08, 2024 - 02:53 pm: Edit

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Quote:

Yes, but given there is a Stairway to Heaven and a Highway to Hell says a lot about anticipated traffic patterns.

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By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Monday, July 08, 2024 - 06:15 pm: Edit

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Tuesday, July 09, 2024 - 01:10 pm: Edit

The Independent, (a left leaning webzine and former broadsheet paper in the United Kingdom) published a report today that Belgorad (the site of a series of attacks , reputedly launched from Russia) on a number of villages in the region including Artillery,missiles, glide bombs and gravity bombs, has proclaimed independence from Russia. Apparently, this is a public relations ploy in an attempt to embarrass Putin into not attacking Russian civilians living on Russian soil.

To be clear, this is not an armed rebellion… the inhabitants just want the Russian military to stop bombing their homes.

Comments posted by various readers of the forum have raised some questions, including the idea that Russian pilots are intentionally dropping the weapons early, before actually entering the combat zone to avoid Ukrainian attacks.

Not sure how any of this can be proved, but there is video proof of the damage inflicted on Belgorad civilian property.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, July 09, 2024 - 03:03 pm: Edit

The British system produces non-proportional results, but then, two or three American presidents lost the popular vote and won the electoral college. Some parliamentary democracies don't use constituencies; everyone just votes for the party, and any part that gets X% of the votes gets a proportional number of seats. The party usually selects which specific people get the seats in advance in a priority system. Thus the "Star Fleet Party" might list;
1 Steve Cole
2 Steve Petrick
3 Mike West
4 Mike Curtis
5 Chuck Strong
6 Rya Nopel

and if we win 3 proportional seats they go to the first 3 names on the list. I think Israel does it that way, maybe Germany.

By Mike Curtis (Nashvillen) on Tuesday, July 09, 2024 - 03:14 pm: Edit

Dang, missed the cut by one... Or, maybe I should be celebrating!

By Matthew Lawson (Mglawson) on Tuesday, July 09, 2024 - 05:30 pm: Edit

Last week the Hellenic Navy did some maneuvers and missile testing; the videos look neat.

Also a new Iranian warship capsized in dock.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Tuesday, July 09, 2024 - 05:35 pm: Edit

That is at least the second time an Iranian frigate has capsized in an Iranian drydock over the years.

Do you suppose it could be a training issue?

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Tuesday, July 09, 2024 - 07:53 pm: Edit

As for the Iranians: maybe they were tied up wrong? Or someone opened the wrong scuttle valves? Or is it those pesky Israelis again?

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Tuesday, July 09, 2024 - 10:20 pm: Edit

The Iranians have had the worst luck in operating all sorts of small boats, ships, aircraft and even nationalized oil platforms.

Between having the odd submarine run over by civilian oil takers in the Persian Gulf, small boats developing sudden holes (remarkably similar to 50 caliber machine gun rounds) that inevitably occur whenever said boats get too close to a U.S. or U.K. Naval vessel (for obvious reasons after the Royal Navy had the Iranians arrest RN personnel to be held for ransom…) not to mention Iranian civilian aircraft that inexplicably turn off transponder signals when flying over the known location of a U.S. Navy Aegis Cruiser.

Then again, having a frigate suddenly capsize shortly before it’s scheduled launch date could happen to anybody…. Though in the case of the Iranians, its a repetitive problem…

But the Oil drilling platform is the easiest to understand, I mean, anyone who has a oil platform generally doesn’t have to worry about having to deal with several hundred 5 inch diameter shell holes being pumped into the structure by several different destroyers and frigates at close range…

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Friday, July 12, 2024 - 09:39 am: Edit

Please don't publish details of military operations.

Thanks,

WebMom

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Friday, July 12, 2024 - 10:13 am: Edit

A footnote concerning the Iranian frigate that capsized in harbor recently.

Named Sahand, hull numbed #74, was named after an Iranian warship that was sunk in 1988.

Reportedly “several crewmen” lost their lives in the accident.

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Friday, July 12, 2024 - 08:03 pm: Edit

The NYTimes (among others) is reporting that U.S. intelligence agencies have identified a Russian plot to assassinate the chief executive of the German munitions company Rheinmetall, which has been supplying tanks and munitions to Ukraine.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Saturday, July 13, 2024 - 04:51 am: Edit

Jean

Sorry - thought I kept the details of where it was sufficent vague on timescale and locations.

OK

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Saturday, July 13, 2024 - 12:42 pm: Edit

The London Times/Sunday Times media site is reporting that “Putin is losing a Battalion a day” during the current military operations in Ukraine.

That does not make sense to me, as the Ukrainian government has been reporting estimated Russian casualties have been 200 to 250 per day (this is a combined figure of wounded, missing and killed in action.)

I was under the impression that a battalion at full strength numbers of 500 soldiers.

Now, I also have seen reports that Russian units are, have been and are expected to be very understaffed since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

My question is, is it reasonable that the Russians are fielding active frontline infantry battalions with less than 200 soldiers total strength?

Which leads to the next question: at what point does low number of soldiers render a Russian battalion unable to perform missions?

By Jason E. Schaff (Jschaff297061) on Saturday, July 13, 2024 - 01:37 pm: Edit

A battalion a day _might_ represent functional losses. i.e., a battalion rendered combat-ineffective due to heavy casualties. More likely though that it's a matter of media ignorance of the subject matter.

By Ryan Opel (Ryan) on Saturday, July 13, 2024 - 05:39 pm: Edit

The number is a lot closer to 1000 people a day for the last couple of months. KIA/WIA.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, July 13, 2024 - 07:21 pm: Edit

Attempted assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania. Shots were fired. Trump is alive and safe. One photo seems to show blood on his face by his right ear. That is confirmed, a bullet may have hit his ear. There were two incidents of gunfire a few seconds apart. The second may have been security confronting the shooter. At least one other was hit. AP says the shooter is dead, an attendee killed, another hit.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, July 13, 2024 - 07:41 pm: Edit

Report says Two others and shooter dead. Other reports say one dead one hurt. Apparently by the shots that missed Trump hitting the bleachers. Presidents Biden, Obama, W Bush all praying for Trump and denouncing violence.

Unconfirmed reports speak of a shooter on a rooftop.

President Biden has suspended campaign advertising for the time being. Very decent of him.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, July 13, 2024 - 08:16 pm: Edit

Shooter was killed by Secret Service counter-sniper team.

President Biden speaking, says violence is unacceptable, rally should have been safe, violence in unAmerican. He is trying to call Trump on phone to wish him well.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, July 13, 2024 - 08:33 pm: Edit

Trump may have been cut by flying glass from a teleprompter hit by a bullet. This is not confirmed.

By Chuck Strong (Raider) on Saturday, July 13, 2024 - 08:47 pm: Edit

The results of hateful rhetoric.

…and now an innocent bystander is dead as a result.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, July 13, 2024 - 08:48 pm: Edit

Press release by Trump says a bullet did hit his ear. His life was spared by less than an inch.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, July 13, 2024 - 09:26 pm: Edit

Secret Service says one spectator dead, two injured.