I love seeing how far Blanche's boots have gone, and worked out today that I've walked 2,885 miles in the last year
That's Gibraltar to Saint Petersburg
I've got six weeks to go until I've had a year as a a postie, so my year might get over 3k miles then
I've also got two weeks holiday booked following that. I've not planned anything, but thinking of getting a ferry from Harwich to the Hook Of Holland
I don't want another marathon walk every day, but I think a mix of trains and walks around Holland and Belgium could be fun
I'm just back from a weekend in London. I went to see my Siberian friend; we had a lovely evening at a few pubs, then eating salads that I made and drinking wine
Today we went and met my family (Mum & Dad, sister & new Italian brother-in-law, nephew & his gorgeous girlfriend) at The Ivy for lunch. I had double Tartare (tuna for starter, steak for main course), then we went to see Ain't Too Proud, the musical about The Temptations
The singing and dancing were great; I think they were prioritised at the expense of acting and storytelling, but who cares when they're doing The Temptations' songs really well?
Me or my phone got this wrong earlier
Google maps tells me that it's only 2,600 miles from Gibraltar to St P; I've walked a hundred miles past Moscow
Another telling paragraph from that awful Russian mine story. This is a Ukrainian source speaking:
“Yuri Sak, an adviser to the ministry of defence, is less convinced. “They have been preparing for a war in which they mine from Poland to Lisbon,” he said. “I fear they have enough.””
The war is possibly over. In terms of Ukraine “winning”. I hope I am wrong and I am happy to be persuaded otherwise. But it seems to me that Putin has successfully defended his gains
As the Ukrainians say in the article, even if they had the right kit it wouldn’t do the job. They are running out of men
The war is not 'possibly' over, and will not be as long as Ukraine and Ukrainians wants to fight. Having seen what Russia does to 'conquered' territories post-2014 and post-2022, my guess is that the fighting spirit will remain strong.
But it also requires the west to back them for as long as they want to fight. Beware of doing Putin's job for him.
This is so fucking tiresome. Merely pointing out that the Ukraine attack is now bogged down in Russian minefields - and losing terrible numbers of men - does not make me a Putinist. It is the case. Read the articles. Ukrainians themselves are saying it
You're fine, but I think the issue is more that you keep stating the obvious (that Russia will take a lot of shifting from Ukraine, might never be, and it will be long and bloody either way) in a tone more suited to delivering an outlier view or a scoop.
But it IS received as an outlying position. Look at the people on this thread accusing me of purveying “doom porn”. It’s irritating
I think you misunderstand slightly. It's an empathy thing. This war is unusual in that one side is clearly and wholly in the wrong. We almost all desperately want them to lose. So your repeated postings of the obvious fact that this might not happen anytime soon if at all comes across as taunting. No, too strong, needling. Because that's its only effect. To needle. See what I'm driving at?
Did you notice the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia at all?
I hate to point out again what I have continually been pointing out for over a month now. The Ukrainians have only advanced between 15 and 30km south of Orkhiv in the last three months. They are not gaining ground fast enough. They need to go around or go over, because the minefield is killing them a piece at a time. Mines do not care for courage or grim determination, they kill the strong and the weak alike. They should redirect their forces in the North East, where the land is not so heavily mined and they can cheat by going via Belarus.
Leaving aside the geography of the Ukrainian/Belarus border is not the best for military manoeuvres - which was to Ukraine's advantage in the attack on Kyiv - Zelensky would be mad to take any action that might bring Belarus into the war, particularly since it would infuriate the Americans.
I suspect in any case you're misjudging his strategic aim. It seems to be to isolate Crimea and force the Russians out of it in the belief they will then lose interest in Eastern Ukraine.
Whether he's right or not I don't know, but it's at least logical. Russia does seem unreasonably obsessed with the Crimea.
Maybe the lack of desire for the US Navy to enter Sevastopol has something to do with it?
FFS...all these so-wise pronunciations. Some things should be obvious.
Привет товарищ
Have you ever been involved in a conflict, little fake-oh, super-boring, couldn't quite manage to make his mark in online psywar boy? I mean a conflict where you actually contributed, rather than being the village idiot on one of the sides, or a mere gunslinger. How did you understand it without trying to understand your enemy's POV? If you think Sevastopol isn't strategically important, frankly you should just shut up.
I’d argue it’s more strategically important to the Russians (Tarsus just doesn’t cut it) than to the Americans. But sometimes it’s a win to deny something to an enemy
And make no mistake. China is a rival. Russia is an enemy.
If a resource is strategically important to a strategic enemy, yes it's a strategic win to deny it to them. Not much gets past you, eh?
The difference is one of risk and reward. The US would not have risked war with Russia to stop them using Sevastopol. Russia was willing to risk war with the US in 2014 to secure it.
Before this latest invasion, Russia occupying Sevastopol was a fait accompli. And the US could live with that. But the f**kwits in Moscow have put it back on the table.
And Ukraine wants Crimea for the gas.
Interests are aligned.
The US has no need or interest in a naval base that simply presents a fixed target in easy reach of a potential enemy. They prefer to use a form of naval power that has range.
The “strategic naval base” next to the enemy went out of fashion before WWI - see Heligoland.
You have to look at how this mess all started which was in 2014 around the time of the Olympic games in Sochi, when the US sent warships. Strategically including in terms of the opponents' perception that seems to have been a clever move. Too bad for all the Ukrainians and Russians who have ended up dead.
I love seeing how far Blanche's boots have gone, and worked out today that I've walked 2,885 miles in the last year
That's Gibraltar to Saint Petersburg
I've got six weeks to go until I've had a year as a a postie, so my year might get over 3k miles then
I've also got two weeks holiday booked following that. I've not planned anything, but thinking of getting a ferry from Harwich to the Hook Of Holland
I don't want another marathon walk every day, but I think a mix of trains and walks around Holland and Belgium could be fun
I'm just back from a weekend in London. I went to see my Siberian friend; we had a lovely evening at a few pubs, then eating salads that I made and drinking wine
Today we went and met my family (Mum & Dad, sister & new Italian brother-in-law, nephew & his gorgeous girlfriend) at The Ivy for lunch. I had double Tartare (tuna for starter, steak for main course), then we went to see Ain't Too Proud, the musical about The Temptations
The singing and dancing were great; I think they were prioritised at the expense of acting and storytelling, but who cares when they're doing The Temptations' songs really well?
Me or my phone got this wrong earlier
Google maps tells me that it's only 2,600 miles from Gibraltar to St P; I've walked a hundred miles past Moscow
You are trying far too hard to establish your legend, pal. FAR TOO HARD!
I’m just an eccentric millionaire walking for fun and pretending to be a postie
The pro-Russia faction is what is driving the AfD vote. How do you feel about that?
And the anti immigration faction but either way banning them doesn't solve the problem
It's the Russia situation that has changed in the last year.
Of course it's more complicated than that.
People are unhappy with the government (government approval ratings are currently at an all-time low). The CDU haven't been out of power long enough, we've just had years of Union - SPD coalition - the current Chancellor was the finance minister in the last CDU government, so they aren't benefiting much from this dissatisfaction. The FDP and Greens are now in government. The Left are hopelessly divided. Which leaves the AfD.
It's true that lots of Germans are unhappy with Germany supplying so many weapons to Ukraine, and the AfD are the only party representing that point of view.
Out of curiosity, what are they unhappy about?
Inflation, a divided government with an uninspiring leader, insecurity, a bloody war almost next door, refugees, potholes, losing football teams, general sense of foreboding. But especially inflation.
I love seeing how far Blanche's boots have gone, and worked out today that I've walked 2,885 miles in the last year
That's Gibraltar to Saint Petersburg
I've got six weeks to go until I've had a year as a a postie, so my year might get over 3k miles then
I've also got two weeks holiday booked following that. I've not planned anything, but thinking of getting a ferry from Harwich to the Hook Of Holland
I don't want another marathon walk every day, but I think a mix of trains and walks around Holland and Belgium could be fun
I'm just back from a weekend in London. I went to see my Siberian friend; we had a lovely evening at a few pubs, then eating salads that I made and drinking wine
Today we went and met my family (Mum & Dad, sister & new Italian brother-in-law, nephew & his gorgeous girlfriend) at The Ivy for lunch. I had double Tartare (tuna for starter, steak for main course), then we went to see Ain't Too Proud, the musical about The Temptations
The singing and dancing were great; I think they were prioritised at the expense of acting and storytelling, but who cares when they're doing The Temptations' songs really well?
Me or my phone got this wrong earlier
Google maps tells me that it's only 2,600 miles from Gibraltar to St P; I've walked a hundred miles past Moscow
You are trying far too hard to establish your legend, pal. FAR TOO HARD!
I’m just an eccentric millionaire walking for fun and pretending to be a postie
There are two lying words in there - millionaire and pretending - take them out and it's totally true
Another telling paragraph from that awful Russian mine story. This is a Ukrainian source speaking:
“Yuri Sak, an adviser to the ministry of defence, is less convinced. “They have been preparing for a war in which they mine from Poland to Lisbon,” he said. “I fear they have enough.””
The war is possibly over. In terms of Ukraine “winning”. I hope I am wrong and I am happy to be persuaded otherwise. But it seems to me that Putin has successfully defended his gains
As the Ukrainians say in the article, even if they had the right kit it wouldn’t do the job. They are running out of men
The war is not 'possibly' over, and will not be as long as Ukraine and Ukrainians wants to fight. Having seen what Russia does to 'conquered' territories post-2014 and post-2022, my guess is that the fighting spirit will remain strong.
But it also requires the west to back them for as long as they want to fight. Beware of doing Putin's job for him.
This is so fucking tiresome. Merely pointing out that the Ukraine attack is now bogged down in Russian minefields - and losing terrible numbers of men - does not make me a Putinist. It is the case. Read the articles. Ukrainians themselves are saying it
You're fine, but I think the issue is more that you keep stating the obvious (that Russia will take a lot of shifting from Ukraine, might never be, and it will be long and bloody either way) in a tone more suited to delivering an outlier view or a scoop.
But it IS received as an outlying position. Look at the people on this thread accusing me of purveying “doom porn”. It’s irritating
I think you misunderstand slightly. It's an empathy thing. This war is unusual in that one side is clearly and wholly in the wrong. We almost all desperately want them to lose. So your repeated postings of the obvious fact that this might not happen anytime soon if at all comes across as taunting. No, too strong, needling. Because that's its only effect. To needle. See what I'm driving at?
Did you notice the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia at all?
I hate to point out again what I have continually been pointing out for over a month now. The Ukrainians have only advanced between 15 and 30km south of Orkhiv in the last three months. They are not gaining ground fast enough. They need to go around or go over, because the minefield is killing them a piece at a time. Mines do not care for courage or grim determination, they kill the strong and the weak alike. They should redirect their forces in the North East, where the land is not so heavily mined and they can cheat by going via Belarus.
Leaving aside the geography of the Ukrainian/Belarus border is not the best for military manoeuvres - which was to Ukraine's advantage in the attack on Kyiv - Zelensky would be mad to take any action that might bring Belarus into the war, particularly since it would infuriate the Americans.
I suspect in any case you're misjudging his strategic aim. It seems to be to isolate Crimea and force the Russians out of it in the belief they will then lose interest in Eastern Ukraine.
Whether he's right or not I don't know, but it's at least logical. Russia does seem unreasonably obsessed with the Crimea.
Maybe the lack of desire for the US Navy to enter Sevastopol has something to do with it?
FFS...all these so-wise pronunciations. Some things should be obvious.
Привет товарищ
Have you ever been involved in a conflict, little fake-oh, super-boring, couldn't quite manage to make his mark in online psywar boy? I mean a conflict where you actually contributed, rather than being the village idiot on one of the sides, or a mere gunslinger. How did you understand it without trying to understand your enemy's POV? If you think Sevastopol isn't strategically important, frankly you should just shut up.
I’d argue it’s more strategically important to the Russians (Tarsus just doesn’t cut it) than to the Americans. But sometimes it’s a win to deny something to an enemy
And make no mistake. China is a rival. Russia is an enemy.
If a resource is strategically important to a strategic enemy, yes it's a strategic win to deny it to them. Not much gets past you, eh?
The difference is one of risk and reward. The US would not have risked war with Russia to stop them using Sevastopol. Russia was willing to risk war with the US in 2014 to secure it.
Before this latest invasion, Russia occupying Sevastopol was a fait accompli. And the US could live with that. But the f**kwits in Moscow have put it back on the table.
And Ukraine wants Crimea for the gas.
Interests are aligned.
The US has no need or interest in a naval base that simply presents a fixed target in easy reach of a potential enemy. They prefer to use a form of naval power that has range.
The “strategic naval base” next to the enemy went out of fashion before WWI - see Heligoland.
You have to look at how this mess all started which was in 2014 around the time of the Olympic games in Sochi, when the US sent warships. Strategically including in terms of the opponents' perception that seems to have been a clever move. Too bad for all the Ukrainians and Russians who have ended up dead.
There are elaborate agreements about who, what, why, when, where warships can enter the Black Sea.
Let me explain something to you. Doing something according to negotiated international agreements doesn’t justify cosplaying Hitler demanding a bigger living room.
Even if the presence of a couple of warships causes Mighty Putin to shit his pants.
I love seeing how far Blanche's boots have gone, and worked out today that I've walked 2,885 miles in the last year
That's Gibraltar to Saint Petersburg
I've got six weeks to go until I've had a year as a a postie, so my year might get over 3k miles then
I've also got two weeks holiday booked following that. I've not planned anything, but thinking of getting a ferry from Harwich to the Hook Of Holland
I don't want another marathon walk every day, but I think a mix of trains and walks around Holland and Belgium could be fun
I'm just back from a weekend in London. I went to see my Siberian friend; we had a lovely evening at a few pubs, then eating salads that I made and drinking wine
Today we went and met my family (Mum & Dad, sister & new Italian brother-in-law, nephew & his gorgeous girlfriend) at The Ivy for lunch. I had double Tartare (tuna for starter, steak for main course), then we went to see Ain't Too Proud, the musical about The Temptations
The singing and dancing were great; I think they were prioritised at the expense of acting and storytelling, but who cares when they're doing The Temptations' songs really well?
Me or my phone got this wrong earlier
Google maps tells me that it's only 2,600 miles from Gibraltar to St P; I've walked a hundred miles past Moscow
You are trying far too hard to establish your legend, pal. FAR TOO HARD!
I’m just an eccentric millionaire walking for fun and pretending to be a postie
OK so you're probably a straightlaced and not at all eccentric non-millionaire then, or at least not a millionaire until pater and mater have snuffed it. No offence intended. But nobody serious here thinks you're a postie and your lumping on documentation after documentation to support the legend is getting tiresome. Some of us sussed you when you started saying you worked a street called Kandahar. You try too hard. You're not as good at this phony personality game as you think you are. Give it a rest Or learn how not to seem so eager with the documentary support for the legend. JFC, what did they teach you in training?
You’re my favourite poster. You don’t believe that my boring life could possibly be real
I love seeing how far Blanche's boots have gone, and worked out today that I've walked 2,885 miles in the last year
That's Gibraltar to Saint Petersburg
I've got six weeks to go until I've had a year as a a postie, so my year might get over 3k miles then
I've also got two weeks holiday booked following that. I've not planned anything, but thinking of getting a ferry from Harwich to the Hook Of Holland
I don't want another marathon walk every day, but I think a mix of trains and walks around Holland and Belgium could be fun
I'm just back from a weekend in London. I went to see my Siberian friend; we had a lovely evening at a few pubs, then eating salads that I made and drinking wine
Today we went and met my family (Mum & Dad, sister & new Italian brother-in-law, nephew & his gorgeous girlfriend) at The Ivy for lunch. I had double Tartare (tuna for starter, steak for main course), then we went to see Ain't Too Proud, the musical about The Temptations
The singing and dancing were great; I think they were prioritised at the expense of acting and storytelling, but who cares when they're doing The Temptations' songs really well?
Me or my phone got this wrong earlier
Google maps tells me that it's only 2,600 miles from Gibraltar to St P; I've walked a hundred miles past Moscow
You are trying far too hard to establish your legend, pal. FAR TOO HARD!
I’m just an eccentric millionaire walking for fun and pretending to be a postie
OK so you're probably a straightlaced and not at all eccentric non-millionaire then, or at least not a millionaire until pater and mater have snuffed it. No offence intended. But nobody serious here thinks you're a postie and your lumping on documentation after documentation to support the legend is getting tiresome. Some of us sussed you when you started saying you worked a street called Kandahar. You try too hard. You're not as good at this phony personality game as you think you are. Give it a rest Or learn how not to seem so eager with the documentary support for the legend. JFC, what did they teach you in training?
Why would someone pretend to be a postman/woman if they're not?
I love seeing how far Blanche's boots have gone, and worked out today that I've walked 2,885 miles in the last year
That's Gibraltar to Saint Petersburg
I've got six weeks to go until I've had a year as a a postie, so my year might get over 3k miles then
I've also got two weeks holiday booked following that. I've not planned anything, but thinking of getting a ferry from Harwich to the Hook Of Holland
I don't want another marathon walk every day, but I think a mix of trains and walks around Holland and Belgium could be fun
I'm just back from a weekend in London. I went to see my Siberian friend; we had a lovely evening at a few pubs, then eating salads that I made and drinking wine
Today we went and met my family (Mum & Dad, sister & new Italian brother-in-law, nephew & his gorgeous girlfriend) at The Ivy for lunch. I had double Tartare (tuna for starter, steak for main course), then we went to see Ain't Too Proud, the musical about The Temptations
The singing and dancing were great; I think they were prioritised at the expense of acting and storytelling, but who cares when they're doing The Temptations' songs really well?
Me or my phone got this wrong earlier
Google maps tells me that it's only 2,600 miles from Gibraltar to St P; I've walked a hundred miles past Moscow
You are trying far too hard to establish your legend, pal. FAR TOO HARD!
I’m just an eccentric millionaire walking for fun and pretending to be a postie
OK so you're probably a straightlaced and not at all eccentric non-millionaire then, or at least not a millionaire until pater and mater have snuffed it. No offence intended. But nobody serious here thinks you're a postie and your lumping on documentation after documentation to support the legend is getting tiresome. Some of us sussed you when you started saying you worked a street called Kandahar. You try too hard. You're not as good at this phony personality game as you think you are. Give it a rest Or learn how not to seem so eager with the documentary support for the legend. JFC, what did they teach you in training?
Why would someone pretend to be a postman/woman if they're not?
That question makes me weep because I have deep respect for your innocence. My friend, don't be misled. Don't focus on the postieness of the situation. Ask why a person might pretend to be somebody they're not, on a website frequented by leading political types. That their legend is that they're a postie is neither here nor there.
I read and post here for fun
That may seem an impossibly boring hobby to go with my mind numbingly tedious job, but that's me
I am delighted that you think I'm someone pretending to have this dull life, and intrigued to know who you think I really might be
I love seeing how far Blanche's boots have gone, and worked out today that I've walked 2,885 miles in the last year
That's Gibraltar to Saint Petersburg
I've got six weeks to go until I've had a year as a a postie, so my year might get over 3k miles then
I've also got two weeks holiday booked following that. I've not planned anything, but thinking of getting a ferry from Harwich to the Hook Of Holland
I don't want another marathon walk every day, but I think a mix of trains and walks around Holland and Belgium could be fun
I'm just back from a weekend in London. I went to see my Siberian friend; we had a lovely evening at a few pubs, then eating salads that I made and drinking wine
Today we went and met my family (Mum & Dad, sister & new Italian brother-in-law, nephew & his gorgeous girlfriend) at The Ivy for lunch. I had double Tartare (tuna for starter, steak for main course), then we went to see Ain't Too Proud, the musical about The Temptations
The singing and dancing were great; I think they were prioritised at the expense of acting and storytelling, but who cares when they're doing The Temptations' songs really well?
Me or my phone got this wrong earlier
Google maps tells me that it's only 2,600 miles from Gibraltar to St P; I've walked a hundred miles past Moscow
You are trying far too hard to establish your legend, pal. FAR TOO HARD!
I’m just an eccentric millionaire walking for fun and pretending to be a postie
OK so you're probably a straightlaced and not at all eccentric non-millionaire then, or at least not a millionaire until pater and mater have snuffed it. No offence intended. But nobody serious here thinks you're a postie and your lumping on documentation after documentation to support the legend is getting tiresome. Some of us sussed you when you started saying you worked a street called Kandahar. You try too hard. You're not as good at this phony personality game as you think you are. Give it a rest Or learn how not to seem so eager with the documentary support for the legend. JFC, what did they teach you in training?
You mean dining en famille at the Ivy before taking in a west end show didn’t do it for you?
Another telling paragraph from that awful Russian mine story. This is a Ukrainian source speaking:
“Yuri Sak, an adviser to the ministry of defence, is less convinced. “They have been preparing for a war in which they mine from Poland to Lisbon,” he said. “I fear they have enough.””
The war is possibly over. In terms of Ukraine “winning”. I hope I am wrong and I am happy to be persuaded otherwise. But it seems to me that Putin has successfully defended his gains
As the Ukrainians say in the article, even if they had the right kit it wouldn’t do the job. They are running out of men
The war is not 'possibly' over, and will not be as long as Ukraine and Ukrainians wants to fight. Having seen what Russia does to 'conquered' territories post-2014 and post-2022, my guess is that the fighting spirit will remain strong.
But it also requires the west to back them for as long as they want to fight. Beware of doing Putin's job for him.
This is so fucking tiresome. Merely pointing out that the Ukraine attack is now bogged down in Russian minefields - and losing terrible numbers of men - does not make me a Putinist. It is the case. Read the articles. Ukrainians themselves are saying it
You're fine, but I think the issue is more that you keep stating the obvious (that Russia will take a lot of shifting from Ukraine, might never be, and it will be long and bloody either way) in a tone more suited to delivering an outlier view or a scoop.
But it IS received as an outlying position. Look at the people on this thread accusing me of purveying “doom porn”. It’s irritating
I think you misunderstand slightly. It's an empathy thing. This war is unusual in that one side is clearly and wholly in the wrong. We almost all desperately want them to lose. So your repeated postings of the obvious fact that this might not happen anytime soon if at all comes across as taunting. No, too strong, needling. Because that's its only effect. To needle. See what I'm driving at?
Did you notice the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia at all?
I hate to point out again what I have continually been pointing out for over a month now. The Ukrainians have only advanced between 15 and 30km south of Orkhiv in the last three months. They are not gaining ground fast enough. They need to go around or go over, because the minefield is killing them a piece at a time. Mines do not care for courage or grim determination, they kill the strong and the weak alike. They should redirect their forces in the North East, where the land is not so heavily mined and they can cheat by going via Belarus.
Leaving aside the geography of the Ukrainian/Belarus border is not the best for military manoeuvres - which was to Ukraine's advantage in the attack on Kyiv - Zelensky would be mad to take any action that might bring Belarus into the war, particularly since it would infuriate the Americans.
I suspect in any case you're misjudging his strategic aim. It seems to be to isolate Crimea and force the Russians out of it in the belief they will then lose interest in Eastern Ukraine.
Whether he's right or not I don't know, but it's at least logical. Russia does seem unreasonably obsessed with the Crimea.
Maybe the lack of desire for the US Navy to enter Sevastopol has something to do with it?
FFS...all these so-wise pronunciations. Some things should be obvious.
Привет товарищ
Have you ever been involved in a conflict, little fake-oh, super-boring, couldn't quite manage to make his mark in online psywar boy? I mean a conflict where you actually contributed, rather than being the village idiot on one of the sides, or a mere gunslinger. How did you understand it without trying to understand your enemy's POV? If you think Sevastopol isn't strategically important, frankly you should just shut up.
I’d argue it’s more strategically important to the Russians (Tarsus just doesn’t cut it) than to the Americans. But sometimes it’s a win to deny something to an enemy
And make no mistake. China is a rival. Russia is an enemy.
If a resource is strategically important to a strategic enemy, yes it's a strategic win to deny it to them. Not much gets past you, eh?
The difference is one of risk and reward. The US would not have risked war with Russia to stop them using Sevastopol. Russia was willing to risk war with the US in 2014 to secure it.
Before this latest invasion, Russia occupying Sevastopol was a fait accompli. And the US could live with that. But the f**kwits in Moscow have put it back on the table.
And Ukraine wants Crimea for the gas.
Interests are aligned.
The US has no need or interest in a naval base that simply presents a fixed target in easy reach of a potential enemy. They prefer to use a form of naval power that has range.
The “strategic naval base” next to the enemy went out of fashion before WWI - see Heligoland.
You have to look at how this mess all started which was in 2014 around the time of the Olympic games in Sochi, when the US sent warships. Strategically including in terms of the opponents' perception that seems to have been a clever move. Too bad for all the Ukrainians and Russians who have ended up dead.
Another telling paragraph from that awful Russian mine story. This is a Ukrainian source speaking:
“Yuri Sak, an adviser to the ministry of defence, is less convinced. “They have been preparing for a war in which they mine from Poland to Lisbon,” he said. “I fear they have enough.””
The war is possibly over. In terms of Ukraine “winning”. I hope I am wrong and I am happy to be persuaded otherwise. But it seems to me that Putin has successfully defended his gains
As the Ukrainians say in the article, even if they had the right kit it wouldn’t do the job. They are running out of men
The war is not 'possibly' over, and will not be as long as Ukraine and Ukrainians wants to fight. Having seen what Russia does to 'conquered' territories post-2014 and post-2022, my guess is that the fighting spirit will remain strong.
But it also requires the west to back them for as long as they want to fight. Beware of doing Putin's job for him.
This is so fucking tiresome. Merely pointing out that the Ukraine attack is now bogged down in Russian minefields - and losing terrible numbers of men - does not make me a Putinist. It is the case. Read the articles. Ukrainians themselves are saying it
You're fine, but I think the issue is more that you keep stating the obvious (that Russia will take a lot of shifting from Ukraine, might never be, and it will be long and bloody either way) in a tone more suited to delivering an outlier view or a scoop.
But it IS received as an outlying position. Look at the people on this thread accusing me of purveying “doom porn”. It’s irritating
I think you misunderstand slightly. It's an empathy thing. This war is unusual in that one side is clearly and wholly in the wrong. We almost all desperately want them to lose. So your repeated postings of the obvious fact that this might not happen anytime soon if at all comes across as taunting. No, too strong, needling. Because that's its only effect. To needle. See what I'm driving at?
Did you notice the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia at all?
I hate to point out again what I have continually been pointing out for over a month now. The Ukrainians have only advanced between 15 and 30km south of Orkhiv in the last three months. They are not gaining ground fast enough. They need to go around or go over, because the minefield is killing them a piece at a time. Mines do not care for courage or grim determination, they kill the strong and the weak alike. They should redirect their forces in the North East, where the land is not so heavily mined and they can cheat by going via Belarus.
Leaving aside the geography of the Ukrainian/Belarus border is not the best for military manoeuvres - which was to Ukraine's advantage in the attack on Kyiv - Zelensky would be mad to take any action that might bring Belarus into the war, particularly since it would infuriate the Americans.
I suspect in any case you're misjudging his strategic aim. It seems to be to isolate Crimea and force the Russians out of it in the belief they will then lose interest in Eastern Ukraine.
Whether he's right or not I don't know, but it's at least logical. Russia does seem unreasonably obsessed with the Crimea.
Maybe the lack of desire for the US Navy to enter Sevastopol has something to do with it?
FFS...all these so-wise pronunciations. Some things should be obvious.
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Have you ever been involved in a conflict, little fake-oh, super-boring, couldn't quite manage to make his mark in online psywar boy? I mean a conflict where you actually contributed, rather than being the village idiot on one of the sides, or a mere gunslinger. How did you understand it without trying to understand your enemy's POV? If you think Sevastopol isn't strategically important, frankly you should just shut up.
I’d argue it’s more strategically important to the Russians (Tarsus just doesn’t cut it) than to the Americans. But sometimes it’s a win to deny something to an enemy
And make no mistake. China is a rival. Russia is an enemy.
If a resource is strategically important to a strategic enemy, yes it's a strategic win to deny it to them. Not much gets past you, eh?
The difference is one of risk and reward. The US would not have risked war with Russia to stop them using Sevastopol. Russia was willing to risk war with the US in 2014 to secure it.
Before this latest invasion, Russia occupying Sevastopol was a fait accompli. And the US could live with that. But the f**kwits in Moscow have put it back on the table.
And Ukraine wants Crimea for the gas.
Interests are aligned.
The US has no need or interest in a naval base that simply presents a fixed target in easy reach of a potential enemy. They prefer to use a form of naval power that has range.
The “strategic naval base” next to the enemy went out of fashion before WWI - see Heligoland.
You have to look at how this mess all started which was in 2014 around the time of the Olympic games in Sochi, when the US sent warships. Strategically including in terms of the opponents' perception that seems to have been a clever move. Too bad for all the Ukrainians and Russians who have ended up dead.
Erm, it was the fascist Putin trying to steal land and people from another country who left those Russians and Ukrainians dead.
Fighting started in 2014. That is the background whether you like it or not. The Olympics preceded the Maidan operation. Just to be clear: I wasn't seeking to apportion blame, merely saying that I think the US move in 2014 was clever. And although Germany flying the EU flag had some scope and used it, it was a US move. You may remember "F*** the EU". Few in 2014 would have predicted how events would unfold or even that there was an appreciable chance of war between Ukraine and Russia. Not trying to whitewash Putin at all. Not interested in the moral philosophy of it. Only an idiot bases their analysis on Side X is totally bad innit.
Cart before the horse there.
Nobody does an analysis based on Side X is totally bad.
Anyone who does a rational analysis knows that Russia is totally bad.
Is there any such thing as an external RAM drive for a laptop computer?
Do you mean a memory stick you can run a laptop off, or a device you can connect to a PC via a lead? IIRC both options are available.
I'm running a program that enhances videos using a new AI approach, but it uses huge amounts of memory, and my laptop doesn't have enough. I need more memory, not storage space. A normal memory stick just gives you more storage space AFAIK.
Is there any such thing as an external RAM drive for a laptop computer?
Do you mean a memory stick you can run a laptop off, or a device you can connect to a PC via a lead? IIRC both options are available.
I'm running a program that enhances videos using a new AI approach, but it uses huge amounts of memory, and my laptop doesn't have enough. I need more memory, not storage space. A normal memory stick just gives you more storage space AFAIK.
I've never heard of external RAM, no, and I am extremely doubtful that is a thing at all; but if you're familiar with computers then you can almost certainly upgrade the RAM internally. It's a pretty easy part to change.
HDD/SDD and RAM are two typically very easily accessible user changeable parts. Doing so will almost certainly void your warranty if you have one though, but it's quite doable, if you're confident to use a screwdriver and give it a go.
I'm looking to change mine shortly, currently got 8 GB RAM (what it shipped with) and my Motherboard could cope with a maximum of 64 GB RAM.
When changing RAM don't just look at the GB total, the MHz speed of the RAM is very important too.
Is there any such thing as an external RAM drive for a laptop computer?
Do you mean a memory stick you can run a laptop off, or a device you can connect to a PC via a lead? IIRC both options are available.
I'm running a program that enhances videos using a new AI approach, but it uses huge amounts of memory, and my laptop doesn't have enough. I need more memory, not storage space. A normal memory stick just gives you more storage space AFAIK.
Memory sticks are memory sticks, but I meant a thing that looks like a memory stick that you can run a whole laptop off: RAM, Rom, the chip itself, etc. And IIRC they exist. But I may be derailing the conversation with my swiss-cheese memory (pun not intended). @rcs1000 is clever and knows this stuff so ask him.
Just observing that - it may not be the exploits of Leon or the extremes of our Gulf contingent or even the froideur of our Scandinavian expats - but I’m sitting in the well deck of our little canal boat in a remote Warwickshire mooring, three pints of Old Rosie into the evening, and this country is fucking glorious sometimes.
As you were.
Not the "Comfortably Numb" by any chance?
No but we passed that yesterday - think it was moored in Heyford and heading south!
It was in a remote Warwickshire mooring this morning...
Oh, interesting. Maybe it turned round at Heyford and is going the same way as us. I’ll keep an eye out.
What boat are/were you on? We were on the GU and Oxford canal till yesterday.
The liberation of Kherson was now 9 months' ago now.
It's fair to say the second half of the war has been more of a stalemate then the first.
Hopefully there will be a significant breakthrough before long.
Ukraine held off a counteroffensive
They waited through the mud season
They are gradually attriting Russian positions and strangling Crimea.
Not everything works to a 24 hour new cycle
Attrition is massively important IMO. We see lots of videos and pictures of Ukraine blatting Russia far behind Russian lines - from ammunition dumps to communication lines. We see lots of videos of Russia hitting behind Ukrainian lines, but they *appear* to be much more targeted on civilian infrastructure.
Appearances can be deceptive, of course: it would be that Russia is regularly hitting vital Ukrainian units, and have really destroyed 5,194 Himars unit as they claim, and the Ukrainians are keeping the behind-the-lines losses very secret.
But IMO this is what will break one side or the other: attrition, particularly over logistics. Such a break could be very sudden. And I doubt Russia will be advantaged by keeping on hitting the targets they *appear* to be currently hitting - just as the war on Ukraine's power infrastructure did not work over the winter.
That’s what I meant when I said it would be slow until it is fast
It's why I don't understand Russian targeting. We are not seeing lots of Ukrainian weaponry and stores being destroyed tens of km away from the lines; what we are seeing is civilian infrastructure being destroyed. Perhaps there are things we are not seeing, but we know we are seeing Russia hitting civilian infrastructure.
Some non-exclusive possibilities: *) Russia and Putin feel they can destroy Ukrainian resolve by targeting civilians, despite that rarely having worked. *) They are performing the same strategy they did in Syria, Chechnya etc, as it is what they know. *) Putin wants Ukrainian civilians to undergo a punishment beating. *) Russia's long-range weaponry are even less accurate than we thought. *) They're being stupid and don't care what they hit, as long as they hot something.
They are useless, ill trained , pissed most of eth time and are just plain nasty barstewards
Another telling paragraph from that awful Russian mine story. This is a Ukrainian source speaking:
“Yuri Sak, an adviser to the ministry of defence, is less convinced. “They have been preparing for a war in which they mine from Poland to Lisbon,” he said. “I fear they have enough.””
The war is possibly over. In terms of Ukraine “winning”. I hope I am wrong and I am happy to be persuaded otherwise. But it seems to me that Putin has successfully defended his gains
As the Ukrainians say in the article, even if they had the right kit it wouldn’t do the job. They are running out of men
The war is not 'possibly' over, and will not be as long as Ukraine and Ukrainians wants to fight. Having seen what Russia does to 'conquered' territories post-2014 and post-2022, my guess is that the fighting spirit will remain strong.
But it also requires the west to back them for as long as they want to fight. Beware of doing Putin's job for him.
This is so fucking tiresome. Merely pointing out that the Ukraine attack is now bogged down in Russian minefields - and losing terrible numbers of men - does not make me a Putinist. It is the case. Read the articles. Ukrainians themselves are saying it
You're fine, but I think the issue is more that you keep stating the obvious (that Russia will take a lot of shifting from Ukraine, might never be, and it will be long and bloody either way) in a tone more suited to delivering an outlier view or a scoop.
But it IS received as an outlying position. Look at the people on this thread accusing me of purveying “doom porn”. It’s irritating
I think you misunderstand slightly. It's an empathy thing. This war is unusual in that one side is clearly and wholly in the wrong. We almost all desperately want them to lose. So your repeated postings of the obvious fact that this might not happen anytime soon if at all comes across as taunting. No, too strong, needling. Because that's its only effect. To needle. See what I'm driving at?
Did you notice the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia at all?
I hate to point out again what I have continually been pointing out for over a month now. The Ukrainians have only advanced between 15 and 30km south of Orkhiv in the last three months. They are not gaining ground fast enough. They need to go around or go over, because the minefield is killing them a piece at a time. Mines do not care for courage or grim determination, they kill the strong and the weak alike. They should redirect their forces in the North East, where the land is not so heavily mined and they can cheat by going via Belarus.
Leaving aside the geography of the Ukrainian/Belarus border is not the best for military manoeuvres - which was to Ukraine's advantage in the attack on Kyiv - Zelensky would be mad to take any action that might bring Belarus into the war, particularly since it would infuriate the Americans.
I suspect in any case you're misjudging his strategic aim. It seems to be to isolate Crimea and force the Russians out of it in the belief they will then lose interest in Eastern Ukraine.
Whether he's right or not I don't know, but it's at least logical. Russia does seem unreasonably obsessed with the Crimea.
Maybe the lack of desire for the US Navy to enter Sevastopol has something to do with it?
FFS...all these so-wise pronunciations. Some things should be obvious.
Привет товарищ
Have you ever been involved in a conflict, little fake-oh, super-boring, couldn't quite manage to make his mark in online psywar boy? I mean a conflict where you actually contributed, rather than being the village idiot on one of the sides, or a mere gunslinger. How did you understand it without trying to understand your enemy's POV? If you think Sevastopol isn't strategically important, frankly you should just shut up.
I’d argue it’s more strategically important to the Russians (Tarsus just doesn’t cut it) than to the Americans. But sometimes it’s a win to deny something to an enemy
And make no mistake. China is a rival. Russia is an enemy.
If a resource is strategically important to a strategic enemy, yes it's a strategic win to deny it to them. Not much gets past you, eh?
The difference is one of risk and reward. The US would not have risked war with Russia to stop them using Sevastopol. Russia was willing to risk war with the US in 2014 to secure it.
Before this latest invasion, Russia occupying Sevastopol was a fait accompli. And the US could live with that. But the f**kwits in Moscow have put it back on the table.
And Ukraine wants Crimea for the gas.
Interests are aligned.
The US has no need or interest in a naval base that simply presents a fixed target in easy reach of a potential enemy. They prefer to use a form of naval power that has range.
The “strategic naval base” next to the enemy went out of fashion before WWI - see Heligoland.
You have to look at how this mess all started which was in 2014 around the time of the Olympic games in Sochi, when the US sent warships. Strategically including in terms of the opponents' perception that seems to have been a clever move. Too bad for all the Ukrainians and Russians who have ended up dead.
Comments
Google maps tells me that it's only 2,600 miles from Gibraltar to St P; I've walked a hundred miles past Moscow
Let me explain something to you. Doing something according to negotiated international agreements doesn’t justify cosplaying Hitler demanding a bigger living room.
Even if the presence of a couple of warships causes Mighty Putin to shit his pants.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreux_Convention_Regarding_the_Regime_of_the_Straits
That may seem an impossibly boring hobby to go with my mind numbingly tedious job, but that's me
I am delighted that you think I'm someone pretending to have this dull life, and intrigued to know who you think I really might be
I feel, so unusually, so interesting..
Nobody does an analysis based on Side X is totally bad.
Anyone who does a rational analysis knows that Russia is totally bad.
There are three children
They have been named so their initials make them:
A Hole
B Hole
and, yes
C Hole
I believe that this could be nominative cruelty
HDD/SDD and RAM are two typically very easily accessible user changeable parts. Doing so will almost certainly void your warranty if you have one though, but it's quite doable, if you're confident to use a screwdriver and give it a go.
I'm looking to change mine shortly, currently got 8 GB RAM (what it shipped with) and my Motherboard could cope with a maximum of 64 GB RAM.
When changing RAM don't just look at the GB total, the MHz speed of the RAM is very important too.
Still, better late than never.