Ukraine is getting an S-300 antiaircraft system from Slovakia. About time. Maybe the dam will break and other countries will join in.
Here is a video of the system being loaded on - wait for it - a train - for shipment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNEStBdM7EI
The US is providing Slovakia a Patriot battery as replacement.
greyhounds Nothing anyone says on this thread is going to make a bit of difference. Meanwhile, millions of Ukrainians have had their lives wrecked, their families torn apart, and their loved ones killed or wounded. Come on! You’ve got $100. Donate it and buy some food, bandages, clothing, whatever for these victims of Russian aggression.
+1 And thanks, Ken.
Pitch in and donate (or help) whatever you can. Some refugees are starting to show up here.
Already have. Donated several weeks ago. And will continue.
We have an acquaintance who is a legal immigrant from Ukraine. He seeved in the Ukraine Army as a field medic before coming to America. He has gone back to serve, leaving his wife and children here. Of course, he and his wife still have family in Ukraine.
Contact almost any Greek (Eastern) Orthodox Carholic Church in your area and they will almost surely have a fund raiser going as well as collecting any type of clothing and other supplies that a refugee will need.
CMStPnPI said or implied his opinion was open to question. So we obviously have a very major disagreement on what constitutes an unbiased expert on a subject matter area.
Has nothing to do with 'credentials', but it does have to do with knowledge or experience or reading other sources.
Ron, if you are not familiar with 'autocatalytic war' you should read up on it. Been a 'thing' even since the original cross-pollination of Douhet with Borden in 'There Will Be No Time'.
OvermodNo, what we have is a 'disagreement' on what, supposedly, was in question about his opinion, or what your reasons (or knowledge) to question that opinion might be. Has nothing to do with 'credentials', but it does have to do with knowledge or experience or reading other sources.
Agree and you have to read the exchange in entirety not just read the last post and you would see I made that point throughout as well among other valid points.
CMStPnPAgree and you have to read the exchange in entirety not just read the last post and you would see I made that point throughout as well among other valid points.
It is perfectly OK to say '...that statement doesn't pass my smell test' (or similar opinion comment) just as it was to say that in your opinion accountants sometimes manipulate semantics. It's always ethically better to back up opinions with some source material or even references, but if you say it's your opinion, no one should do other than state why their opinion is contrary... and of course back that up with facts, references, etc. if they intend readers to trust, or accept, their opinion 'more'.
OvermodI have not yet seen where you comment in detail where you disagree with the 'source', with reasons why.
Have you looked?
From 1 post above, though I made the comment several times across several posts in various ways. But here it is again.
I believe NATO and their historical timeline. This guy is not only pushing a book but selling himself as an "I told you so" victim. Which disqualifies himself as being objective, in my view. Further he is giving his own personal opinion, it is not official nor is it expert.
On top of all that you misinterpreted what he is saying. He is not saying Russia is in Ukraine because of NATO he is saying it will become a war with NATO.....look at his book which claims the same thing.
OvermodIt is perfectly OK to say '...that statement doesn't pass my smell test' (or similar opinion comment) just as it was to say that in your opinion accountants sometimes manipulate semantics. It's always ethically better to back up opinions with some source material or even references, but if you say it's your opinion, no one should do other than state why their opinion is contrary... and of course back that up with facts, references, etc. if they intend readers to trust, or accept, their opinion 'more
Sorry the quote feature has issues for me, not sure if it is the website or the laptop.
No your missing the point on Accountants. Accounting is a general field roughly analogous to a general practicioner of medicine. Would I take my pet Donkey to a GP for advice? No I would not. Hence conveying someone as an "expert" because they have knowledge in a general area is overkill in my view. Additionally, if we are talking military there is usually a designation of SME in an area in addition to rank or title (wasn't LTC Vindiman an SME? Wasn't it so designated?). The argument is moot though for an informal discussion forum which is opinion based by nature. As I stated many times over and over, this is not an academic forum for peer review.
I am not sure I am interpreting the audio correctly but..... These men appear to claim they are not even in the Armed Forces but were just plucked off the street in Russia and given uniforms and rifles and put into Eastern Ukraine..........so in military terms.....I think they call that recruitment by a "press gang". It is an old technique from the 1800's or before, surprised it is still used.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV9DLy2NI_8
CMStPnPI am not sure I am interpreting the audio correctly but..... These men appear to claim they are not even in the Armed Forces but were just plucked off the street in Russia and given uniforms and rifles and put into Eastern Ukraine..........so in military terms.....I think they call that recruitment by a "press gang". It is an old technique from the 1800's or before, surprised it is still used. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV9DLy2NI_8
Wasn't 'Impressment' one the the 'fighting points' between the USA and Britain during the War of 1812 - where the Brits were capturing US merchant ships and 'impressing' those sailors into the British Fleet.
I believe Hitler impressed civilians off the street into the defense of Berlin.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACDWasn't 'Impressment' one the the 'fighting points' between the USA and Britain during the War of 1812 - where the Brits were capturing US merchant ships and 'impressing' those sailors into the British Fleet. I believe Hitler impressed civilians off the street into the defense of Berlin.
I think your right but I am not a Naval Historian I believe it was partly due to the British stopping our ships to search or interrogate and then leaving with a good portion of said crew as new British Naval Recruits.
Some of the stories from the video sound bizarre. One guy said he found himself in Russian territory (my take is he got lost near a border or something) and then the next thing he knew he was in the Russian Army in that Armored Personnell Carrier.
There are whole entire Russian Army units refusing to mobilize saying the orders are illegal. There was another youtube video on an elite Airborne unit in the far East of Russia that refused to mobilize. No idea how they are handling that but I hope they are not using press gangs to fill the gaps.
I am starting to wonder if Putin followed the proper procedure to declare war. He first did not call it a war. Additionally he got this "Security Council" to second his decision. Which I never heard of that Security Council until this whole Ukraine thing came up. What happened to the Russian legislature and a formal declaration of war? Beats me what their official process is though.
Another scary item is the Ukrainian Army fighting East. There is no real geographical obstacle between the Eastern Ukrainian border and Moscow. If they break through the Russian lines will they stop at the border? I wonder if they have given assurances to the West in that regard.......or not.
Has anyone been able to construct a railway map of Ukraine showing locations that are severed? It would be interesting to see how those lines are surviving. Also the connections to other countries.
CMStPnP... Another scary item is the Ukrainian Army fighting East. There is no real geographical obstacle between the Eastern Ukrainian border and Moscow. If they break through the Russian lines will they stop at the border? I wonder if they have given assurances to the West in that regard.......or not.
If they would - it would only prove how inept Putin's Russian military is.
CMStPnPAnother scary item is the Ukrainian Army fighting East. There is no real geographical obstacle between the Eastern Ukrainian border and Moscow. If they break through the Russian lines will they stop at the border? I wonder if they have given assurances to the West in that regard.......or not.
Why do you refer to that as a scary item?
Do you seriously think that is likely to occur? I realize this is your speculation so no sourcing is necessary but one wonders where you came up with such a notion.
Sam1 is not here, of course. You attacked a person unable to defend his many opinions on Amtrak finances in a rather snide way. Now you say he was not an expert. My contention is that he had years of experience in the world of corporate accounting and finance at a high level. Does anyone else on here have anything close to that? Do you? He always said that without access to all the Amtrak records, no one including himself could accurately determine how Amtrak apportioned overhead costs. He was not some bookkeeper or guy using QuikBooks. In other words, in that field, by training and experience, he was a professional.
You work in IT apparently and I would consider you knowledgeable, i.e., an expert. Although I have been an end user of computers and software for 40 years, I would never suggest I am an expert in IT/IS.
EuclidWhy do you refer to that as a scary item?
Well, it depends on what military units are between Moscow and Ukraine's border but if they have the capability to approach Moscow by land, Moscow would do everything it's power to stop an invasion of it's capital. We'll have to wait and see. The S300 air defense system is portable and can be act as an umbrella and move with advancing troops.
CMStPnP Euclid Why do you refer to that as a scary item? Well, it depends on what military units are between Moscow and Ukraine's border but if they have the capability to approach Moscow by land, Moscow would do everything it's power to stop an invasion of it's capital. We'll have to wait and see. The S300 air defense system is portable and can be act as an umbrella and move with advancing troops.
Euclid Why do you refer to that as a scary item?
Euclid has cited and linked several persons who are or have been involved in leadership positions with NATO or a policy group. If that doesn't make them more expert with this situation, what does?
You have not been linking to any sources. You attempt to disqualify a former (recent) NATO deputy andUK General because he wrote a book several years ago. So for you is writing books a disqualification for being considered to have a degree of expertise on that subject?
charlie hebdo Euclid has cited and linked several persons who are or have been involved in leadership positions with NATO or a policy group. If that doesn't make them more expert with this situation, what does? You have not been linking to any sources. You attempt to disqualify a former (recent) NATO deputy andUK General because he wrote a book several years ago. So to you are writing books a disqualification for being considered to have a degree of expertise on that subject?
You have not been linking to any sources. You attempt to disqualify a former (recent) NATO deputy andUK General because he wrote a book several years ago. So to you are writing books a disqualification for being considered to have a degree of expertise on that subject?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
EuclidI understand, but if Ukraine wants to risk the consequences of invading Russia, it is their call. So, if Ukraine is willing to do it, why do you say it would be scary? You seem to be suggesting that it would be wrong for Ukraine to act offensively in addition to their effort at defense. Aren’t both part of war? Just because NATO is limited to only defense, why should Ukraine likewise limit themselves? Russia is using both offence and defense. Why shouldn’t Ukraine to the same?
Usually, we do not just give weapons away for use without restriction. We have restrictions on their use and distribution, sometimes. Though I do not know if that was a restriction for Ukraine. I would tend to think we still had restrictions, even for Ukraine. We'll see how it unfolds. If we do have restrictions on their use and Ukraine breaks those terms, not going to reflect positively on Ukraine and could even impact ongoing support for Ukraine.
Euclid Another scary item is the Ukrainian Army fighting East. There is no real geographical obstacle between the Eastern Ukrainian border and Moscow. If they break through the Russian lines will they stop at the border? I wonder if they have given assurances to the West in that regard.......or not. Why do you refer to that as a scary item?
Active invasion of Russia by Ukrainian forces, especially enabled by weapons like S-300s donated from NATO countries, is scary to me on that basis alone.
Overmod Putin, and some of his apparent advisors, have made it clear from nearly the outset that they view 'donations' of weapons by NATO or NATO countries to be tantamount to acts of war, they reserved to themselves the right to interdict such donated weapons before they could reach Ukraine, and they at least threatened strategic-level retaliation should there be "problems" with such strikes.
Putin, and some of his apparent advisors, have made it clear from nearly the outset that they view 'donations' of weapons by NATO or NATO countries to be tantamount to acts of war, they reserved to themselves the right to interdict such donated weapons before they could reach Ukraine, and they at least threatened strategic-level retaliation should there be "problems" with such strikes.
I think the Ukraine invading Russia and heading towards Moscow is just a short step away from tilting at windmills. If anything, wouldn't the Ukraine want to start by taking back the Crimea that Russia had seized previously?
Overmod Euclid Another scary item is the Ukrainian Army fighting East. There is no real geographical obstacle between the Eastern Ukrainian border and Moscow. If they break through the Russian lines will they stop at the border? I wonder if they have given assurances to the West in that regard.......or not. Why do you refer to that as a scary item? Putin, and some of his apparent advisors, have made it clear from nearly the outset that they view 'donations' of weapons by NATO or NATO countries to be tantamount to acts of war, they reserved to themselves the right to interdict such donated weapons before they could reach Ukraine, and they at least threatened strategic-level retaliation should there be "problems" with such strikes. Active invasion of Russia by Ukrainian forces, especially enabled by weapons like S-300s donated from NATO countries, is scary to me on that basis alone.
Murphy Siding I think the Ukraine invading Russia and heading towards Moscow is just a short step away from tilting at windmills. If anything, wouldn't the Ukraine want to start by taking back the Crimea that Russia had seized previously?
Generally, as far as reasons for Ukraine to go into Russia, the point would be to inflict more pain on Russia than they are receiving from Ukraine defense when Russia invades Ukraine. Both defense and offense play a part in defeating an enemy. Ukrain started out seemingly overmatched by Russia, so it was natural to concentrate on defense. But Ukraine's determination plus more weapons is proving that Ukraine is capable of also going on the offense.
The old saying - Don't be the one to start a fight, be the one that FINISHES IT.
Euclid Murphy Siding I think the Ukraine invading Russia and heading towards Moscow is just a short step away from tilting at windmills. If anything, wouldn't the Ukraine want to start by taking back the Crimea that Russia had seized previously? Generally, as far as reasons for Ukraine to go into Russia, the point would be to inflict more pain on Russia than they are receiving from Ukraine defense when Russia invades Ukraine. Both defense and offense play a part in defeating an enemy. Ukrain started out seemingly overmatched by Russia, so it was natural to concentrate on defense. But Ukraine's determination plus more weapons is proving that Ukraine is capable of also going on the offense.
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