Ukraine

[Willie Dog]

Mar 19, 2022 0:05:49 GMT -5 Cranky said:

This is a really good development... but...these countries are giving up a very effective SAM system and asking the US to replace it with Patriot missile system. The Americans are saying, great, send it and we'll talk. Talk? Talk about what?

A whole lot of countries who are willing to help with systems critical to their own defense are getting a sense that under the guise of "expanding this war" are getting the run-around from the Biden administration for any support. Or Biden is terrified of Putin.

Slovakia will send Ukraine S-300 air defenses ‘immediately’ if NATO backfills its weapons
The Slovakian defense minister said his country could not give its S-300 missiles to Ukraine without creating a ‘security gap’ within NATO


www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/17/s-300-ukraine-slovakia/

Is Puta scared? Damn right he is and they are. I argued previously that forget the MIGs, make the sky lethal to everything that flies and turn it into a a bogged down, muddy death field for Russia. This is the way to do it.

Russia said on Friday (18 March) it will attack potential supply chains of S-300 air defence systems to Ukraine, following Slovakia’s statement that it is ready to send them to Ukraine if they are immediately replaced.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow “will not allow” the transfer of S-300 air defence missile systems, following statements in Bratislava that the country would supply its own to Ukraine, as the country resists the attacks of the Russian aggressor for a fourth week.

He even said that any arms supply to Ukraine would be considered by Russia as a “legitimate target”.

www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/russia-says-will-attack-slovakias-s-300-missile-supplies-to-ukraine/

Soo...there are two explanations for the US reluctance to supply the Patriot missile..

1....they are playing a game of getting others to send their weapons while US skates around.

2....absolutely terrified of Puta.

Let's see what happens....

Sounds like Biden is scared and the balls to the wall, flag waving, 'murica loving, we're the greatest country in the world Republicans are silent... absolutely silent... if this was an arab country being aggressive fleets and fighters would be en route... what a bunch of chicken Saperlipopette a holes...The rest of NATO needs to be scared now the the politicians lost their intestinal fortitude.

[jkr]

Here's a perspective that I didn't expect to find - the views of someone that owns their own MIG 29:

www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/american-owns-mig-29-isnt-sure-fighter-jets-will-help-ukraine-much-rcna20424

[Willie Dog]

Mar 19, 2022 13:10:20 GMT -5 jkr said:

Here's a perspective that I didn't expect to find - the views of someone that owns their own MIG 29:

www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/american-owns-mig-29-isnt-sure-fighter-jets-will-help-ukraine-much-rcna20424

Give the Sam system and the nlaw to the freedom fighters so they can pummel some soviet ass.

[Cranky]

Mar 19, 2022 13:10:20 GMT -5 jkr said:

Here's a perspective that I didn't expect to find - the views of someone that owns their own MIG 29:

www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/american-owns-mig-29-isnt-sure-fighter-jets-will-help-ukraine-much-rcna20424

The guy is saying exactly the same thing i said weeks ago. Just call me General Cranky...just don't shoot at me.

I wish i had my military site right now. Had a lot of people from all over the planet but the ones that were active or retired were Brits, Americans, Greeks, Turkish, German and few other. They knew that there was no way in hell that they would be exposed and in fact, i taught them how to use VPNs. Running joke was...they can kidnap me and torture me...big deal, I'm already married. Every week I'd encrypt the posts and purge the site. Met a couple of the Greek ones in Argos, Greece.

Anywho...this war isn't nuanced and the hardware not really exciting. We would know which anti-tank weapon was the best, but for HabsRus, that would be boring.

[Cranky]

Mar 19, 2022 12:16:07 GMT -5 Willie Dog said:

Mar 19, 2022 0:05:49 GMT -5 Cranky said:

This is a really good development... but...these countries are giving up a very effective SAM system and asking the US to replace it with Patriot missile system. The Americans are saying, great, send it and we'll talk. Talk? Talk about what?

A whole lot of countries who are willing to help with systems critical to their own defense are getting a sense that under the guise of "expanding this war" are getting the run-around from the Biden administration for any support. Or Biden is terrified of Putin.

Is Puta scared? Damn right he is and they are. I argued previously that forget the MIGs, make the sky lethal to everything that flies and turn it into a a bogged down, muddy death field for Russia. This is the way to do it.

Soo...there are two explanations for the US reluctance to supply the Patriot missile..

1....they are playing a game of getting others to send their weapons while US skates around.

2....absolutely terrified of Puta.

Let's see what happens....

Sounds like Biden is scared and the balls to the wall, flag waving, 'murica loving, we're the greatest country in the world Republicans are silent... absolutely silent... if this was an arab country being aggressive fleets and fighters would be en route... what a bunch of chicken Saperlipopette a holes...The rest of NATO needs to be scared now the the politicians lost their intestinal fortitude.

We have to go back to Reagan or even Bush 1 to find a president that could match Puta. The last four are geopolitical and conflict strategy clueless. Just clueless. The next one worse the previous one. The current one...worthless. Basically a committee feeding him talking points and i seriously doubt he can concentrate long enough to form a strategy...just to buy ice cream.

Ours is better...but only because he's fully awake.

Imagine how the leaders of those ex-soviet satellites feel about Biden? Or the Greek government who spent hundreds of billions of their meager resources for their own defense because of their belligerent neighbor, now asked to "stand in front". They spent 2.4% to 2.5% of the Greek GDP while Germany laughed and gurgled "peace dividends".

We are constantly fed by the garbage media lollipops that NATO and the West is more united then ever. Not even close. Germany and a few others are stonewalling any REAL economic destruction of Russia because they have huge business dealing and trade with Russia BESIDES fully dependent on oil and gas. US is "banning" what looks good but still buying commodities like "pig iron" (raw ingots). Countries like Greece who spend the next highest from the US at 2,4% on their military and obviously heavily armed are patted on the back like children and told to "lead the southern front". Meanwhile Bulgaria and Romania are still armed with 1970's toys. Bulgaria spend 1.6% of their GDP and Romania may or may not spend 2% of meager GDP.

Oh wait, let's not forget Canada. We sent $7.8 million in "lethal weapons" of what we can spare from our military warehouses, to an active front that would go through that in hours. Do you know that a Javelin costs $75k? What does $7.8 million mean? Not much. Then we promise $620 million in LOANS. That's right, LOANS. We also sent $25 million in none lethal aid. So as a NATO partner who is safe and secure, 7,000 km from the front, we generously give some stuff from our warehouses, promise some loans that we like to be paid back and what the heck, we feel GOOD about it. But will our garbage media tell us how far and what that means in the big picture? of course not.

Do you know that if there was a sudden outbreak in a wider conflict that Greece would activate about 400,000 man in a few days and be in harms way? How long will it take Canada to "activate"? How many man/woman can we send there in a matter of days? Supplies? ALL current wars are fought with what is on hand...and I wonder how much we have on hand for a real "chew supplies up" battle theater?

Or wait......maybe the Americans who actually have the capability to jump into a war and make a massive difference, maybe they will come and help. Maybe. Maybe if the "progressive" oracle tells them and Congress butt scratches a day or ten to give a go ahead. Will Putin get pissed off? Let's talk for a month.....

Lots of hugs and kisses about NATO, but other then sending in supplies, NATO has never actually been tested in a shooting war. I'm not so confident it will hold up in an actual "get your butt into it" and I'm betting a LOT of countries will start playing a lot of "you first". Actually, given current US leadership, which is hesitant about body bags AND scared, there is a high probability NATO falls apart when the "you first" becomes "not me".

But man-oh-man....we will get filled with lollipop stores and hot gas from the politicians and media....and selfies from our beloved hero leader.


www.ctvnews.ca/politics/canada-to-give-500m-loan-send-7-8m-in-lethal-weapons-to-ukraine-trudeau-1.5781045

[Willie Dog]

Looks like russian have implemented on their tanks something to limit effectiveness of javelins and nlaws

youtube.com/shorts/KUYcnS2E0ew?feature=share

[Willie Dog]

Also looks like the Chechen militias are in Ukraine

youtube.com/shorts/5YDkG00W0yc?feature=share

[Cranky]

Mar 19, 2022 23:11:21 GMT -5 Willie Dog said:

Looks like russian have implemented on their tanks something to limit effectiveness of javelins and nlaws

youtube.com/shorts/KUYcnS2E0ew?feature=share

In the heat of the war, myths start to come to life.

Both the nlaw and Javelin work by either exploding over the turret or hitting the top of the turret directly. Those cages are the mistaken belief that they will set off the charge before it hits the turret and won't penetrate. They will. But they won't find out until it happens.

In theory the "could" work but they need to be at least 2 inch thick of very hard plate.

Or maybe I'm wrong and those are umbrellas ...Russian style.

EDIT...I was looking at the "mini guided bomb" of the small Turkish drone and it looks like a simple bomb. If that cage is thick enough it would set off the bomb above the turret and won't do a lot of damage...if any. Versus hitting the turret directly were they are normally the most vulnerable.

So it's not a Russian umbrella after all....

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baykar_Bayraktar_TB2#/media/File%3ARoketsan_MAM-L_Mini_Ak%C4%B1ll%C4%B1_M%C3%BChimmat%2C_Teknofest_2019.jpg

[Cranky]

The future is drones...and these are going to Ukraine..

www.euronews.com/next/2022/03/17/switchblade-drones-what-are-these-kamikaze-weapons-and-how-can-they-help-ukraine

[Willie Dog]

Saw this and thought I would post it. Not sure if this is true.

[Cranky]

Willie....it's true and he's good. But he's playing the odds with his life and eventually, if he plays them long enough...he'll lose.

[Willie Dog]

Mar 20, 2022 13:09:12 GMT -5 Cranky said:

Willie....it's true and he's good. But he's playing the odds with his life and eventually, if he plays them long enough...he'll lose.

Amazing, he has a wife and young child and he does this... the man has character and honour... Politicians can learn a thing from this guy.

[Cranky]

Mar 20, 2022 13:19:08 GMT -5 Willie Dog said:

Mar 20, 2022 13:09:12 GMT -5 Cranky said:

Willie....it's true and he's good. But he's playing the odds with his life and eventually, if he plays them long enough...he'll lose.

Amazing, he has a wife and young child and he does this... the man has character and honour... Politicians can learn a thing from this guy.

He's "missing" in action....which is normal for a sniper. That doesn't mean he's dead or captured. He's not going to blog from his perches because the easiest thing in the world is to triangulate his position. And the Russians would certainly want to put his head on a public spike.

Let's see if he emerges. It won't be that long because he has to be part of a unit, but still, he can't draw attention to that unit.

It's not like TV where the guy prances through the urban forest taking pot shot and stopping at the nearby village for a latte and a lap dance. He has to be part of a unit for medical back-up and his own safety. Plus supplies. 

My father was a sniper on WW2. Born in a mountain village and handy with a gun before he was a teenager. He did quick and easy  work on Germans but...Germans would murder ten villagers for every one he erased. So by the end of the war, even though people like him did a lot of damage, people were not so enthusiastic to greet him as a hero. Of course the Germans faced death row when retreating. Given their atrocities, he was judge, jury and Lee Enfield executioner. Thirty years later, we found his gun where he hid it in the mountains but even though he greased it, it was a rusted out relic. Immensely proud of him. In Canada, we went shooting and frankly, he wasn't a great shot by modern standards, but, back then they were given a gun and 40 rounds by the British underground, with no training on ballistics or tactics. Given his "mountain man" familiarity with terrain and surviving in the cold, he did very well. And lived.  RIP dad.

Anywho...back to Wali. I hope and pray he counts a hundred and comes back unharmed to his wife and child.

[Willie Dog]

Mar 20, 2022 14:41:33 GMT -5 Cranky said:

Mar 20, 2022 13:19:08 GMT -5 Willie Dog said:

Amazing, he has a wife and young child and he does this... the man has character and honour... Politicians can learn a thing from this guy.

He's "missing" in action....which is normal for a sniper. That doesn't mean he's dead or captured. He's not going to blog from his perches because the easiest thing in the world is to triangulate his position. And the Russians would certainly want to put his head on a public spike.

Let's see if he emerges. It won't be that long because he has to be part of a unit, but still, he can't draw attention to that unit.

It's not like TV where the guy prances through the urban forest taking pot shot and stopping at the nearby village for a latte and a lap dance. He has to be part of a unit for medical back-up and his own safety. Plus supplies. 

My father was a sniper on WW2. Born in a mountain village and handy with a gun before he was a teenager. He did quick and easy  work on Germans but...Germans would murder ten villagers for every one he erased. So by the end of the war, even though people like him did a lot of damage, people were not so enthusiastic to greet him as a hero. Of course the Germans faced death row when retreating. Given their atrocities, he was judge, jury and Lee Enfield executioner. Thirty years later, we found his gun where he hid it in the mountains but even though he greased it, it was a rusted out relic. Immensely proud of him. In Canada, we went shooting and frankly, he wasn't a great shot by modern standards, but, back then they were given a gun and 40 rounds by the British underground, with no training on ballistics or tactics. Given his "mountain man" familiarity with terrain and surviving in the cold, he did very well. And lived. 

Anywho...back to Wali. I hope and pray he counts a hundred and comes back unharmed to his wife and child.

Amen.

[Cranky]

I don't have a lot of faith on what this site says to be the "truth" but they are very good at presenting some clarity on the situation.

I do NOT believe the ruble will collapse and there are a lot of western countries who don't want it to collapse INCLUDING the US. I think we are getting lots of lollipops from the media but I tend to look at it as eye catching bait then reality.

Surprised to see Greece mentioned as one of the countries that does not support further sanctions. I don't think it's because of trade (mainly oil related and mostly one way trade from Russia to Greece) but rather Puta helping his friend Erdogan and making Greece life even more dangerous. Frankly, I don't know why Turkey is in NATO. They are not reliable anti-Russian supporters and they take pains to play the "middleman". Including buying their S400 missiles and cooperating in Syria.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10624507/Sanctions-starting-BITE-Russia-Tanking-value-rouble-Soviet-era-food-shortages.html

EDIT....

Another great site but a bit boring. It will show all kinds of data about Russian exports and imports.

oec.world/en/home-a

[Cranky]

One of the pictures from the site I linked previously....and very telling.

Note how clear it is that the "sanctions" are not world wide even though our media is telling us otherwise. Deliberate or by accident, when they don't show us the big picture, I tend to label them as propaganda outlets rather then "news" outlets.

This is why the Russian economy and the ruble will NOT collapse. Plus think about this.....their oil/gas/commodities are sold in Euros and dollars. Not exactly the formula for "economic destruction".

[folatre]

Russians can no longer buy dollars and euros with their rubles. Therefore, the ruble is, effectively, no longer being trading freely. So the quotes on the official exchange rate are not really relevant at this point.

Even with revenues in dollars/euros/yen for Russian gas/oil, there is no way the Russian government can sustain the value of the ruble. Remember, the vast majority of the Central Bank's "Foreign Reserves War Chest" is held overseas and thus blocked now. Putin will not bother to waste resources supporting the value of the ruble because that is now a waste of scarce resources. If the ruble drops another 35-50 percent, it will simply be more collateral damage for his own people to chew on.

[Cranky]

Mar 20, 2022 23:07:57 GMT -5 folatre said:

Russians can no longer buy dollars and euros with their rubles. Therefore, the ruble is, effectively, no longer being trading freely. So the quotes on the official exchange rate are not really relevant at this point.

Even with revenues in dollars/euros/yen for Russian gas/oil, there is no way the Russian government can sustain the value of the ruble. Remember, the vast majority of the Central Bank's "Foreign Reserves War Chest" is held overseas and thus blocked now. Putin will not bother to waste resources supporting the value of the ruble because that is now a waste of scarce resources. If the ruble drops another 35-50 percent, it will simply be more collateral damage for his own people to chew on.

Inconvenience is not collapse.

I have first hand with currency controls in the Greek economic crisis. Exporting euros was severely limited and all foreign payments of any denomination had to be government approved.

First some facts...

The West pay their oil/gas/commodities in dollars and Euros. EU alone buys a billion dollars a day in oil/gas. Where does it go? That's why some of the Russian banks are not cut off from SWIFT. And of course Russian companies can pay out from those banks.

In FACT....Russia was exporting 330 billion dollars a year in 2020 and I bet it's far higher now because of massive increase in oil/gas and commodity prices.

Like Greece and this is the critical part, Russian companies who buy goods from all over the planet will be able to pay in dollars/Euros through the exchange and approval of the government. Just like Greece did (but no exchange).

Those companies will have a controlled internal ruble to Euro/dollar exchange outside the value of the rubles world market exchange. That government exchange would have been the Achilles heal IF the government didn't have Euro/dollars coming in, but they do. Lots of it. See above.

What will happen and probably happening right now is that high end foreign goods like phones or tv's will get more expensive, however, the main source of those "luxury" goods are from China and India,....and right now, there is a ruppe/ruble and yuan/ruble exchange. Bypassing those "precious" Euro/dollars and making any banking and western exchanges restrictions/bans worthless.

On the other hand, just like Greece, bread, fuel, rents and everything else internal is unaffected. Only the imported stuff got more expensive. Unlike Russia, Greece had almost nothing in domestic fuel/food production and there was no social breakdowns.

The claim of imminent Russian economic collapse by our politicians and media is bullcrap. In order for that to happen there had to be a total shut down of purchasing ALL Russian products so companies would not have access to Euro/dollars to buy foreign goods. Just like the 70s Soviet era. It's not happening. It wont happen.

We are getting "news" of people lining up to get foreign currency. WHO CARES. Or empty shelves of imported goods. WHO CARES. That's means almost nothing to the Russian masses and just lollipops visuals for western eyes. The collapse of the Russian economy was the objective and would show through breadlines and massive unemployment. It's not happening and won't happen. If anything, Putin will make sure of that at any cost.

[Polarice]

Apparently Russia used 2 of their Hypersonic Missiles on underground ammo depots, apparently they don't even show up on radar.

[Cranky]

The reason the hypersonic missiles were developed by Russia and China was to make airraft carriers obsolete. The are now.

It use to be a problem of hitting them with conventional missiles because by the time the missiles got there the aircraft carrier moved and those missiles were met from anti-missile missiles. Not anymore. The speed of hypersonic missiles make them more "accurate" because there is a lot less time lag between acquiring the targets and contact, plus they are impossible to intercept.

The use of hypersonic missiles by Russia to hit underground bunkers is a PR stunt and pure propaganda to scare the western politicians and masses. As far as I know, underground bunkers don't travel and you need a LOT of explosives by the multiple tons to reach underground facilities. In fact, US was developing small nukes to get at Iranian underground facilities and even those were limited in reach.

In a nut shell, these missiles are irrelevant in this battle theater and nothing more then Putin flashing his shiny sex toys....

Unfortunately, media talking heads are either ignorant about these missiles or simply paying up the fear factor for eyeballs. Do NOT take anything the CBC or CTV says about military matters very seriously or as fact.

[Cranky]

BTW...I'm now on Twitter to find people who are REALLY knowledgeable about the latest military systems. My knowledge was extensive and current.....20 years ago.

The amount of bullcrap that is floating around is frustrating and worse, even when I try to get on a radio station like CFRB to cut out some of the bull, I'm confronted with demands on who am I and why should they listen to me. Pretty much the one eyed man in a blind convention...but still that one eye is better then scare mongering and propaganda.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

Mar 20, 2022 14:41:33 GMT -5 Cranky said:

My father was a sniper on WW2. Born in a mountain village and handy with a gun before he was a teenager. He did quick and easy  work on Germans but...Germans would murder ten villagers for every one he erased. So by the end of the war, even though people like him did a lot of damage, people were not so enthusiastic to greet him as a hero. Of course the Germans faced death row when retreating. Given their atrocities, he was judge, jury and Lee Enfield executioner. Thirty years later, we found his gun where he hid it in the mountains but even though he greased it, it was a rusted out relic. Immensely proud of him. In Canada, we went shooting and frankly, he wasn't a great shot by modern standards, but, back then they were given a gun and 40 rounds by the British underground, with no training on ballistics or tactics. Given his "mountain man" familiarity with terrain and surviving in the cold, he did very well. And lived.  RIP dad.

Your dad was a hero, regardless what the criteria were/are ... the .303 calibre Lee-Enfield Mark IV is an excellent weapon that has an adjustable rear site that is used to configure the sights to the shooter using it ... in other words, my Mark IV would be calibrated to my eye, and may not work as well for someone else using my rifle, as their eyes are different from mine ... interesting that the Mark IV was used by Canadian Ranger units in the arctic until it was replaced in 2018 by the .308 calibre C19 ... I only knew of them using the Mark IV because I was up against some of these Rangers in the Canadian Forces Small Arms Competition (CFSAC) back in Connaught Ranges (Ottawa) 1993 ... imagine taking your Mark IV into a shooting competition knowing that you're going up against top-of-line optics the other shooters are using ... well, they win anything, but they were excellent shots with their Mark IVs ... a good thing, too, I'm hoping that they're part of NORAD when the time comes ... all that said, a huge thanks to your dad, HA ... he was a hero in the truest sense ... that said, I'm hoping we never find out what he had to experience, but the planet seems to be changing for the worst every day ...

Cheers.

[jkr]

A Yale professor has compiled a list of companies that have pulled out of Russia as well as those that remain:

som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-400-companies-have-withdrawn-russia-some-remain

[Cranky]

Mar 21, 2022 12:18:45 GMT -5 jkr said:

A Yale professor has compiled a list of companies that have pulled out of Russia as well as those that remain:

som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-400-companies-have-withdrawn-russia-some-remain

Around 2004'ish i had this insane idea of taking my company to the "motherland" Greece. The idea of waking up to a bright sunny morning by the seaside and then strolling to work was just too good a fantasy not to explore.

Amongst a litany of almost impossible problems, one was the reality set in as to where would my raw material come from. Russia and/or Ukraine. By ship. And getting things done would be a litany of cash bribes. From a few easy phone calls in Canada/US to get things done to a cloak and dagger pile of bullcrap. End of dreams.

I had some great ideas and made money and some dumb ideas that my uber conservative nature kept me from drowning myself. Doing business with Ukraine and/or Russian supplier was going to drown me in muddy waters.

Anyone who complains about losing their shirt by doing business in Ukraine and/or Russia comes under...too bad, so sad, you knew better but greed got in the way.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

Mar 19, 2022 15:09:37 GMT -5 Cranky said:

Or wait......maybe the Americans who actually have the capability to jump into a war and make a massive difference, maybe they will come and help. Maybe. Maybe if the "progressive" oracle tells them and Congress butt scratches a day or ten to give a go ahead. Will Putin get pissed off? Let's talk for a month.....

Lots of hugs and kisses about NATO, but other then sending in supplies, NATO has never actually been tested in a shooting war. I'm not so confident it will hold up in an actual "get your butt into it" and I'm betting a LOT of countries will start playing a lot of "you first". Actually, given current US leadership, which is hesitant about body bags AND scared, there is a high probability NATO falls apart when the "you first" becomes "not me".

Judging on what we've been seeing already, the Russian military hasn't come as advertised ... the Americans have already sent 3,000 additional troops to Poland to reinforce the American presence in the south ... we have no way of predicting the future, but I suspect that, if the war grows into WW3, the yanks might just do what they did in Kuwait ... the objective was freeing Kuwait and, as such, any Kuwaiti fighting forces participating in the liberation of their country, will be at the front of the line ... I see this happening with European forces, too ... if there's a ground war, then it'll be Ukrainians and Europeans spearheading the main push ... that's not to say the Americans wouldn't participate, far from it ... as far as Canadians are concerned, the battlegroup in Latvia is being beefed up, but the odds of actually fighting directly with Russia, are remote ... that may change should the Baltic States come under siege ... edit: Canada also needs to worry about NORAD now ...

Cheers.

[Cranky]

Mar 21, 2022 14:37:00 GMT -5 Disgruntled70sHab said:

Judging on what we've been seeing already, the Russian military hasn't come as advertised ... the Americans have already sent 3,000 additional troops to Poland to reinforce the American presence in the south ... we have no way of predicting the future, but I suspect that, if the war grows into WW3, the yanks might just do what they did in Kuwait ... the objective was freeing Kuwait and, as such, any Kuwaiti fighting forces participating in the liberation of their country, will be at the front of the line ... I see this happening with European forces, too ... if there's a ground war, then it'll be Ukrainians and Europeans spearheading the main push ... that's not to say the Americans wouldn't participate, far from it ... as far as Canadians are concerned, the battlegroup in Latvia is being beefed up, but the odds of actually fighting directly with Russia, are remote ... that may change should the Baltic States come under siege ... edit: Canada also needs to worry about NORAD now ...

Cheers.

Not only has the Russian military not come as advertised, I think it's no match whatsoever for NATO...IF the Americans lead it. Love them or hate them, they have vast battle tested experience from multiple wars AND they have all the equipment AND they have the logistics.

We have to be cautious about the Europeans spearheading a pushback on Russian forces. Everybody talks a good game but I know from what I'm reading in Greek papers, that tend to be very blunt if it supports their "ism", there is a lot of questioning about sending in the Greek air force to back up Romanian and/or Bulgarian ground troops. They will be absolutely chewed up by SAMs and Greece simply does not have the economic resources to replace it. It's the first line of defense against Turkey and Turkey knows this. Of course Turkey would love to see it get decimated and then it really does become open season.

So without the unquestionable and proven ability of American cleaning up the SAMs before walking in, as prime minister of Greece, I'm going to be very, very reluctant to send anything more then a token air arm. Same would go for Italy and Spain who are far removed from the battle front and have a decent air force. At 25 to 50 million to 100 million for Gen5's, air force are damn expensive.

It wont take much for one country to say, "I'm coming...soon" before the next one says the same thing.

As for Canada. I'm not so certain that our beloved leader will do much more then optics. We went in with what I thought was hot and heavy, only to find out the dollar amount was measly in terms of equipment. Seven million does not buy you a lot of modern arms. Then when I heard the 500 million I was impressed. I didn't like it, but impressed. Only to find out it's a LOAN. So I'm not so confident how much we are ready to sacrifice. A shooting war would need at least 100,000 personal and everything we got....which is really not that much in a high attrition battle front.

Lastly, I have BIG issues with Biden and his big mouth. I get that he doesn't want to start WW3, but does he have to act like he's scared? Or declare what he wont do? All that does is give Puta even more incentive to sabre rattle. In what world does a Commander Of the world largest military tell his counterpart that he wont do or show fear? He does NOT have to tell Puta what he wont do and leave open what he will do if the other side pushes. "Everything is on the table depending on what Putin wants to do and how far he will go" is a billion miles away from whispering in a mike about WW3. Talking abut WEAK! Some of the American left may lose sleep at night and lots of Canadians....but far more importantly, Putin now has to calculate every move and every word. Which is also critical in bringing him to the table.

To back up "everything is on the table" I would make a public show of transferring some A-10's to Poland. They are the Russians military absolute biggest fear because they can turn convoys into scrap metal and body bags. I'm NOT saying a full mobilization, but a message...."as an abundance of precaution to naked Russian aggression against their neighbors and to protect our NATO allies, we have transferred some A-10's and hope to never use them". Everyone for Puta to the conscripts in the tanks KNOWS that the 65 mile convoy will be a target shoot. I would NOT be surprise on simply the news on that, the conscripts just run away from their tanks/APCs. Of course it's not real and it's far more complicated to get aerial superiority before using them, but that's not what Puta or conscripts will see or fear.

Right now, right this minute, Putin has no limits and no fears. He can pummel Ukraine to dust and all we are going to do is wave our finger at him. Oh wait...it's sanctions.....LOL!


Again, this is MY opinion and of course, others have a different one.....

[Cranky]

Mar 21, 2022 11:40:14 GMT -5 Disgruntled70sHab said:

Mar 20, 2022 14:41:33 GMT -5 Cranky said:

My father was a sniper on WW2. Born in a mountain village and handy with a gun before he was a teenager. He did quick and easy  work on Germans but...Germans would murder ten villagers for every one he erased. So by the end of the war, even though people like him did a lot of damage, people were not so enthusiastic to greet him as a hero. Of course the Germans faced death row when retreating. Given their atrocities, he was judge, jury and Lee Enfield executioner. Thirty years later, we found his gun where he hid it in the mountains but even though he greased it, it was a rusted out relic. Immensely proud of him. In Canada, we went shooting and frankly, he wasn't a great shot by modern standards, but, back then they were given a gun and 40 rounds by the British underground, with no training on ballistics or tactics. Given his "mountain man" familiarity with terrain and surviving in the cold, he did very well. And lived.  RIP dad.

Your dad was a hero, regardless what the criteria were/are ... the .303 calibre Lee-Enfield Mark IV is an excellent weapon that has an adjustable rear site that is used to configure the sights to the shooter using it ... in other words, my Mark IV would be calibrated to my eye, and may not work as well for someone else using my rifle, as their eyes are different from mine ... interesting that the Mark IV was used by Canadian Ranger units in the arctic until it was replaced in 2018 by the .308 calibre C19 ... I only knew of them using the Mark IV because I was up against some of these Rangers in the Canadian Forces Small Arms Competition (CFSAC) back in Connaught Ranges (Ottawa) 1993 ... imagine taking your Mark IV into a shooting competition knowing that you're going up against top-of-line optics the other shooters are using ... well, they win anything, but they were excellent shots with their Mark IVs ... a good thing, too, I'm hoping that they're part of NORAD when the time comes ... all that said, a huge thanks to your dad, HA ... he was a hero in the truest sense ... that said, I'm hoping we never find out what he had to experience, but the planet seems to be changing for the worst every day ...

Cheers.

On behalf of my father....THANK YOU. He and his fellow countryman had no fears about dying for his country, for his people. THAT is a far cry from our twitter world and especially from some of our southern neighbors questioning defending their country. I don't think I need to make it clear that I am Canadian and will die if I need to defend it. And so would you. With that said, I would not give any quarter or support to cowards running away from defending their country and their people. Including young Ukrainians of fighting age. Woman WITH children, the shirt off my back and all possible support, but not people who can and must defend their fellow countryman. Sorry. That is MY and only MY opinion and I apologize if that offends anyone.

As for the rifle, I had to look it up and identify it as a Lee Enfield. When he went back to the village, he did not carry his precious rifle. He wrapped it in oil cloths and hid it in a cave. That is ok for a day or a week or two but long term, it's actually the opposite. The oil eventfully evaporates and water seeps in and never dries.. The rifle was literally one long piece of rusted metal. Too bad because before we found it, I had fantasies of bringing it back and hanging it on the wall as the ultimate memento of his sacrifice.

We went shooting with my rifle. It was a very flat shooting 22-250 that evaporated woodchucks at insane distances. He had no technical knowledge of bullet drops other then sighting higher or lower on his metal sight. He quipped that if he had my rifle, he would snipe his way right back to Germany and into Hitlers bunker. I laughed...but wondered how crazy was he? LOL

He didn't need expertise in ballistics. His sniping was basically taking the higher ground, firing a few rounds and evacuating the position before it took heavy fire. Other then a few times, it wasn't a continuous coordinated major action from the resistance. Of course a few rounds meant a few dead Germans and a day of hunting a young man who knew every rock of that very hilly terrain. In fact, he would shoot, scoot back to the next ridge and when the Germans came over the first ridge, rinse and repeat a few more body bags. By nightfall, he was snoring in some cave many kilometers away and the Germans had expanded enormous resources finding a ghost...and burying some of their own. Classic gorilla tactics writ large.

He stopped after the Germans massacred 118 villagers just to show that they can. But he did get justice when the German where withdrawing. A lot of it. It's not "cool" by our modern all too righteous opinions, but then, none, not a single one of us has even the slightest idea of what it is to live under malicious, sadistic occupation*. If one side wholesale dismisses what makes us human, sadly, so can the other side. Let's not forget those concentration camps...except in this case, raw justice was served. Again, sorry for the hard words/images of war and occupation.

Very proud of him. He WAS and IS my hero. In fact, from my fathers side, there was a loooong line of selfless sacrifice back to the Ottoman occupation and Greek liberation that has stopped with me.....and I hope that turns to be true forever.


*I have a pdf if anyone wants to see what the horrors of the occupation look like form a childs perspective and talks about that massacre. One of MANY from the Germans in WW2. Something rarely talked about in North American but never forgotten in the places it occurred.

[Cranky]

Guys.....we are talking about a very tough subject. It will strain our humanity and moral compass like nothing else. I have faith that we are adults in our community and can talk about it without getting angry at someone else's opinion.

Please ignore the thread or someone's posts if you are offended.

Just wanted to clear that up.....

[Cranky]

I'm a big guy and not suppose to drop a tear...but this is gut wrenching...

[Disgruntled70sHab]

Mar 21, 2022 15:42:06 GMT -5 Cranky said:

Mar 21, 2022 14:37:00 GMT -5 Disgruntled70sHab said:

Judging on what we've been seeing already, the Russian military hasn't come as advertised ... the Americans have already sent 3,000 additional troops to Poland to reinforce the American presence in the south ... we have no way of predicting the future, but I suspect that, if the war grows into WW3, the yanks might just do what they did in Kuwait ... the objective was freeing Kuwait and, as such, any Kuwaiti fighting forces participating in the liberation of their country, will be at the front of the line ... I see this happening with European forces, too ... if there's a ground war, then it'll be Ukrainians and Europeans spearheading the main push ... that's not to say the Americans wouldn't participate, far from it ... as far as Canadians are concerned, the battlegroup in Latvia is being beefed up, but the odds of actually fighting directly with Russia, are remote ... that may change should the Baltic States come under siege ... edit: Canada also needs to worry about NORAD now ...

Cheers.

Not only has the Russian military not come as advertised, I think it's no match whatsoever for NATO...IF the Americans lead it. Love them or hate them, they have vast battle tested experience from multiple wars AND they have all the equipment AND they have the logistics.

This is where I was going with it, HA ... the Americans have the beans, the bullets, the leadership, and the morale to take out Russia ... make no mistake, when the US goes to war nowadays, the troops are all-in ... I look at the invasion of Iraq and I remember how pumped the troops were to get over there ... the UK also showed their battle mettle in recapturing the Falkland Islands ... I won't detour on what the Brits have/don't have, but it suffices to say, that if they have to send troops, the Brits will be as uber-jacked as the Yanks ... these would be professional soldiers going up against a (numerically superior) Russian invasion force that's 80% conscripts, many of whom, won't fight in built-up areas ... as far as the civilians go, there are still generations of people in those former Soviet satellite countries, who remember the Russian occupation, and it's one of the reasons the Americans are so well accepted in Eastern Europe ... if given the choice between occupation and the freedom the US brings, then it's a no-brainer ...

As for Canada. I'm not so certain that our beloved leader will do much more then optics. We went in with what I thought was hot and heavy, only to find out the dollar amount was measly in terms of equipment. Seven million does not buy you a lot of modern arms. Then when I heard the 500 million I was impressed. I didn't like it, but impressed. Only to find out it's a LOAN. So I'm not so confident how much we are ready to sacrifice. A shooting war would need at least 100,000 personal and everything we got....which is really not that much in a high attrition battle front.

I'm hoping the government does what it can ... Trudeau could learn from Jean Chrétien ... it was Chrétien who sent Canada to Afghanistan, then opened the books on defence spending ... I can see Chrétien possibly wanting Rick Hillier in there, as well ... Hillier identified the need, and Chrétien provided the capital ... get them in as advisors, and learn from previous lessons ...

Cheers.