Confirmed explosions at Russian air base in Crimea Media: Explosions reported in Dzhankoi airport in Russian-occupied Crimea
An interesting article about why the U.S. and Russia's scientific collaborations have taken longer to separate. Russia has been cooperating with the U.S. and Europe on climate change research, since they have the most permafrost in the world by far. The ISS (International Space Station), for example, requires both countries to function (the U.S. provides power, and the Russians provide propulsion). My concern with partnering with Russia on science is that if something has a potential military application, then we are helping provide an enemy with military technology. MIT was going to partner with Russia to create a $3 billion Russian version of Silicon Valley--that sounds incredibly stupid, especially since we know that a lack of advanced computer chips has hindered Russia from building more of their most powerful high-precision missiles. Since the breakup of the USSR, Ukraine has established itself as a leader in university research in the sciences. Unfortunately, Russia has been bombing Ukrainian universities at a pretty good rate. Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Has Forever Changed How the World Does Science
The brain drain continues. Russia is considering enacting legislation to "lure back" I.T. professionals by outlawing remote work. About 100,000 I.T. specialists for Russia work overseas. Some have stopped paying taxes. Many are saying they will quit their job before returning to Russia. No computer chips for his weapons, and now no I.T. support. Vlad the Pale Neanderthal just seems determined to pound Russia back into the Stone Age. Russia risks causing IT worker flight with remote working law
Subtle message in here somewhere ... My wife and I finally broke down and watched Maverick. Action-packed and great fun. I like Tom Cruise. I like that he’s a Scientologist. I’m not a Scientologist. But I get a kick out of the Big Cult getting triggered by the little cult. To the movie ... Maverick bails out at Mach 10.2 and is not torn limb from limb. He does stumble into a roadside cafe looking a little beat up. Later, rather than directing missiles to an underground uranium facility (because we can have facilities but they can’t have facilities, because they might nuke somebody, but we’d never nuke anybody) the good guys deploy tiny dumb bombs, to destroy the facility. Then the good guys climb out of the canyon pulling 10.5 G’s, pilots hugging and puffing, almost willing their circa 70’s airframes to survive and then proceed to out-dogfight Fifth Generation fighters. We can’t do that. We can’t come close to doing that. We will never be able to do that. Still, long live Hollywood War Porn. It’s obviously effective.
An interesting article on the psychology of Russian citizens and their national identity as conquerors, killers, and subjugators, from a book written by Igor Harin. Communism and dictatorship do not tend to lead towards a more civilized nation, unfortunately. It's a shame that the Czars of Russia did not take the same path as the British royals, becoming declining figureheads under a growing democracy. Moscow syndrome: What does "loving Russia" mean to Russians?
Q. What do you call hundreds of dead Russian soldier? A. A great start. Love that it was inside Russia and I find it darkly funny that the bozos in charge decided it would be a good idea to position an ammo dump right next to the barracks. Russia has no answer for the HIMARS system. Ukraine: HIMARS attack killed hundreds of Russians in one strike
While I would love to believe the claim of hundreds of KIA, historically BDA is about as reliable as a dude telling you how many chicks he has slept with. Unless you can physically count the bodies, divide by three as a rule of thumb.
War is hell. Hearkens back to Khobar Towers. I worked with a former Marine whose task it was to retrieve body parts in plastic bags. He said he found a head with spine attached.
Well the Russians are saying 60 dead. Standard practice is to multiply that # by 5. Might have been 60 without the amok dump
I think the number comes from a range of fatalities (200-600) quoted from Russian bloggers and journalists, according to National Review. So it might have some truth to it. Ukrainian New Year’s Strike on Russian Base Kills Hundreds | National Review I'll see if I can find another version that is more user friendly. <wink>
