Quote from: TDoS on Jun 04, 2024, 02:38 PM

Quote from: K-DogScott is an American Hero.

I'll take my heroes lacking the sexual convictions and jail time thank you very much.

Why is it those who have a chance of being taken seriously have to wreck it with this kind of nonsense?

I don't think male ex-military officers who engage in online sex chat are particularly rare, but ones who also are pro_Russia and write about it online are definitely more likely to be under FBI surveillance and set up for a sting operation of the kind this guy got convicted for engaging in.  Oldest trick in the book in the Spy Biz to set up political opponents with a sex scandal.

Definitely shows bad judgement on his part since it's a no-no to send nudie pics of yourself to a minor, but it doesn't make his political material any less valid.  Anyhow, that conviction was back in 2011, so he's paid his debt to society for sexting with a teenager.  It's SHOCKING I know, but if Jesus can forgive him, shouldn't we also?

RE

I confess to being a little surprised that our MIC is so woefully short of production facilities for weapons and basic ammo components like black powder and TNT.  Spend billions of $$$ building ships and artillery that fire these shells, but don't even make the basic components?  Nobody in the military is held responsible or gets fired for this either?

I also find it hard to believe it will take a couple of years to ramp up production and keep the Ukies locked & loaded.  They ramped up production of a Covid vaccine faster than that.  This is century old chemistry and basic forging and machining of metal that's been around twice as long as that.

Of course what it DOES mean is a huge windfall for folks who want to get into the weapons manufacturing biz.  Of course you'll need the right connections to get a contract though.

For you fans and aficionados of AI, here is an application TAILOR MADE for this technology!  Making an Artillery Shell is such a simple and straightforward engineering task, I don't see why they need any workers at all for a manufacturing plant.   They have new Fast Food restaurants that are entirely robotic.  Just substitute  explosive ingredients for the food and bomb casings for the paper and plastic packaging materials and POOF, it will turn out artillery shells.  No new software necessary. lol.  Adapt robotic arms from the auto industry.  The plant can be run remotely and the units in the field can order their ordnance directly over Amazon.  The order goes straight to the factory and the ordnance is picked up by FedEx which delivers it to the Front Lines when it Absolutely, Positively has to get there Overnight! lol.

Of course, this is all just tip of the iceberg stuff when it comes to the TRUE readiness of the FSoA military to fight any kind of real war that takes more than a few divisions  of Special Forces, all branches of the military have been unable to meet recruitment goals for even reduced "peacetime" jobs in the military, servicing all the high tech equipment they order up.  I'll bet dollars to doughnuts anytime a tank commander has a problem with his M1 Abrams tank, the wait time to get it in the shop is longer than the wait times cripples have for getting their wheelchairs fixed or Tesla owners have to get their battery pack fixed.

If/when a real war comes up, who are they going to draft?  There aren't enough new HS graduates available to take Fast Food jobs, and the military pays worse than flipping burgers at Mickey Ds.  Unless they start conscripting Chinese right as they cross the border from Mexico into SoCal, finding cannon fodder that isn't too fat to get off the couch in mom's basement is going to be pretty tough.

Back to the Ammo Problem though, I bet the problem is mirrored closely with small arms ammo, aka plain old bullets.  I'll bet the actual manufacturing capacity isn't more than say 50% above what they manufacture in a normal peacetime economy, and if a Civil War broke out tomorrow, the National Guard, Right Wing militias, Drug Cartels and Gang Bangers would all start running short of bullets inside a month.  Good luck ramping up production once the fighting gets going too.

This is probably a good time to arm yourself with a Crossbow and a Potato Gun to fire homemade Molotov Cocktails from your bunker.  Head to the feed store and lay in a supply of Ammonium Nitrate fertilizer also.  Buy smokeless powder in bulk and invest in reloading equipment.  Ammo will run out faster than Toilet Paper during Covid.  lol.

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2024-us-global-war-weapons-race/?utm_source=newsshowcase&utm_medium=gnews&utm_campaign=CDAqEAgAKgcICjDi7PAKMIXduwIwjs-FAw&utm_content=rundown&gaa_at=la&gaa_n=ARTJ-U9mNRJTbnq1b9w5xQqmWoNbPG0Nr_sAWv6zM9pW8zgW3aEARlEvNJ03ADZ7_8pBwDqAFZ9F02ayGO8n&gaa_ts=6663c000&gaa_sig=giX4TyknDRpq6JesG8ba9KvYLLnGyos0SPFPGtW2fgq8gnjuwJOcMZJqScYkx146FrbCECR2RJwUGG8HJpW9TA%3D%3D

America's War Machine Can't Make Basic Artillery Fast Enough

RE

Fun fact.

Hitler overextended himself.  The Phoney War or Sitzkrieg was an eight-month period at the start of World War II during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germany's Saar district.

In that eight month period German munitions output was significantly increased under the direction of Fritz Todt. Todt played a crucial role in organizing the expansion of Germany's armaments production.  Artillery shell production doubled.

Todt became Inspector General for German Roadways after Adolf Hitler came to power. In that capacity, he was responsible for the construction of the German autobahns.Todt became Inspector General for German Roadways after Adolf Hitler came to power. In that capacity, he was responsible for the construction of the German autobahns.  Killed in a plane crash he was succedded by Albbert Speer.

Russia has done fine with western sanctions.  Sanctions which a computer model would have show had to backfire, and did, but politicians are not so smart.  Russian munition production was not lagging Russian need to begin with, and now no amount of western munition production can catch up to Russia unless foreign troops get involved, and that pointless foolishness starts WWIII.

At the beginning of WWII the Nazis could easily have been defeated.  Further Hitler could not have increased munitions production without starting the war.  The German industrialists needed to be paid.  War was a way not to pay bills which were coming due.  Prior to the war German munition production used a special funny money that had to be converted to regular German money at a future date.  The promise was that the funny money script could be redeemed for real money all along.  The bills were coming due.  War was a way to not have to honor the promise.

Ukraine is defeated, they no longer have enough troops.  Giving Ukraine more munitions only means useless death.  Russia is prepared to respond in kind.  Ukraine continues to grind the meat.  And more men die.  In part because Americans can't understand limits, and know when things are not our business.  Americans make everything their business. 

This has been a war of attrition which Ukraine has not been winning.  Nothing will change about that unless WWIII is started by the fuzzy leg luvin drooling fool in the Oval Office.  Which could happen.  Increasing munitions to Ukraine (or that other place) will only mean more death.  The drooling fool needs to go.  America drifts to war.  And for no good reason.  None! 

Crimea was never really fully Ukrainian to begin with.  In March 2014, a referendum was held in Crimea, and the official results indicated that an overwhelming majority of Crimean voters chose to join Russia.  There was no invasion.  But memories are short and American media has everyone pretty well convinced Russia stole Crimea despite the people living there deciding to leave on their own.  But the mantra that Russia stole Crimea despite having a right to be there is repeated daily in American 'news'.

Succession was a Crimean right.  Crimean self-determination, something Americans used to believe in before high-fructose corn syrup dummied things down and the worship of rich people became the new American religion.

The disputed Ukrainian areas?  Prior to the war had the American Federal Government been lobbing artillery shells into Seattle for eight years, would Washington State wanting to join Canada seems strange?  I'd be wanting to say 'aye' every day.

How is the Donbass different?

Britain has The Great Game, and hating on Russia confirms American Capitalism as if Biden himself was blessing the cup.  It is a religion.  Hate on Russia because they are communist. 

What, they are not communist any more?  That does not matter.  You are not supposed to know that.  They still must like communism since they were once anyway.  Go with it.  Truth is, any old excuse will do because  America still wants to carve up Russia like it is a Thanksgiving Turkey.  And that is the imperialist truth of it. 

Drink from the cup and hate on Russia.  It is your American duty.  Your religion.

Quote from: K-Dog on Jun 08, 2024, 12:10 AMWhat, they are not communist any more?  That does not matter.  You are not supposed to know that.  They still must like communism since they were once anyway.  Go with it.  Truth is, any old excuse will do because  America still wants to carve up Russia like it is a Thanksgiving Turkey.  And that is the imperialist truth of it. 

Drink from the cup and hate on Russia.  It is your American duty.  Your religion.

Empires always have & need "enemies" that pose an ever-present threat that justifies maintaining a military force.  The military force is necessary to keep growing by acquiring economic control over more land and the people inhabiting that land.  It was necessary to maintain control over the trade routes between different regions and power centers.

The enmity between the "Rus" and Western European Kingdoms predates communism and goes back to the split and collapse of the Roman Empire.  Prior to WWI you had the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire in control of the eastern half of the old Roman Empire.  When the Barbarians were at the Gates of Vienna, they were coming in across the Russian Steppe from the east.  Besides the Rus who were descendants of the Vikings, you had the "Cossacks", horsemen from Kazkhstan who were descendants of the  Mongols and Genghis Khan.  The Ottoman Turks ruled the eastern Roman Empire from Constantinople for a millenium after the fall of Rome.

After WWII, the economic division of the world left it with 3 great power centers, the Soviet Union, China and the FSoA and it's vassal states in Western Europe.  The last 80 years has been all about these 3 power centers jockeying for econommic hegemony over all the 3rd World countries they needed for resources and labor.  Overall, the Capitalists were much more successful bringing those places into their orbit through the banking system, backed up by the enforcement arm of the FSoA military, which up until around the time of Desert Storm at least was competent enough to have enough ammo.  Cracks in the competency became evident beginning with the Vietnam War, and the last 50 years has seen the game change to economic warfare on one side and terrorism on the other .  Assymetric warfare in other words.

Both Mother Russia and China ended up quitting on communism in different ways, China turned into a cheap labor manufacturing economy and the Ruskies shrank from their client states and relied on their own energy resources and their own military industry as supplier to anyone trying to get out from under FSoA control.  Their weapons systems may not have as many bells and whistles, but Kalishnikovss come in at a competitive price and they don't run out of bullets to load them with. lol.

Neither Russia or China gets painted as Communist much anymore, rather they are portrayed as being anti-democratic totalitarian states with Dictatorial rulers.  Vlad the Impaler has managed to maintain his hold on power for 25 years, and Xi in China for a decade with the CCP in control of China unbroken since Mao and the revolution.  Of course, the CCP of today doesn't resemble anything Marx or Lenin would recognize as communist, but they keep the name.  lol.

Anyhow, the Tri-lateral division of the world has been the fundamental geopolitical model all international policy of the FSoA has followed since the time of Kissinger, regardless of what political party was in the White House.  I don't think Trumpovetsky is any more likely to avoid a war with Mother Russia than Uncle Joe Biden.  Either of them will do exactly what the Banksters tell them to do.  That's how it goes, Everybody Knows.

RE

Good thing we don't actually send soldiers to war zones these days, just money and hi tech equipment that doesn't work. lol.  If an army composed of actual FSoA soldiers was required anytime in the forseeable future, they might as well issue body bags instead of uniforms.

In total numbers, they're missing recruitment goals by 50%.  It's particularly bad amongst men, due the sociologists say a crisis in masculinity, lack of motivation to do ANYTHING, WOKEism, educational failure, increasing drug addiction, overdoses and suicides, isolation playing video games, poor health & nutrition and an epidemic of obesity.  Besides that apparently 1/3rd of GenZ male meat packages are now fags. lol.  To be fair 1/3rd of the females are lezbos also.  Does the military still have "don't ask, don't tell" as policy, or is it now OK for the guys to blow each other while showering and the babes to go clam diving?

I'm not sad to see the military can't find decent cannon fodder anymore of course, but the litany of reasons WHY they can't truly speaks to a population that is hopelessly psychologically damaged.  They're not just unfit to be soldiers, they're unfit to do anything at all.

Now, one hopes that we're getting a skewed view of all of Gen Z since it's just the subset of potential grunt level recruits we're talking about, which always has come from the very bottom of the social hierarchy, but they're talking about kids from college here too, who with a degree would be commissioned officers.

Also, if this is the state of the regular army, imagine what the National Guard looks like today, and then imagine what it might be like at the Dem Convention if like in 1968 the Mayor requests 11,000 Nat Guard and 7500 regular army to back up the Chicago PD to maintain order.         It's a clusterfuck waiting to happen.

Often when people point out the awful state we are in here in the FSoA, I will point out that it's not just here, all the industrialized countries suffer from similar problems.  In this case, I'm not gonna do that, because I think this problem, at least the level it has reached in such a large portion of the society is very much an Amerikan problem.  Sure, the Japanese have weirded out GenZ kids too, but I don't think they have the obesity problem we have here too.  I think the Chinese can still find decent cannon fodder for their million man army.

Sociologically speaking, Amerika is leading the way falling off the cliff in a Seneca Collapse.  Our society is a Basket Case.  FUBAR. Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/06/14/armys-recruiting-problem-male.html

The Army's Recruiting Problem Is Male

RE

QuoteI'm not sad to see the military can't find decent cannon fodder anymore of course, but the litany of reasons WHY they can't truly speaks to a population that is hopelessly psychologically damaged.  They're not just unfit to be soldiers, they're unfit to do anything at all.

Previous generations saw the military as a pragmatic way to launch a working career.  A soldier is highly employable after military service.  They do what they are told like a good wage slave should.  ROTC paid for college and many doctors and dentists with military service signed up to get the education and for no other reason.  The dentists in particular.

Why the fuck would anybody join the U.S. military now.  We treat veterans like shit.  There are no jobs to get trained for.  The newer generations do not hang with conventional education, because again.  The jobs are not there, and being lazy became a virtue.

Walk into stores and grab stuff for free or get killed or maimed for life with no chance of grabbing the brass ring.  What choice makes sense to you?  The pope is a dope and he would tell you the wrong answer.

If a society can't provide, it has no right demanding.  This society is not providing the way it should.


"   I may live badly, but at least I don't have to work to do it.  "

The characters in this movie went on to have kids, and that is who we are really talking about.  We really do have Idiocracy 500 years early.

It seems there is a Global Shortage of Cannon Fodder.

Military planners are beside themselves with worry, panicked they won't have enough warm bodies to throw in front of the bullets.  The whole concept of an army relies on a commonality of interest and loyalty to inspire the population to want to fight together for something.  The Battle Cry for the Brits as they ran into a hail of bullets was "For King & Country!".  What Gen Z waste-o is going tofeel kinship with #ShitzinPants or Uncle Joe and pride in the cesspool of 21st Century Amerika?

Besides the fact raising a sufficient size army being problematic, with modern weapons systems they would be mowed down as fast as you deploy them.  Nobody would ever get off the beach at Nomandy today.  If Hitler had hypersonic Cruise Missiles, all the landing craft approaching the beach would be blown out of the water before they ever even made the beach.  If Vlad the Impaler wasn't trying to minimize escalation into WWIII, he could easily Carpet Bomb Kiev.

Then there is the REALLY stupid idea of fighting wars with Robot Armies.  WTF will care when the newz comes on the tube "500 American Robots were Killed in Action today fighting 10,000 Chinese Robots who suffered much greater losses.  Over 2500 of the Chinese robots were irreperably damaged.  The Chinese still took Taiwan though, because the remaining 4500 Amerikan Robots malfunctioned."

https://www.vox.com/world-politics/355547/soldiers-shortage-demographics-population-conscription

RE

Firstthey manufacture a global crisis over the falling birthrate.  Admittedly, this does pose economic difficulties, but the world clearly is overpopulated with Homo Sap meat packages, and reducing population voluntarily by having fewer babies is clearly a better option than raising the death rate, which few people will volunteer for.

Now however, the global paranoia propaganda machine is busy not just in the FSoA but in Europe and Asia also that everybody is running short of soldiers.  Why do we need more if all our "enemies" don't have enough to stage an invasion either?

It's not just soldiers they're short of either, Police forces also are having trouble finding enough thugs to employ to protect the property of the rich.  Without their enforcers, the rich can't maintain the huge chasm in wealth distribution.

Surly used to love to quote Jay Gould, a 19th century Robber Baron who said



This is the real worry.  They can't hire enough muscle.  The suicidal, drug addicted obese Xbox players living in mom's basement aren't interested in working at all, much less beating on people with billy clubs for a crappy paycheck.  They can have a lot more fun killing virtual people in a 1st person shooter game and not break a sweat.

They're getting desperate, and the draft is a last ditch effort to maintain control.  I suspect if/when it is reinstituted, Draft Dodging will become even more common than back in the Vietnam era.


https://theconversation.com/us-kicks-off-debate-on-conscription-as-other-nato-members-introduce-drafts-232458

RE

QuoteWhy do we need more if all our "enemies" don't have enough to stage an invasion either?

How dare you point that out.  Blasphemy.

The Crisis of Masculinity has now expanded to a Cultural Crisis with a shrinking military.  Oh, the horror!  We must act to avert this desperate crisis.

https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4752675-americas-shrinking-military-is-a-cultural-crisis/

RE

It is interesting the 'Shrinking Military' author accepts the selective service as a given.  But what do you expect from a major in the fucking army.  He is a gung-ho motherfucker.

I wonder if he knows 'the divine right of kings' is out of favor.  It is kinda a dumb idea now.  It was useful it its time to shut people up. Now people can't swallow that much bullshit at once.  People be half-educated now.

People who take empire as a given:  SUCK

All selective service records should be transferred to flash paper and someone should light a match.

To discuss Israel's holocaust in Gaza, Rania Khalek was joined by journalist Abby Martin.

Serial Killers-R-Us.

Check it out.  Masab Yousef, I'm sure I got the spelling wrong, spouts amusing bullshit.  He makes up his own history.

Senator Lindsey Graham Calls for Direct Attack on Iran's Oil Infrastructure to Halt Terrorism


Madness.  Total madness.  Lindsey Graham  => Seagram,  which Lindsey has obviously had too much of.  You have to move one of the 'a's.  Like Biden, the brain has rotted away.