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Things that Make you Go Hmmm in Ukraine

Posted: March 31, 2022 by datechguy in Uncategorized

Every single day there is story after story about how the Russian Bear has been checked and how Ukraine is defeating the dreaded enemy in their attempt to invade.

This is the reality that is being pushed but every once in a while you get stories that paint a different picture, like this:

Canada’s Globe and Mail recently spoke to fighters who had abandoned the battle amid concerns over the lack of equipment, and being required to sign indefinite contracts, and were now doing humanitarian relief work in the country instead. A recent report in Belgium’s Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper claimed that more than half of the country’s foreign fighters in Ukraine had already returned home. “I didn’t feel like serving as foreign cannon fodder,” one returnee told the outlet. 

Meanwhile, some prospective volunteers, like Phil, are also cooling on the idea. After his recent trip with two fellow British veterans to Lviv and nearby Yavoriv, where they met with Ukrainian military officers to discuss potentially enlisting in the international legion, Phil and his associates decided not to enlist, at least for now.

That very interesting so is this:

Phil’s comments come as a string of foreign volunteers back away from the fighting  in Ukraine. VICE World News recently spoke to two foreign volunteers – one American and one Polish, both veterans of tours in Afghanistan – who had left Ukraine after enduring harrowing experiences on the battlefield, and surviving the devastating Russian missile attack on the Yavoriv base.

The soldiers said they were under-equipped and outmatched by the superior Russian firepower, and complained about the calibre of some of their fellow foreign recruits, suspecting that they were abusing drugs.

I suspect that the longer the war goes on the more bits of undesired reality will seep out

Donald Trump is no Ham Sandwich

Posted: March 29, 2022 by datechguy in News/opinion
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I had to laugh when I saw this tweet yesterday

I laugh because it reminds me of the days of Fitzmas when the media kept telling us that Karl Rove was going to be indicted any day now but it never happened and the days when the Mueller report was going to prove Russian Collusion any day now etc etc etc.

Let’s put it bluntly. There is an old legal saying that it’s so easy to indict someone that you could indict a Ham Sandwich if you wanted to. Furthermore every single lefty judge and lawyer in the nation knows that the person who indicts Trump has a meal ticket for life card from the left from speeches at colleges to guests of honor sports at banquets, not to mention becoming a favorite of both Hollywood and the media.

Yet after six years of a full court press against Trump hasn’t produced anything worth bring to court.

Lawyers and judges on the left might not be able to define what a “woman” is but they know the difference between Trump and a Ham Sandwich.

That’s how clean Trump is.

Twelve Chris Rock Will Smith Thought and My Standing Orders Story

Posted: March 28, 2022 by datechguy in culture
Tags: ,

After watching the video of the Chris Rock Joke and Will Smith’s response I’ve several things to say.

  1. When I was a kid jokes about people’s wives and mothers were considered completely off limits and any such joke would constitute “fighting words” particularly in the presence of a husband and/or son.
  2. When I heard Rock’s joke I thought it was pretty tame and was unsure if it rose to the level of a smack in the face until my wife informed me of Smith’s wife’s disease that caused her to lose her hair. Given that fact I’d say such a joke about a man’s wife made publicly in his presence required a response.
  3. Even without the disease it would be up to Smith and not me to decide if Rock’s words rose to the level of a punch in the face.
  4. If this was not told in a public place with Smith present it would not have required a public punch in the mouth Smith could have spoken to him privately and demanded an apology, and if it didn’t’ come THEN he could whack him.
  5. I very much liked the fact that Smith walked up slowly and calmly before smacking him and then slowly and calmly returned to his seat. That was exactly the right way to do it.
  6. I must say I give a lot of credit to Chris Rock for his reaction he took the punch and carried on. didn’t miss a beat. He did the deed, paid the price and continued about his business.
  7. Even with a tame joke if that had been a joke about my mother and my father was present the only way he wouldn’t have gotten to Rock would be because me and my brothers might have gotten to him first.
  8. My wife told me that several million women across the country swooned when they saw Smith call on Rock to “keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.” and even more when he threw the punch. She’s right. Woman like the idea of their man standing up for them even if they might not admit it.
  9. Congresswoman Ayanna Presley of the squad tweeted out support for Smith’s actions and then deleted it. It figures. She finally tweets something I agree with and then deletes it.
  10. I’ll wager Smith gets a ton of fan mail over this, but will be condemned by a the “right” people because his actions reinforce masculinity and the role of men, something our cultural betters despise.
  11. Of course in fairness to our cultural betters since they can’t define “woman” they would have no idea what to do anyway.
  12. Finally The folks who produce the Oscars must have been in rapture. It’s the most attention the show has gotten in decades.

This of course brought to mind a story involving my wife and my youngest son.

I taught my boys to avoid fights, I further told them than if in a situation where they might get in a fight and it’s impossible to get out of it to make sure they didn’t throw the first punch.

There was however one caveat to that rule. If the person in question was saying something about either their mother or their grandmother, they not only had permission to throw the first punch but they had standing orders, provided the person was not armed, to do so.

This exact situation arose about twenty years ago. My wife was a school nurse at the time and my son attended the school she worked at. On the playground somebody said something about his mother and he smacked him.

Of course he got into trouble and I was called in to talk to the vice principal. I told him in no uncertain terms that he was acting my standing orders and that while I understood that the school had to enforce their rules and had no objection to any discipline they had to apply to my son that my standing orders to him remained in force and he would be commended by me for his actions.

So my son got detention and principal thanked me for my time, but as I was reaching the door he said quietly to me that he hoped his son would do the same thing in the same situation.

A postscript. Nobody ever talked any smack about his mother in his presence again.

Bubbles, Battles and Reality

Posted: March 28, 2022 by datechguy in war
Tags:

Depending on where you go on the net or in the media you read a lot of different takes on the war in Ukraine.

You might hear one thing:

it is impossible to ascertain exact information about a battlefield situation on the other side of the globe, but these limited reports indicate that the Ukraine counter-offensive is making progress. If that is the case, we should soon begin hearing about fighting around Borodyanka, a key crossroads that would logically need to be taken by Ukrainian forces seeking to surround the Russian force at Bucha.

Or you might hear another:

The destruction inflicted on the Ukrainians by Russia is vast. If Ukraine still had a viable air force they would be challenging Russian combat aircraft and carrying out airstrikes on Russian positions. I have seen no reports in Western media about such actions.

In cities, such a Mariupol, that are besieged by Russian forces there has been no visible attempt to provide air support, artillery fire or reinforcements. The AZOV battalion left in an ever shrinking perimeter in Mariupol have no way out and are running out of ammunition and food. No soldier in the world survives long without ammo and chow.

There is evidence that a growing number of Ukrainian soldiers in other parts of the battlefield are surrendering

The problem are the bubbles. Both Russians and the West are being informed inside bubbles that do not acknowledge the failures and realities of war. The prime realities are these:

  • Any army that either doesn’t have or can’t be resupplied with food, fuel or ammunition can’t function.
  • A guerilla force can’t function If they can’t be supplied with ammunition and food.
  • Without either a safe air corridor or open and clear roads neither of these things can be provided for thousands of men on a daily basis

No amount of press briefings, internet memes or speeches in front of cameras changes these facts.

If Russia can’t supply their forces with these things those forces will be forced to withdraw or surrender.

If Ukraine can’t supply their forces with these things, they will have to do the same.

If neither can, then it will be a stalemate.

The big difference is that Russia can choose to resupply or relieve their forces from their own reserves, Ukraine can’t without western intervention

The real wild card is that we don’t know the actual war aim of Russia. If it was to secure eastern Ukraine they’ve pretty much already done so and everything else is gravy. They can pretty much stop fighting and declare victory at any time. It remains to be seen if Putin wants the whole thing (I suspect he does) not just because he wants to rebuild the old Soviet/Russian empire but also because Biden and company has given him the chance to achieve a bigger goal, the humiliation of the west and as long as the continued existence of the Ukraine is in doubt that goal is in reach.

Whatever happens Putin will declare victory.

Meanwhile Ukraine has a single goal, to survive as an independent nation. Even if Russia carves out large chunks of the nation if any is still there at the end they can claim to have held off the Russian bear. That’s the bottom line here, I predict that is the endgame of the western media and powers, to wait for this result and then declare it the greatest military victory since Midway. They have painted themselves into a corner so they will have to find a way to declare victory and that will be their best case scenario with the media lionizing Biden for his leadership if they manage this result.

We might be treated in the end to the odd spectacle of both sides declaiming victory but none of those claims will have any bearing on the reality on the ground which I suspect will continue to be unpleasant for all concerned.

In time that will become apparent because in the end reality doesn’t care about anybody’s spin.

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