Bironic

Never said that. I already mentioned that armoured assaults were/are unsuccessful because of a variety of reasons: Trenches, Minefields, Dargon teeths, manpads, spotting drones, airstrikes, suicide drones, artillery strikes guided by drones etc. Have you actually looked at certain "tanks/armoured vehicles/ground vehicles" that are being used in Ukraine for exactly that purpose? What do you think are the gepard tanks and all the other the other vehicle mounted short range anti air weapons used for!!! to shoot down Tu 95, Tu 160 and Tu 22m? (A hint all these airplanes have weaponry way out of range of those systems) Obviously those require combined arms use. Nobody ever advocated for using only mbt or only artillery or only drones!!! And how can an infantry man fire them (You can't fire a machine cannon of a gepard tank while holding it, not even if you're arnold schwarzenegger) ? How can he fire those things on the move? How can he move at a speed that is fast enough that he will be out of the immediate zone of impact of the incoming air strike/artillery strike? how can he survive that strike if it hits slightly off target because you have moved away in time in a vehicle? second hint: By being in an armoured vehicle (aka tank). How can a bunker move(its a sitting duck, i grant you it offers more protection than even the best tank, but nothing that a moab can't penetrate)? how is he able to fire both in the air and towards the ground(i suppose you can build anti air and antiground bunkers next to each other) Simply wrong. Kamov ka 52 and Mil mi 28 outrange all currently used manpads. So the only way to shoot them downvia manpad is a) the helicopter pilot makes a mistake and flies into range or b) you have somehow managed to breach the line of contact and closed in onto the helicopter. The only thing that regularly shoots down those two are medium to long range vehicle mounted anti air missiles(can be launched both from ground in form of patriots or from the air in form of amraams or sidewinders). I hope this is a joke?! it reminds me of the asterix and the britons were genius military mastermind Julius caesar sets all battles at 5 pm when the britons are having their tea so they are easily defeated. If your able to fight at low visibility, night, dusk, dawn, fog etc. and if your able to see your enemy and kill him because of a heat signature and he can't do that to you. That is a strategic advantage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its also one of the reasons why western/ukraine had an advantage their IR/Night vision systems both on tanks and infantry are more numerous and better. a lot of ukrainian attacks happened at night for exactly that reason. Seriously? you think that german U 212 uses salt water to cool the batteries and fuel cells? And you think those make more heat than diesel engines or nuclear steam turbines(the older versions of submarine engines) so that such a desperate measure is needed? God I hope you're not an engineer. On a second read i think you meant that saltwater cools the whole body of the submarine... which isn't really necessary since a battery isn't that hot... Obviously i am talking about future technology(not space lasers in case you want to make that argument again). I am talking about future armoured vehicles ffs. For your info solid state batteries are scheduled to arrive serial production this year. Natrium batteries within the next six years. that will be long before the next gen of armoured vehicles is available. The prius is an example of a hybrid engine. which is a stopgap between an engine that runs only electric which will be the long term future and a fossil fuel combustin engine that uses things such as gearboxes and loads of lubricants and rotating parts.

Are you being disingenous on purpose? Read my post!! Second I am not talking about armour only!!!! I am talking about destroying drones before they can a) suicide onto you or drop a grenade b) call in an artillery or air strike and give away your exact location (no matter if you're on foot or in a vehicle)!!! Current anti air systems (patriot s 300 etc) are designed to shoot down high value (manned) targets that are large/fast/stealthy/etc. at a long range, so it makes no sense to shoot down cheap ass slow short range drones with them. What we will see is a combination of those systems (such as the Patriot) since they arre still good in their role and newer systems that are directed against drones and other slower, smaller and cheaper unmanned air vehicles: this includes things such as anti aircraft machine guns, anti aircraft machine cannons, unguided splintering rockets, Jammers, Lasers/DEWs, shotguns, radars and optical sensors made so that they can spot smaller air vehicles more easily. All of that will be mounted on a moving/armored vehicle (aka "tank"), to provide cover for your infantry and your other ground based vehicles such as artillery etc. I am talking about tech that is already under way, already in use in both military and civilian sectors and tech that is being developed and has almost or already reached industrial serial production (such as natrium or solid state batteries). Fuel cells are used in submarines and a number of civilian vehicles of various purposes and so are batteries and hybrid engines(remember the toyota prius?). I am not talking about jewish space lasers, light sabres and photon torpedoes! even though I agree with you that those would be real game changers! Second heat signatures are extremely important in modern warfare since they massively improve your night fight/low visibility fight capabilities and most of the short range/cheaper missiles such as Stinger or Javelin use heat to home in onto targets. No it wasn't! Again read my post! You said helicopters were not used because cheap infantry with manpads can shoot them down. What I said, which is how and why they are used/not used, is that they can not be shot down by manpads because they have higher range than manpads or anti air tanks such as the gepards, but they have no way of defending themselves against long range Air to air weaponry that ukraine lacks but Russia has (in form of fighter jets etc.) and secondly that helicoptes need terrain to have an advantage which again as i said doesnt really exist in Ukraine. In a more general sense what are things that are comparable to (air) drones? Birds, Bats, Insects, pterosaurs, Orell the eagle, hot air balloons, slow but very maneuverable early single piston engine airplanes (talking 1903-1950 ca., minus the expensive pilot obviously) they are cheap, small, slow, maneuverable and occur in swarms and see you from above and might dive onto you for a kill. How do we/did we kill those things? Machine guns, Machine cannons, Shotguns, unguided rockets, radars, other birds(falconry & melisandre ;)), other cheap piston engine planes.

They have asked Ukrainian Mil Mi 24 pilots multiple times if they think if Apaches can make a difference against russian armoured vehicles. You know what the answer was? Not really because those apaches will suffer the same fate as our Mil mi 24: they will be shot down by russian jet fighters using medium to long range air to air missiles. That's one of the reasons why they want fighter jets like the F-16 to a) cover for their own helicopters and b) because all the russian helicopters (mil mi 28 and Ka 52 have longer range air to ground missiles) than manpads such as stinger or starstreak or even anti air tanks such as gepard can fire. Russia basically "parks" them outisde of manpad/gepard range and fires from a distance onto ukrainian targets of value (such as armoured vehicles/tanks) this was one of the reasons why the ukrainian abandonded armoured assaults early on. (the others being artillery, drones, manpads and minefields/obstacles) The T 14 seems to be mostly a paper tiger and was designed prior to the russian invasion and thus the mass use of drones, while the Abrams is a design from the late 70's early 80s... I don't know which part of what features modern tanks will probably have you haven't read but afaik none of those two have them... Have you even read what I wrote???? Natrium batteries and solid state batteries don't get nearly as hot as current batteries let alone fossil fuel burning motors. And they do not explode! But yes please continue! And how do you protect these infantry men from all the threats such as drones, artillery etc? by placing them in a vehicle that is a) much faster than a human can be b) offers much more protection than body armor can provide (not that that those two are mutually exclusive you can wear body armour inside a vehicle), have greater range and endurance, can carry heavier and more diverse weaponry (machine guns, machine cannons, cannons, mortars, shotguns, DEW, missiles, rockets, Jammers, Lasers, Radars, optical sensors, grenades, smoke grenades, flares, chaffs) and most importantly can fire all those things while on the move (again moving faster than a human) and how do you call such a vehicle? A tank Let's say your an infantryman on foot in ukraine and your position is spotted by a drone which will have many options: drop a grenade or suicide onto you, call in an artillery or airstrike against none of these things you have chance. You have also little chance to kill the drone before it does any of that. in a vehicle you have at least a chance to run or shoot it down...

I don't think your assessment is entirely correct. It is partially though. One of the main reasons why tanks don't work as good is not only drones (both spotters and suicide drones) but also the amount of defensive structures that block maneuver warfare: Mines (various types, deployed by air or artillery or conventionally, stacked and layered) anti tank structures such as dragons teeth or trenches. Second your assessment that attack helicopters aren't used is wrong: Russia used(and still uses) them to great effect against Ukraine, exactly to stop tanks/armored vehicles, because they outrange infantry portable weapons such as man-pads or machine guns (thus operate with relative impunity) and are way faster and more mobile. Ukraine doesn't use them as much for mainly two reasons: they have no air cover whatsoever: if Ukrainian Mil Mi 24 goes close enough to kill a russian vehicle from outside of infantry/vehicle range they will be in range of long range Russian anti-air weaponry (mainly fighter jets with medium/long range air to air weapons, this is one of the reasons why ukraine desperately wants fighter jets with long range air to air capabilities) to a lesser degree long range SAM such as S-300 or S-400. Second the Ukrainian Mil Mi 24 are relatively old models that aren't even dedicated attack helicopters more attack/transport helicopter hybrids and they have neither many of them nor spare parts, so every loss is a definite one. The terrain plays also a certain role, helicopters are best used in terrain where other vehicles have a harder time to operate (Jungles, Mountains, Urban environments) none of which really apply to eastern/southern Ukraine... In Ukraine it's usually simpler to just drive around rather than go by helicopter (which in a jungle or mountainous environment would be much harder). The tanks/vehicles that are used in Ukraine were not designed against drone warfare neither against spotters nor suicide drones or loitering munitions etc. They are from 1945-2005. So obviously they suck against them. When Machine guns were invented people also didn't just say: oh yes infantry doesn't work anymore because now one guy with a maxim gun can kill 1000 guys without one. They changed infantry as well both in terms of tactics as well as equipment. An infantryman in the German army of 1918 fought very different and was equipped very differently from one in 1914. So why do you think tanks (I use this term in the broadest of senses meaning basically every self propelled ground vehicle) will not adapt? Let's say you have a fully/hybrid electric Tank/vehicle with only 0-2 crew members? It will be super silent, have no heat signature to speak of, making IR vision and homing largely useless (which most infantry manpads use). It will have no fuel that burns/explodes, its ammo will be safely stored away and it will fire very fast, it will be comparably small and lightweight, yet still have superior armor(especially on top!) and acceleration, endurance and velocity, its motor will not be located in one specific spot so you can't target it and immobilize it (unless you blow up the tracks/wheels), it will have a number of things in its arsenal to stop drones such as jammers, anti-air guns/cannons, smoke grenades, flares etc. and it will be escorted by other vehicles whose main purpose will be to stop drones. Those vehicles will probably be based on things like the Gepard tanks but be a completely new development desgined specifically against drones. It's also good to keep in mind that drones especially in the case of Ukraine were/are used to compensate a lack of equipment and ammo. It started mainly as a make shift way to compensate for lack of armored vehicles, Manpads, artillery, aircraft, helicopters, long range weaponry, manpower, money, industrial capacity, satellites, etc.

I agree warfare has definitely changed, and drones are a massive part of it, but how goes the meme: improvise, adapt overcome? The reason why tanks and every other ground/surface vehicle (armored or not) is so vulnerable to them is because none of them were designed to withstand them or to kill them. They were all designed and produced between ca. 1945 and 2005 and they were designed to win a fight in every war prior to 2005, in none of those wars cheap ass drones were a thing. What we already see is improvisation with things such as reactive armor, cope cages, turtle tanks, (multiple) machine guns (sometimes WWI water cooled ones, that allow longer bursts) against air, Jammers, DEW (such as lasers), various manpads, decoy vehicles (inflatable or just painted), and the "resurgence" of Flak (tanks such as Gepard). We also see a certain change in the way that tanks are used (tactics and operations) more as infantry support vehicles and indirect fire vehicles rather than in the "classic" tank role. All with various degrees of success, trial and error, military evolution unfolding right in front of our eyes. The tragedy is that those errors cost lives. Whoever designs the next generation of military vehicles will design them according to the threat of drones, swarms of them, of various kinds (even ones that are not yet operational). They will be operated in combined arms to protect each other from both "classical threats" artillery, tanks etc as well as drones... I expect that future tanks and military vehicles (including ships, submarines, boats, etc.) will have major changes. For the next gen tanks I could see the following ones: Autoloaders with separated ammo compartments (reducing crew from 4 to 3 and reducing turret size, while increasing firing rate) Remote operated turret and turret machine guns 360° (optical) sensors allowing to operate the tank at all times with hatch closed Increased capacity of software/AI that will further reduce the crew from 3 to 2 New motor/engine: currently it's either a diesel engine or a gas turbine: in the future it will be a hybrid engine: gas turbine electric, diesel-electric, gas turbine-diesel-electric combined with a modern (solid state) natrium or lithium battery and hydrogen fuel cells. This will reduce wear and tear, repairs, fuel consumption, engine size and placement, heat and noise (thus making IR less useful) Probably a combination of Anti drone measures: (more flexible) machine guns, shotguns, jammers, dews, cage armour, reactive armour on top of the tank, flares, smoke grenades, more layered armour on top etc.

Wouldn’t make it more sense to keep a speaker that is indebted to the Democratic Party than risk that the republicans come up with a replacement that probably isn’t? Especially since the speaker is second or third in line to the presidency and would also probably have significant influence if no candidate gets enough votes in the EC (happened in 1824 and 1876 IIRC) or if there is some other form of election interference as it happened in 2000 (Florida & supremes) and 2020 (all the trump schemes)…or if some black swan happens (assassination or something similar)…

Some bigots?!?!? I am a heterosexual male and really do not care all that much about the whole LGBTQIA+ movement and certainly don’t have a personal steak in that issue, but to say that Anti trans sentiment is just some random bigots is a massive understatement. A vast majority of right wing politicians / media personalities / religious figures from Trump to Ron de Santis to Wladimir Putin from pope Francis to patriarch Kyrill to the Taliban are against transpeople to various degrees. And these are not some lone wolf bigots who no one takes seriously, they are influential and numerous. Discriminate against transpeople is one of their main „brands“ to galvanize their base… there’s numerous cases of transpeople suffering from all kinds of discrimination, mobbing, to outright hate crimes against them… I guess antisemitism and all the other versions of hatred against certain groups are also just some bigots… \irony off

Seriously? There are many people that go from disliking to pure hatred of Transpeople. Lots of them come from a religious background (Christianity, Islam, Judaeism etc), some come from a (far) right/conservative background and others just jump the bandwagon because it’s an issue that galvanizes voters/subscribers and hating/disliking a certain subgroup is a centuries old phenomenon with a multitude of sociological and psychological studies about it. It used to be Jews and certain Christian denominations, then homosexuals, Africans and now it’s transpeople…

Sorry if this comes over as complete ignorance but what are child workers? Children that work? Is that not illegal? (I know that republicans want children back at work and thus remove child labor laws wherever they can)I just assumed there were no children at work yet in the USA… (at least not legally, illegally obviously yes)

Ukraine claims to have shot down a Tu22M Bomber with an S-200 SAM near Krasnodar, while Russia claims it crashed due to a technical malfunction...

Let’s say this Ukraine bill passes, how long would it take to pass the senate and land on Bidens desk?

True, Babism/Baha’i is a more recent development. I was not talking about Iranians in Iran, but from my experience with Iranians that live abroad (for a variety of reasons). And amongst them there seems to be an interest in basically everything (Persian) that isn’t the official statal version of Islam. There are some western polls and media reports that this is also the case in Iran itself, though I admit I have no idea if those surveys are very representative, since as you said things such as apostasy are subject to the death penalty and other forms of punishment and repression.

Ongoing protests in Georgia against a new law pushed by the government against so called "foreign agents" (modeled after the russian law). The protesters have the backing of the prowestern President (head of state) and last year when the government first proposed this law they had to backtrack after long protests. Hopefully they manage to do that again...

Yes this is my experience with Iranians abroad as well… the period between 7th and 9th centuries (the Arab conquest) is see as akin to the fall of the Roman Empire and the „dark ages“ that followed. There is also the fact that there seems to be some sort of „revival“ of pre-Arabic-Islamic culture/religion as well as non „orthodox/statal“ Islam amongst Iranians and more generally Iranian peoples(such as the Kurds) abroad as well, with less participation in mosques and more interest in things such as Nawruz, Parsism/ Zoroastrianism, Yezidism, Baha’i, Mutazila etc…

AFAIK they are scheduled to arrive in June…

Coffee and tea plantations face serious problems due to global warming, thus increasing the price of both…

I think it motivates a lot of people that are not particularly into politics to actually go out to vote because it’s an issue that is close and understandable to people rather than abstract and complicated. And once you vote on abortion you might as well cast your vote for President and congressmen, and you will cast it for the guy that supports your position… it’s kind of a gateway drug… which btw reminds me that the dems should also push for cannabis legalization, another topic where the republicans are way out of touch with the general public…

Massive flooding along the Ural river (border between Asia and Europe) in Russia and Kazakhstan. 2 dams in Russia broke and the water is expected to continue to rise the next couple of days. One big oil refinery in Russia had to be shut down. Kazakhstan spoke of the biggest natural disaster in 80 years. The swiss federal government has agreed that NATO can open a bureau in Geneva to coordinate with the over 100 international organizations in the region (largest concentration of international organizations in the world). According to reliable Swiss media sources NATO wanted to open such an office for several years but was hindered by a single NATO member citing financial concerns…

Peter Pellegrini an ally of Premier Robert Fico wins the presidential election in Slovakia. The President nominates judges for the constitutional courts… Not a good day for democracy and rule of law in Slovakia…

Russian In Name Only ?

I would have preferred if the I assume russian sources said that the Ukrainians played another german classic: Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner, a wellknown antisemite and Nazi-Precursor... it would fit the propaganda better... And it would be much more Hollywood as well... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn37QfXw1-E

Well I do think there is life out there, but space is kinda big and empty plus we haven't been around for very long and even less time since we sent out signals into space... Sorry didn't realize the wink..

And here I thought Jesus is symbolized by fish because Ichtys (greek for fish) is a greek abbreviation for Jesus son of god my savior or something along the lines coupled with the biblical stories of the two fish that became so many that they could feed thousands and the fact that Simon Petrus was a fisher whom Jesus told that he will fish "men" in the future... Can we not leave MLK alone? the guy has done more than enough... He doesn't deserve to end up as the figure head of the next crazy cult... Well if humanity survives until 2150, the sea levels will rise so much due to climate change that most people (Florida!) will probably live in the age of aquariums...

Thanks! I think in the piece that I remember it was meant more on a humorous level, basically that we humans are such a stupid people and a bad influence overall so if you're intelligent you will understand that you're better off avoiding us... but yes the dark forest hypothesis would probably fall somwhere in there as well...

I don't understand, what would another country do that Maduro exploits? Venezuela and Guyana share a land border, its mostly jungle, rivers and almost no roads but I am not completely sold that they couldnt try it, maybe just seize some of the border towns... Aren't those elections totally bogus? the last time he didnt get the votes and still remained president IIRC