I don't think many people, even on this board, appreciate just how much further ahead the United States is in terms of military technology and equipment than the rest of the world. Yes, it has been weakened by insane policy positions, grift and loss of personnel. There's no one who comes close in terms of force projection and sustainment, and that's the real key. Sure, China has a big army, but they're losing it to aging demographics on top of no ability to produce high-end components and materials locally. The Japanese have serious blue water navy capacity. The Koreans and Taiwan have been hardening and modernizing for decades. Just those three could easily handle China and North Korea. Yes, with significant losses, but they'd win. Nuclear is still a separate game altogether, and no one comes close to the first and second strike capacity of the US. It's always going to be lose-lose, though. Doesn't take many striking their target to ruin it for everyone.
I'd say more than 90% of Russian military hardware is Soviet era and their regulars are basically less trained than our Army National Guard. They have a handful of troops and toys that are on par with current elite and 5th generation capabilities. It's evident in Ukraine that Russia, a couple of hundred years later, is still throwing bodies at the enemy as their de facto strategy. Europe and the United States have been planning on fielding current military hardware and training Ukrainian force to at least a basic proficiency on it for a year. Russia has ramped up domestic production of ammunition and will be completing their second mobilization around the same time.
I guess in the next several months we get to finally see if the theory that quality can overcome quantity works or not. It's not going to make a difference globally, though it (along with the suicidal policies in the West that spring forth from Davos) will hasten the inevitable collapse of the American era of free global trade.
I saw this last night. Prime Minister Teeth was apparently the object of some direct conversation. Too bad the people of New Zealand were not permitted the option of doing this themselves. Southern Hemisphere Brits are far too "polite," as are the people of Arizona.
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Our government has far more important things to do: Biden State Department Bans Times New Roman Font. Really. – PJ Media
The EU has done no such thing. If it weren’t for American military assistance, the EU would just cry uncle. I do admit I overestimated Russian military capabilities in the beginning, it turns out they are strong on paper, but most of their gear has been sold off to airsoft people.
Michael Vlahos & Douglas Macgregor
Is the war in Ukraine entering its decisive phase? Pt.1
Why NATO strategic failure? A war of deceit, denial Pt2
What is to be done? Can a corrupted US military be renewed? Pt.3
Michael Vlahos - YouTube
Transgender men can get pregnant. Here's what they wish more people understood.
There it is, the dumbest shit I've ever read in my life.
Really, go read it, its chock full of gems like "The abilities of a trans man to produce milk after having top surgery, which is a removal of the breasts, varies by individual"
If you control the language, you control the thinking.
And for California: California Lost 10 MILLION Mail-in Ballots in 2022! – PJ Media
Gavin Newsom’s universal mail-in voting system to advantage incumbents and Democrats, but I repeat myself, lost more ballots than the populations of 40 of America’s 50 states. For the record, I included Michigan even though it has 10,135,438 residents — basically a rounding error. If you think it’s an insult to refer to 135,438 people as a rounding error, then congratulations — you’re beginning to see the gravity of losing a number of ballots nearly equal to the population of one of the most important states in the union.
I don't think so (imho, of course).
By (their own) definition, NATO is a defensive alliance. The question is, what's being defended?
Well, not NATO countries. They are there to defend the main partner of the alliance, they are the shield that gets wacked in the fight.
If plutonium confetti start to get chucked around, they will be directed from the radar installation in Sicily to start with, and will launch from the pads in Poland and Romania (and don't forget the Aviano cache of nuclear warheads, Italy again). These three countries will therefore be the first to be hit by a Russian counter strike.
The only way for NATO countries to avoid getting hit would be for them to abstain from combat, but that's exactly what their NATO membership compels them to do.
Imho, if things escalate to nuclear, the first exchanges will take place on European and Russian soil. To think that the EU will be left with any real power after that seems pretty far-fetched to me.
Obviously, I hope neither of us will get the chance to test our predictions (not sure if this is a wish or a curse).
IPB