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What is the most powerful flying bug?
This poll is closed.
🦋 15 3.71%
🦇 115 28.47%
🪰 12 2.97%
🐦 67 16.58%
dragonfly 94 23.27%
🦟 14 3.47%
🐝 87 21.53%
Total: 404 votes
[Edit Poll (moderators only)]

 
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Pistol_Pete
Sep 15, 2007

Oven Wrangler
So is Bakhmut falling or not

It's all gone a bit quiet on that front again, so I'm going to assume not

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DancingShade
Jul 26, 2007

by Fluffdaddy

Cerebral Bore posted:

schrödinger's strategic city

I wish I thought of this phrase first! I really like it.

Orange Devil
Oct 1, 2010

Wullie's reign cannae smother the flames o' equality!

Al-Saqr posted:

why am i not surprised that its the SPD who would be americas biggest bitch who couldve seen that happen the social democrats woild never be fascisms friend nooo waaayyyyy

Always remember the SPD murdered Liebknecht and Luxemburg.

BrutalistMcDonalds
Oct 4, 2012


Lipstick Apathy

Pistol_Pete posted:

So is Bakhmut falling or not

It's all gone a bit quiet on that front again, so I'm going to assume not

crepeface
Nov 5, 2004

r*p*f*c*

Pistol_Pete posted:

So is Bakhmut falling or not

It's all gone a bit quiet on that front again, so I'm going to assume not

putin is such a tease

Ardennes
May 12, 2002
I don't think Bakhmut is on the verge of falling btw even if it gets cut off. The troops held up there will just drag it out like Azov.

V. Illych L.
Apr 11, 2008

ASK ME ABOUT LUMBER

Pistol_Pete posted:

So is Bakhmut falling or not

It's all gone a bit quiet on that front again, so I'm going to assume not

there's been small advances by the russians on the western side of the river, and they seem to have consolidated the eastern side

either the ukrainians counter-attack and dislodge the russians from their positions overlooking the remaining roads, or the city falls. the current positions are untenable for the ukrainians.

this could take a good while, though

CODChimera
Jan 29, 2009

Pistol_Pete posted:

So is Bakhmut falling or not

It's all gone a bit quiet on that front again, so I'm going to assume not

the vibe is that ukraine is going to go all in and counter attack and take out wagner and save the city, which is or isn't a strategic location

honestly wouldn't surprise me if that is what happens

Regarde Aduck
Oct 19, 2012
Probation
Can't post for 2 hours!
Grimey Drawer

Pistol_Pete posted:

So is Bakhmut falling or not

It's all gone a bit quiet on that front again, so I'm going to assume not

It looks like the plan was to retreat but either they got told to fight on or they were taking too many casualties trying to get out. It is falling but Russia is going to have to grind it out.

DancingShade
Jul 26, 2007

by Fluffdaddy

CODChimera posted:

the vibe is that ukraine is going to go all in and counter attack and take out wagner and save the city, which is or isn't a strategic location

honestly wouldn't surprise me if that is what happens

Just as soon as all 24 (?) challengers and all 88 (?) of the leopard 1s are ready to form up and charge.

No need for backup. They'll be fine, after all they only face feral werewolf Russian convicts with shovels.

It'll be just like one of those War Thunder matches where you rush into point A then get sniped by some jerk who was two pixels on your screen. Then you watch the kill cam and go "oh wow, I was retarded to park there". Every. Time.

mila kunis
Jun 10, 2011

dk2m posted:

there is absolutely 0 plan on contingencies here. what is fascinating is how the business class is going along with this - initially, when trump started the trade war, there was a lot of admonishment because this is the logical endgame. instead, they are quietly allowing biden to double down and ramp up military rhetoric as well.

we are well past the ability to untangle ourselves from China. as Tim Cook once remarked, we don’t manufacture in China anymore because it’s cheap; it’s because they are one of the only countries left that have the industrial know-how to manufacture at scale.

https://fortune.com/videos/watch/in...a9-c7f1192a82ea

after 30 years of the harvard MBAs insistence that the purpose of a company is to give back to the shareholders, every company is CFO led and the industrial engineer CEO has been pushed out. all our modern business class knows how to do is inflate their stock, they don’t know how to actually manufacture.

if a war turns hot, the shortages in this country will make covid look like nothing.

we live in demo cracies right. how do i vote for someone that wants to shut down escalation with china before i start running out of treats.

Regarde Aduck
Oct 19, 2012
Probation
Can't post for 2 hours!
Grimey Drawer
Unless they got silver bullets a werewolf army is a real danger

Ardennes
May 12, 2002

mila kunis posted:

we live in demo cracies right. how do i vote for someone that wants to shut down escalation with china before i start running out of treats.

A key part of democracy is not having a choice and starving

Cerebral Bore
Apr 21, 2010


Fun Shoe

DancingShade posted:

I wish I thought of this phrase first! I really like it.

after all we're not gonna know which one it is until the wave function defenses collapse

DancingShade
Jul 26, 2007

by Fluffdaddy

mila kunis posted:

we live in demo cracies right. how do i vote for someone that wants to shut down escalation with china before i start running out of treats.

Start voting in what are clearly Chinese agents into local political positions (town councils etc) and go up from there.

Grass roots baby.

Or 草根寶寶 (thanks Google translate! I have no idea how mangled this is)

fizzy
Dec 2, 2022

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

DancingShade posted:

Start voting in what are clearly Chinese agents into local political positions (town councils etc) and go up from there.

Grass roots baby.

Or 草根寶寶 (thanks Google translate! I have no idea how mangled this is)

"草根" is more appropriate for literal roots of literal grass which grow in the literal ground.

For the kind of metaphorical grassroots you are referring to, "基层" would be closer to your intended meaning.

DancingShade
Jul 26, 2007

by Fluffdaddy

fizzy posted:

"草根" is more appropriate for literal roots of literal grass which grow in the literal ground.

For the kind of metaphorical grassroots you are referring to, "基层" would be closer to your intended meaning.

I appreciate your clarity. Thanks!

Regarde Aduck
Oct 19, 2012
Probation
Can't post for 2 hours!
Grimey Drawer
another tankie success story

Frosted Flake
Sep 13, 2011

Semper Shitpost Ubique

Al-Saqr posted:

This is such an incredibly good and well thought out post. totally agree.

xiaoren
Dec 9, 2021

Delta-Wye posted:

and to think, of what could have been :allears:



DancingShade
Jul 26, 2007

by Fluffdaddy

dk2m posted:

When China was first admitted to the WTO in 2001, the ruling class thought that China would become like Japan - we would benefit from cheap labor and cheap goods, but just like the Plaza Accords has kept Japan in stagflation since the 90s after their exports became too competitive with our industry, we would eventually be able to influence a newly liberalized China into a similarly weak position.

Instead of the state weakening as free market forces flooded, they simply re-organized the relationship between capital and state. Capital was always subordinate to the state and nowhere is that more apparent in the fact that their central bank is state owned. This largely prevented a financialized economy from taking shape, which we in the west call a “service economy”. China has also deliberately has kept their billionaire class in check by periodically cracking down on them.

This has completely shocked the West, in which we are so used to a financial oligarchy being the #1 priority, especially after they got bailed out in 2008. The average Chinese therefore supports their government, and the dreams of neoliberals like Bill Clinton never materialized - there was never a moment where we had enough economic leverage over China to force them into a position like Japan in the 90s and Germany/EU now.

It’s not widely understood how the trade surplus affects this as well - Russia, for example, had a trade surplus with the US as they are an export nation due to their rich natural resources. Sanctions work because they prevent countries from obtaining US dollars to their central bank, which ultimately affects their currency and therefore their consumer spending. By seizing Russias foreign reserves, it was thought that it could completely cripple them for that reason. What has ended up happening is that we now are understanding that sanctions work on heavily financialized or debt burdened economies.

Because Russia has prepared for this day since the first sanction in 2008, they had collected vast gold storages and quickly moved to back any trade deficits with gold, preventing a shock. After it stabilized their currency, they went back to their regime of commodity exports and it has completely strengthened their currency. What this now shows is that we’ve entered an age where raw production, commodities, and goods are more valuable than foreign reserves.

This is a lesson we’re unprepared on how to deal with. For the first time, American economic might has not dealt a death blow - Venezuela, Iran, Cuba and North Korea all fell victim. We’ve now shown all the world our cards, and China can confidently project power because not only has the trade war sanctions backfired (Huawei exited the consumer market and has made huge shares in the industrial market), but our sanctions simply won’t work on a natural resource and goods/commodity based economy like China.

40 years of neoliberalism has not prepared any of our leaders, let alone everyday people, to contemplate this new reality. Therefore, our only way to intimidate China is now militarily. It seems that neoliberalism as an economic theory is really over - financialized economies are weak because they have no industry and cannot withstand shocks like a pandemic, nor can they be valuable allies as they have no natural resources or goods of their own to trade. Neoliberal and financialized countries like the UK and Canada are in real trouble because atleast we have a formidable military.

I'm sorry I missed your post. It's excellent.

Thanks to Frosted Flakes for quoting Al-Saqr or I'd have completely overlooked it.

crepeface
Nov 5, 2004

r*p*f*c*

dk2m posted:

https://thehill.com/policy/international/3887479-graham-says-he-will-introduce-bill-to-set-the-stage-for-us-to-use-military-force-in-mexico/

a limited, special military operation to de-terrorist Mexico you say? we had to drone strike 7 Tijuana apartment buildings because cartels use human shields? support the troops, this isn’t an invasion? nice nice

lmao

https://twitter.com/AlanRMacLeod/status/1633176277275275266?t=2zyQFKOFKt_gaZjOPpWsHA&s=19

Frosted Flake
Sep 13, 2011

Semper Shitpost Ubique

Ardennes posted:

A key part of democracy is not having a choice and starving

Our Perikles died of covid.

Regarde Aduck
Oct 19, 2012
Probation
Can't post for 2 hours!
Grimey Drawer

ohhhh yeahhhh ghost recon plots keep coming true

DancingShade
Jul 26, 2007

by Fluffdaddy
Al-queda, drug cartels, whatever magic words you need for a forever war.

There is terror in every corner and because the world keeps turning night keeps on coming. All those scary shadows.

I don't know why they even bother with the charade, just print infinity money. Who cares if there isn't food on the shelves to buy with it. A landed lord / serf system solves that problem.

Neo feudalism baby. Very sexy.

Frosted Flake
Sep 13, 2011

Semper Shitpost Ubique

lol maybe this would better fit the covid thread, but on the Peloponnesian War this year, RMC students asked questions about the siege of Athens being “like covid lockdowns”, the plague “like covid” and the rivalry between Athens and Sparta, of course, as either US-Russia or US-China.

I never met a historical comparison I didn’t like, I get it, but also lol those two weeks in 2020 were not like a years long siege.

DancingShade
Jul 26, 2007

by Fluffdaddy

Frosted Flake posted:

lol maybe this would better fit the covid thread, but on the Peloponnesian War this year, RMC students asked questions about the siege of Athens being “like covid lockdowns”, the plague “like covid” and the rivalry between Athens and Sparta, of course, as either US-Russia or US-China.

I never met a historical comparison I didn’t like, I get it, but also lol those two weeks in 2020 were not like a years long siege.

You're dealing with a new generation who grew up in such a bountiful age of plenty and excess that not being able to get their starbucks or chicken parmagana served with a craft brew IPA for a few weeks is akin to apocalyptic conditions.

They literally do not know any better.

Weka
May 5, 2019

That child totally had it coming. Nobody should be able to be out at dusk except cars.
New weapons system for Ukraine - Australian paper airplanes!


https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidh...sh=379704b9b8a2
https://archive.ph/nxavu

fits my needs
Jan 1, 2011

Grimey Drawer

Frosted Flake posted:

lol maybe this would better fit the covid thread, but on the Peloponnesian War this year, RMC students asked questions about the siege of Athens being “like covid lockdowns”, the plague “like covid” and the rivalry between Athens and Sparta, of course, as either US-Russia or US-China.

I never met a historical comparison I didn’t like, I get it, but also lol those two weeks in 2020 were not like a years long siege.

wonder what a similar paper from some cadet at some chinese military academy looks like lol

DancingShade
Jul 26, 2007

by Fluffdaddy

Weka posted:

New weapons system for Ukraine - Australian paper airplanes!


https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidh...sh=379704b9b8a2
https://archive.ph/nxavu

Sounds about right for Australian build quality.

Man I love buying stuff made in China, the USA or EU. There is maybe one Australian company I still trust to make what they sell as a quality product but RM Williams isn't exactly a defence contractor.

Enjoy your loving cardboard paper planes lmao

bedpan
Apr 23, 2008

Frosted Flake posted:

lol maybe this would better fit the covid thread, but on the Peloponnesian War this year, RMC students asked questions about the siege of Athens being “like covid lockdowns”, the plague “like covid” and the rivalry between Athens and Sparta, of course, as either US-Russia or US-China.

I never met a historical comparison I didn’t like, I get it, but also lol those two weeks in 2020 were not like a years long siege.

call them idiots and say that during the Peloponnesian War, neither COVID or the USA or Russia or even a unified China existed

Frosted Flake
Sep 13, 2011

Semper Shitpost Ubique

DancingShade posted:

You're dealing with a new generation who grew up in such a bountiful age of plenty and excess that not being able to get their starbucks or chicken parmagana served with a craft brew IPA for a few weeks is akin to apocalyptic conditions.

They literally do not know any better.

I know you're right but,

quote:

And the great licentiousness, which also in other kinds was used in the city, began at first from this disease. For that which a man before would dissemble and not acknowledge to be done for voluptuousness, he durst now do freely, seeing before his eyes such quick revolution, of the rich dying and men worth nothing inheriting their estates. Insomuch as they justified a speedy fruition of their goods even for their pleasure, as men that thought they held their lives but by the day. As for pains, no man was forward in any action of honour to take any because they thought it uncertain whether they should die or not before they achieved it. But what any man knew to be delightful and to be profitable to pleasure, that was made both profitable and honourable. Neither the fear of the gods nor laws of men awed any man, not the former because they concluded it was alike to worship or not worship from seeing that alike they all perished, nor the latter because no man expected that lives would last till he received punishment of his crimes by judgment. But they thought there was now over their heads some far greater judgment decreed against them before which fell, they thought to enjoy some little part of their lives.

quote:

The nationwide school closures in Canada caused disruptions to students’ education, and alternative methods for curriculum delivery, such as online learning, were introduced. These changes can negatively impact students’ learning outcomes and pose greater harms to their overall mental health during periods of extended isolation and loneliness. Many youths reported school-related concerns such as having limited engagement with their classmates when asking for help or when raising questions about course content. Some youth reported challenges regarding managing both their mental health and school workload, while living with their family members and having limited space in their home to study without disruptions. Students expressed concerns about homeschooling, specifically about learning course content on their own or being assisted by family members with limited subject knowledge.

DancingShade
Jul 26, 2007

by Fluffdaddy

Frosted Flake posted:

I know you're right but,



I've got no answers for this sorry. I can identify the issues, causes, same as anyone else such as yourself. But solutions are more of a "good luck, every man for himself" variety. You can't repair rot only rebuild after.

Ideally good planning would prevent this but we're led by the failsons of failsons. Or faildaughters if anyone cares for the distinction (probably not).

gradenko_2000
Oct 5, 2010

HELL SERPENT
Lipstick Apathy
the Siege of Sarajevo is still in living memory

Frosted Flake
Sep 13, 2011

Semper Shitpost Ubique

It is the biggest thing to happen in their lives, the freshmen class were all born after 9/11, but broadly speaking the consent manufacturing, loss of state capacity and political unwillingness to exercise it, prioritization of capital above all else, over even the shortest term, these do not bode well for the Neoliberal state going to war either.

I just think it's funny that the response to The End of History ending because Neoliberalism couldn't manage a disease is not one but apparently two massive military confrontations. When the ruling class were all ritually abused Etonians and Skull & Bones guys I'm assuming they had at least a passing familiarity with why this is a bad idea.

DancingShade
Jul 26, 2007

by Fluffdaddy

gradenko_2000 posted:

the Siege of Sarajevo is still in living memory

I remember watching stuff about that live and going "what the gently caress" even back then.

PoontifexMacksimus
Feb 14, 2012

Endman posted:

Mike Duncan sucks and his podcasts should be avoided. At best they're a pretty pedestrian narrative of events without any actual analysis, at worst they're his takes on the Bolshevik Revolution being an organised crime outfit that stole Russia from the monarchy.

Hah, never made it that far. I heard people talking about how reading about the Haitian Revolution made him a leftist, but that might just have been because he was reading a Marxist historian. Just reflecting whoever he last read?

Tankbuster posted:

I remember war grogs hating fury too. Also shia lebouf looked really bad.

CGI LaBeouf

gradenko_2000
Oct 5, 2010

HELL SERPENT
Lipstick Apathy
https://twitter.com/DerekJGrossman/status/1630462939890319361?t=1nnuUbbm1LlTsDkViwnytw&s=19



I'm in danger!

Al-Saqr
Nov 11, 2007

One Day I Will Return To Your Side.

gradenko_2000 posted:


I'm in danger!

I mean you guys Voted for a new Marcos so you're definitely gonna get what you voted for.

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DancingShade
Jul 26, 2007

by Fluffdaddy

Kiss of death sighted.

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