"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (3 Viewers)

[XBe02Drvr]

Recently a lot of the emphasis has been on the ground equipment, but I would have thought a more urgent need is for aircraft. Can anyone think of a major ground war that has been won without control of the air since about 1920?

Sometimes total control of the air isn't possible or necessary, just the ability to deny it to the enemy at critical times and locations. Think French Indo China, 1980s Afghanistan, and current day Ukraine. Potent anti-air and limited fighter assets and endurance can sometimes turn the trick.

 

[Dimlee]

Another oil depot.
Just another cigarette in the wrong place, I think.

 

[ThomasP]

I am wondering just who is responsible for the oil depot fires - the UAF, disaffected RF personnel, Belarus and/or Russian dissidents/dissatisfied employees, SAS Illuminati, . . .? The Belarus dissidents already did a number on the rail system in Belarus, on the main lines between Russia and northern Ukraine, screwing up the RF logistics train. I wonder if there is something similar going on in Russia - but involving oil depots? Just a thought.

"https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/23/ukraine-belarus-railway-saboteurs-russia/"

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Right on! My high school removed civics from the college prep curriculum, retaining it for vocational and "social arts" courses. Instead, we got a civics course labeled US History, with a thin smattering of history (which we'd just had in 8th grade) heavily weighted with political evolution of citizenship, rights and responsibilities, structures of government, and the judiciary system, presented in the light of the controversies that had shaped all these over time. We held town meetings, ran for office, elected officials, and had actual lawyers and judges come to class to hold court and "try cases". Today's kids don't get that experience, which is why we are where we are.

At the risk of sounding like my father, I think even "Schoolhouse Rock" would tax the attention-spans of some of the kids I see nowadays.

 

[Greg Boeser]

Another oil depot.
Just another cigarette in the wrong place, I think.

Damned environmental activists!

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Afganistan?

And like Vietnam, major military battles won, but politics and the support of a corrupt government let to a political failure the minute US forces withdrew.

 

[Admiral Beez]

And like Vietnam, major military battles won, but politics and the support of a corrupt government let to a political failure the minute US forces withdrew.

I think that's the difference with Ukraine. Zelensky's done an excellent job in presenting Ukraine as a democratic, European-leaning nation based on western values. Of course this is inaccurate, with Ukraine beset by the same corruption as most former Russian held countries, but the West can see themselves in the Ukraine Zelensky has presented, and when we see European women and children killed, injured and fleeing, with their men standing their ground alongside their charismatic, democratically elected leader, against a brutal invader, everyone in the West wants to help. These aren't Afghans, Syrians, Rohingya, Uyghurs, Kurds or other peoples in the developing world needing help from oppressions... this is Europe, Europeans that look like us, that we directly identify with, in need of help. There's a lot of unfairness in what I write above, but it's how I best explain the West's enthusiasm to help.

 

[Snautzer01]

There's a lot of unfairness in what I write above

Indeed.

 

[wlewisiii]

I think that's the difference with Ukraine. Zelensky's done an excellent job in presenting Ukraine as a democratic, European-leaning nation based on western values. Of course this is inaccurate, with Ukraine beset by the same corruption as most former Russian held countries, but the West can see themselves in the Ukraine Zelensky has presented, and when we see European women and children killed, injured and fleeing, with their men standing their ground alongside their charismatic, democratically elected leader, against a brutal invader, everyone in the West wants to help. These aren't Afghans, Syrians, Rohingya, Uyghurs, Kurds or other peoples in the developing world needing help from oppressions... this is Europe, Europeans that look like us, that we directly identify with, in need of help. There's a lot of unfairness in what I write above, but it's how I best explain the West's enthusiasm to help.

Important difference: The mass of the population in Ukraine has united behind the government in power. This provides a structure that allows governement to function despite any corruption that may exist unlike in South Vietnam or Afghanistan where the government was as much an enemy of the population as were those invading from outside. This may or may not last but in the meantime provides a very different context for the people of Ukraine to those other situations

 

[Admiral Beez]

Is there any chance that General Zaluzhnyi's army can break the siege of Mariupol? A hard drive southward with the newly arriving tanks and mobile artillery might pull it off.

 

[buffnut453]

It slightly disturbed my morning coffee.

That's the American version of a storm in a teacup, right?

 

[GrauGeist]

The reason why this war is being fought, is because the Ukraine people grew weary of the corrupt, Kremlin backed politicians in 2014 and got rid of them.

Georgia suffered a similar situation back in 2008 when that country was establishing closer ties to the EU.

We can be sure that if the people did the same in Belarus, Putin would have moved in to "protect ethnic Russians" in that region, too.

 

[buffnut453]

The reason why this war is being fought, is because the Ukraine people grew weary of the corrupt, Kremlin backed politicians in 2014 and got rid of them.

Georgia suffered a similar situation back in 2008 when that country was establishing closer ties to the EU.

We can be sure that if the people did the same in Belarus, Putin would have moved in to "protect ethnic Russians" in that region, too.

Exactly. So long as countries simply kowtow Putin, he's perfectly happy to let them be. As soon as that pro-Russian leadership is replaced by a western-leaning one, there arises an immediate and existential threat to ethnic Russians (or, at least, there would be such in Putin's mind) and so he feels the need to go in and protect "his" people. The problem, of course, is that so often such "threats" are fomented by Moscow.

 

[XBe02Drvr]

At the risk of sounding like my father, I think even "Schoolhouse Rock" would tax the attention-spans of some of the kids I see nowadays.

"Hey Wes, I'm confused, which was first, the Civil War or the Vietnam War? Paula told us in Social Studies, but those year numbers just don't stick in my head. Now she wants us to write a paper comparing the two, and I don't remember squat about it."
"We'll, if it helps you remember, think of this. My great-great grandfather fought in the Civil War, and I was in the Navy during Vietnam. Tell you what. I'll give you a list of videos and movies to download and watch, and I'll help you make a video that'll knock her off her chair. Deal?"
The trials and tribulations of a school audio-visual/library technician.

 

[GrauGeist]

But when the teachers lack the knowledge, the system becomes unstable.
Many years ago, my friend's son was studying the US Civil War and one of their studies, was to identify the various flags used by the belligerents.

My friend was furious because the "battle flag" of the Confederacy was represented by the British Union Jack and when his son questioned the flag as being British, his teacher gave him a failing grade...

 

[SaparotRob]

But when the teachers lack the knowledge, the system becomes unstable.
Many years ago, my friend's son was studying the US Civil War and one of their studies, was to identify the various flags used by the belligerents.

My friend was furious because the "battle flag" of the Confederacy was represented by the British Union Jack and when his son questioned the flag as being British, his teacher gave him a failing grade...

Incredible. I frequently corrected my teachers in history class. I received poor marks in English class. I wouldn't bother with homework since I spoke the language better than my teacher.

 

[XBe02Drvr]

But when the teachers lack the knowledge, the system becomes unstable.

My friend was furious because the "battle flag" of the Confederacy was represented by the British Union Jack and when his son questioned the flag as being British, his teacher gave him a failing grade...

You make the job undoable and you wonder why you can't get good help? I chose the rechnician job rather than getting a teaching certificate for that reason.
My teachers in school were TEACHERS. Today's teachers are expected to be cops, psychologists, social workers, and oh yes, do a little teaching on the side.

 

[XBe02Drvr]

his son questioned the flag as being British, his teacher gave him a failing grade...

He failed in "Deportment" and disrespected authority.

 

[GTX]

The artist, now grave digger, dealing with Russian abuses in Ukraine's Bucha

Retrieving scores of bodies has left a Bucha artist and tattooist waking each day with trembling hands that take hours to ease. WARNING: images and themes in this story may be distressing for some readers.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Dimlee]

Of course this is inaccurate, with Ukraine beset by the same corruption as most former Russian held countries

Russian held countries - former USSR and/or Warsaw Pact? Corruption levels are not the same in that region, they are different.
Just compare the ranks of Estonia, Ukraine, and Turkmenistan.

2021 Corruption Perceptions Index - Explore the results

How does your country measure up in the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index?

www.transparency.org