Ukraine

[zolotiyeruki]

Decades ago the U.S. designed the A-10 warthog for a ground war in Europe, against the Soviet Union.  It's designed for close air support of ground troops, taking out targets on the ground.  It's able to withstand a lot of punishment, including a direct hit by an RPG.  Considering it was designed for exactly the enemy Ukraine faces, it seems a shame the U.S. can't provide A-10s to Ukraine.

FWIW, the A-10 isn't very survivable in today's environment of MANPADs and larger SAMs.  It's sexy as all get-out, but isn't as awesome as we all imagine it to be.

Now, if you had plenty of SEAD/DEAD to keep the Russian heads down, then yeah, the A-10 could wreak a lot of havoc.

[LaineyAZ]

I'm a little dismayed to see that CNN has turned into the 24-hour Ukraine war news channel.  Interspersed briefly with segments like What are we going to do about inflation?  or that the Queen of England didn't go to Easter services, and then it's right back to the war.

I fear that this non-stop coverage will cause people to turn away because they've been overloaded, not to mention that Other Stuff is still going on but we're not hearing about it. 
I know it's important and it's happening live, but do we really need minute by minute updates around the clock?

[Michael in ABQ]

I'm a little dismayed to see that CNN has turned into the 24-hour Ukraine war news channel.  Interspersed briefly with segments like What are we going to do about inflation?  or that the Queen of England didn't go to Easter services, and then it's right back to the war.

I fear that this non-stop coverage will cause people to turn away because they've been overloaded, not to mention that Other Stuff is still going on but we're not hearing about it. 
I know it's important and it's happening live, but do we really need minute by minute updates around the clock?

Just remember that barely anyone actually watches CNN - so whatever they're doing doesn't really matter.


And the reason no one watches CNN is what you've just articulated. They take the story de jour and devote a ridiculous amount of time to it. There's only so much information to talk about Trump, Ukraine, or whatever. Since the facts take 5% of the time the other 95% is taken up by meaningless speculation and commentary.

[Plina]

I'm a little dismayed to see that CNN has turned into the 24-hour Ukraine war news channel.  Interspersed briefly with segments like What are we going to do about inflation?  or that the Queen of England didn't go to Easter services, and then it's right back to the war.

I fear that this non-stop coverage will cause people to turn away because they've been overloaded, not to mention that Other Stuff is still going on but we're not hearing about it. 
I know it's important and it's happening live, but do we really need minute by minute updates around the clock?

I kind of miss the pre Trump years with more normal news. When we finally saw an end to the Trump idiocy of the day, then it was the pandemic non stop. Now, we have forgotten that covid exists and it is mostly Ukraine and the effects of the war. I have mostly stopped reading articles about the war and I never watch news on tv.

[Michael in ABQ]

I'm a little dismayed to see that CNN has turned into the 24-hour Ukraine war news channel.  Interspersed briefly with segments like What are we going to do about inflation?  or that the Queen of England didn't go to Easter services, and then it's right back to the war.

I fear that this non-stop coverage will cause people to turn away because they've been overloaded, not to mention that Other Stuff is still going on but we're not hearing about it. 
I know it's important and it's happening live, but do we really need minute by minute updates around the clock?

I kind of miss the pre Trump years with more normal news. When we finally saw an end to the Trump idiocy of the day, then it was the pandemic non stop. Now, we have forgotten that covid exists and it is mostly Ukraine and the effects of the war. I have mostly stopped reading articles about the war and I never watch news on tv.

I think "normal news" probably ended about 30-40 years ago. Cable news has always been a shallow cesspit of sound bites, commentary, and speculation. How much time did CNN and the rest of cable news devote to the OJ Simpson case, 9/11, the invasion of Iraq, or any other big story in the last few decades? There's just no way to fill 24 hours of continuous news programming with meaningful information - at least not in a cost-effective manner. A bunch of talking heads in an echo chamber is much cheaper to produce than something like investigative journalism or on-site reporting. It's much easier to just regurgitate the same information a dozen different ways.

[Tyson]

I'm a little dismayed to see that CNN has turned into the 24-hour Ukraine war news channel.  Interspersed briefly with segments like What are we going to do about inflation?  or that the Queen of England didn't go to Easter services, and then it's right back to the war.

I fear that this non-stop coverage will cause people to turn away because they've been overloaded, not to mention that Other Stuff is still going on but we're not hearing about it. 
I know it's important and it's happening live, but do we really need minute by minute updates around the clock?

I kind of miss the pre Trump years with more normal news. When we finally saw an end to the Trump idiocy of the day, then it was the pandemic non stop. Now, we have forgotten that covid exists and it is mostly Ukraine and the effects of the war. I have mostly stopped reading articles about the war and I never watch news on tv.

I think "normal news" probably ended about 30-40 years ago. Cable news has always been a shallow cesspit of sound bites, commentary, and speculation. How much time did CNN and the rest of cable news devote to the OJ Simpson case, 9/11, the invasion of Iraq, or any other big story in the last few decades? There's just no way to fill 24 hours of continuous news programming with meaningful information - at least not in a cost-effective manner. A bunch of talking heads in an echo chamber is much cheaper to produce than something like investigative journalism or on-site reporting. It's much easier to just regurgitate the same information a dozen different ways.

You are exactly right.  It's why I stopped watching news about a decade ago.  Pretty much the only place I get my news anymore is placed like The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal - both still have actual news, done by actual journalists.  Heck, even some long-form investigative journalism at that!

[Sibley]

Very interesting thread by Kamil Galeev. Topics include literature and linguistics.
https://twitter.com/kamilkazani/status/1516162437455654913

[YttriumNitrate]

Just remember that barely anyone actually watches CNN - so whatever they're doing doesn't really matter.

The numbers really are staggering when CNN gets compared to other forms of media. CNN averages about 850,000 viewers in primetime [1], so this guy's recent Youtube video on the Russian troop transport was seen by twice as many people as whatever talking head was on CNN.

[partgypsy]

So, the head of the Russian Orthodox church (Kirill), is providing vocal support and ideology to support Putins war in Ukraine. Church is supposed to be separate from the political system, though the history of the church in Russia has been, complicated. Good to see he is being denounced https://greekreporter.com/2022/04/06/archbishop-elpidophoros-slams-russias-orthodox-church-on-ukraine/.  Here is a brief history of the Orthodox church in Russia, which provides background. https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.jpost.com/christianworld/article-701967/amp

[pecunia]

So, the head of the Russian Orthodox church (Kirill), is providing vocal support and ideology to support Putins war in Ukraine. Church is supposed to be separate from the political system. Good to see he is being denounced https://greekreporter.com/2022/04/06/archbishop-elpidophoros-slams-russias-orthodox-church-on-ukraine/

I've read elsewhere that the head of the church used to be in the KGB in East Germany.  Some have surmised that he is Putin's old boss.  This link didn't go into it, but I've seen elsewhere that he is into the "Russian World" type of thinking.  He and Putin are sort of buds.

The separation of church and state is a good thing.

[Plina]

I'm a little dismayed to see that CNN has turned into the 24-hour Ukraine war news channel.  Interspersed briefly with segments like What are we going to do about inflation?  or that the Queen of England didn't go to Easter services, and then it's right back to the war.

I fear that this non-stop coverage will cause people to turn away because they've been overloaded, not to mention that Other Stuff is still going on but we're not hearing about it. 
I know it's important and it's happening live, but do we really need minute by minute updates around the clock?

I kind of miss the pre Trump years with more normal news. When we finally saw an end to the Trump idiocy of the day, then it was the pandemic non stop. Now, we have forgotten that covid exists and it is mostly Ukraine and the effects of the war. I have mostly stopped reading articles about the war and I never watch news on tv.

I think "normal news" probably ended about 30-40 years ago. Cable news has always been a shallow cesspit of sound bites, commentary, and speculation. How much time did CNN and the rest of cable news devote to the OJ Simpson case, 9/11, the invasion of Iraq, or any other big story in the last few decades? There's just no way to fill 24 hours of continuous news programming with meaningful information - at least not in a cost-effective manner. A bunch of talking heads in an echo chamber is much cheaper to produce than something like investigative journalism or on-site reporting. It's much easier to just regurgitate the same information a dozen different ways.

I didn’t specifically think about CNN or cable news as that is not what we have here in Sweden. In general I think the news have been more single issue focused or I am just tired of reading about all the crap in the world. Maybe it is time for a newspaper brake.

[maizefolk]

I didn’t specifically think about CNN or cable news as that is not what we have here in Sweden. In general I think the news have been more single issue focused or I am just tired of reading about all the crap in the world. Maybe it is time for a newspaper brake.

I think as news has gotten less profitable we've seen greater focus on the same stories over and over again because there are fewer total reporters and DEFINITELY fewer highly skilled investigative journalists.

In the USA we've lost huge numbers of local and regional papers that used to generate local stories that might be picked up by the associated press. As a result the news focuses more and more on just events in Washington and NYC, because that's where there are still journalists.

Even major natural disasters like the derecho in the midwest two summers ago tend to get short or little coverage because there just aren't that many reporters on the ground out there.

[Sibley]

I've been paying some attention to the hackers, because I find it amusing. And there's been a lot of activity, from little, silly stuff to bigger hacks and leaked data. But I didn't add up how much leaked data. Saw this:
https://twitter.com/micahflee/status/1516521193808875527

That's a LOT of data. And this is the kind of thing that is a slow burn. It takes time to go through data, to do the research, come to conclusions. But with that much data available (so far!), the long term consequences for Russia could be big.


And the US is sending more to Ukraine. This article doesn't mention it, but I've seen tweets, etc that say aircraft parts and possibly entire airplanes have been provided.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/19/us-to-announce-another-colossal-military-aid-package-for-ukraine.html

[Travis]

I've been paying some attention to the hackers, because I find it amusing. And there's been a lot of activity, from little, silly stuff to bigger hacks and leaked data. But I didn't add up how much leaked data. Saw this:
https://twitter.com/micahflee/status/1516521193808875527

That's a LOT of data. And this is the kind of thing that is a slow burn. It takes time to go through data, to do the research, come to conclusions. But with that much data available (so far!), the long term consequences for Russia could be big.

I was in a livestream a few nights ago with some of those folks and they're still looking for people to sort through it all.

[Sibley]

I've been paying some attention to the hackers, because I find it amusing. And there's been a lot of activity, from little, silly stuff to bigger hacks and leaked data. But I didn't add up how much leaked data. Saw this:
https://twitter.com/micahflee/status/1516521193808875527

That's a LOT of data. And this is the kind of thing that is a slow burn. It takes time to go through data, to do the research, come to conclusions. But with that much data available (so far!), the long term consequences for Russia could be big.

I was in a livestream a few nights ago with some of those folks and they're still looking for people to sort through it all.

It's going to take years. Because that's how much data they have available now - but I'm sure there will be more coming. There's a LOT of hackers who are taking a crack at Russia, and some of them are going to get through Russia's defenses.

[Poundwise]

Pentagon press conference. I'm hoping!! https://twitter.com/SamRamani2/status/1516528734601465861

[Plina]

I didn’t specifically think about CNN or cable news as that is not what we have here in Sweden. In general I think the news have been more single issue focused or I am just tired of reading about all the crap in the world. Maybe it is time for a newspaper brake.

I think as news has gotten less profitable we've seen greater focus on the same stories over and over again because there are fewer total reporters and DEFINITELY fewer highly skilled investigative journalists.

In the USA we've lost huge numbers of local and regional papers that used to generate local stories that might be picked up by the associated press. As a result the news focuses more and more on just events in Washington and NYC, because that's where there are still journalists.

Even major natural disasters like the derecho in the midwest two summers ago tend to get short or little coverage because there just aren't that many reporters on the ground out there.

We have the same loss of regional newspapers here. They are bought up by bigger media companies and consolidated with the result that te news become less local. Interestingly enough one of the national newspapers have opened an office in my city because they want to follow the conversion to a green economy that is happening in this part of the country

[MustacheAndaHalf]

Decades ago the U.S. designed the A-10 warthog for a ground war in Europe, against the Soviet Union.  It's designed for close air support of ground troops, taking out targets on the ground.  It's able to withstand a lot of punishment, including a direct hit by an RPG.  Considering it was designed for exactly the enemy Ukraine faces, it seems a shame the U.S. can't provide A-10s to Ukraine.

FWIW, the A-10 isn't very survivable in today's environment of MANPADs and larger SAMs.  It's sexy as all get-out, but isn't as awesome as we all imagine it to be.

Now, if you had plenty of SEAD/DEAD to keep the Russian heads down, then yeah, the A-10 could wreak a lot of havoc.

Of the seven A-10s shot down in this data, the pilots survived in 5 incidents.  One was hit by a SAM, lost all hydraulics and was still trying to land in harsh weather when the pilot crashed.  The A-10 has so many flares they drop a few just to say hello - that might help.  But I could be missing more recent stats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_combat_losses_of_United_States_military_aircraft_since_the_Vietnam_War

I'm just a civilian admirer, but have the impression U.S. army troops regard it highly.  Bombs that go off target still explode, but a pilot doesn't have to pull the trigger on it's 30 mm gatling gun until the target is clear.  It seems like a really effective weapon that's trusted by infantry. 

I've heard Ukraine has more pilots than planes right now, so maybe they'd risk it.

[MustacheAndaHalf]

I'm a little dismayed to see that CNN has turned into the 24-hour Ukraine war news channel.  Interspersed briefly with segments like What are we going to do about inflation?  or that the Queen of England didn't go to Easter services, and then it's right back to the war.

I fear that this non-stop coverage will cause people to turn away because they've been overloaded, not to mention that Other Stuff is still going on but we're not hearing about it. 
I know it's important and it's happening live, but do we really need minute by minute updates around the clock?

I kind of miss the pre Trump years with more normal news. When we finally saw an end to the Trump idiocy of the day, then it was the pandemic non stop. Now, we have forgotten that covid exists and it is mostly Ukraine and the effects of the war. I have mostly stopped reading articles about the war and I never watch news on tv.

I think "normal news" probably ended about 30-40 years ago. Cable news has always been a shallow cesspit of sound bites, commentary, and speculation. How much time did CNN and the rest of cable news devote to the OJ Simpson case, 9/11, the invasion of Iraq, or any other big story in the last few decades? There's just no way to fill 24 hours of continuous news programming with meaningful information - at least not in a cost-effective manner. A bunch of talking heads in an echo chamber is much cheaper to produce than something like investigative journalism or on-site reporting. It's much easier to just regurgitate the same information a dozen different ways.

I didn’t specifically think about CNN or cable news as that is not what we have here in Sweden. In general I think the news have been more single issue focused or I am just tired of reading about all the crap in the world. Maybe it is time for a newspaper brake.

Tak!  I have a friend who's back in Sweden now.

I think the news died on June 13, 2008.  Tim Russert always did his homework, and
a politician pulled out some bullshit he called them on it.  Compare that to his replacement, and it sounds more like a therapy session: "How do you feel about that?".  No homework required.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Russert

And in 2024 it will get worse - because ex-President Donald Trump will run again.  The news media will repeat everything he says... ratings will go up... ad revenue goes up.  Most TV channels may hate Trump, but I think it's more like the Erasure song: "I Love To Hate You".  Not surprisingly, they don't feel the need to fix the problem of excessive revenue.

[Fireball]

I'm a little dismayed to see that CNN has turned into the 24-hour Ukraine war news channel.  Interspersed briefly with segments like What are we going to do about inflation?  or that the Queen of England didn't go to Easter services, and then it's right back to the war.

I fear that this non-stop coverage will cause people to turn away because they've been overloaded, not to mention that Other Stuff is still going on but we're not hearing about it. 
I know it's important and it's happening live, but do we really need minute by minute updates around the clock?

I kind of miss the pre Trump years with more normal news. When we finally saw an end to the Trump idiocy of the day, then it was the pandemic non stop. Now, we have forgotten that covid exists and it is mostly Ukraine and the effects of the war. I have mostly stopped reading articles about the war and I never watch news on tv.

I think "normal news" probably ended about 30-40 years ago. Cable news has always been a shallow cesspit of sound bites, commentary, and speculation. How much time did CNN and the rest of cable news devote to the OJ Simpson case, 9/11, the invasion of Iraq, or any other big story in the last few decades? There's just no way to fill 24 hours of continuous news programming with meaningful information - at least not in a cost-effective manner. A bunch of talking heads in an echo chamber is much cheaper to produce than something like investigative journalism or on-site reporting. It's much easier to just regurgitate the same information a dozen different ways.

I didn’t specifically think about CNN or cable news as that is not what we have here in Sweden. In general I think the news have been more single issue focused or I am just tired of reading about all the crap in the world. Maybe it is time for a newspaper brake.

Tak!  I have a friend who's back in Sweden now.

I think the news died on June 13, 2008.  Tim Russert always did his homework, and
a politician pulled out some bullshit he called them on it.  Compare that to his replacement, and it sounds more like a therapy session: "How do you feel about that?".  No homework required.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Russert

And in 2024 it will get worse - because ex-President Donald Trump will run again.  The news media will repeat everything he says... ratings will go up... ad revenue goes up.  Most TV channels may hate Trump, but I think it's more like the Erasure song: "I Love To Hate You".  Not surprisingly, they don't feel the need to fix the problem of excessive revenue.

Related to Tim Russert - His Book "Big Russ and Me" is terrific.

[pecunia]

Fire at a Russian defense building.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/world-news/huge-fire-at-top-secret-russian-defence-hq-leaves-one-dead-and-30-wounded/

Is there any significance to this?   Another link

https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-crisis/russia-massive-fire-at-nii-2-building-of-russian-ministry-of-defence-in-tver-watch-articleshow.html

I would not think the Russians are being coordinated from a building that far away so see little link to the Ukraine war, but Russians do things top down so maybe there is a hidden story here and the fire may not be an accident.

[Sibley]

I don't know, but I did find out from that article that Putin has declared Mariupol liberated. Sure..... but the city doesn't really exist anymore, so.....

They also apparently cancelled plans to go after the remaining defenders. That sounds like they knew the defenders would be able to kill a huge number of Russian troops, so they're just going to starve them out. I very much hope that there's a tunnel or some route out so that Russia can just keep on guarding an empty base.

[Plina]

I'm a little dismayed to see that CNN has turned into the 24-hour Ukraine war news channel.  Interspersed briefly with segments like What are we going to do about inflation?  or that the Queen of England didn't go to Easter services, and then it's right back to the war.

I fear that this non-stop coverage will cause people to turn away because they've been overloaded, not to mention that Other Stuff is still going on but we're not hearing about it. 
I know it's important and it's happening live, but do we really need minute by minute updates around the clock?

I kind of miss the pre Trump years with more normal news. When we finally saw an end to the Trump idiocy of the day, then it was the pandemic non stop. Now, we have forgotten that covid exists and it is mostly Ukraine and the effects of the war. I have mostly stopped reading articles about the war and I never watch news on tv.

I think "normal news" probably ended about 30-40 years ago. Cable news has always been a shallow cesspit of sound bites, commentary, and speculation. How much time did CNN and the rest of cable news devote to the OJ Simpson case, 9/11, the invasion of Iraq, or any other big story in the last few decades? There's just no way to fill 24 hours of continuous news programming with meaningful information - at least not in a cost-effective manner. A bunch of talking heads in an echo chamber is much cheaper to produce than something like investigative journalism or on-site reporting. It's much easier to just regurgitate the same information a dozen different ways.

I didn’t specifically think about CNN or cable news as that is not what we have here in Sweden. In general I think the news have been more single issue focused or I am just tired of reading about all the crap in the world. Maybe it is time for a newspaper brake.

Tak!  I have a friend who's back in Sweden now.

I think the news died on June 13, 2008.  Tim Russert always did his homework, and
a politician pulled out some bullshit he called them on it.  Compare that to his replacement, and it sounds more like a therapy session: "How do you feel about that?".  No homework required.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Russert

And in 2024 it will get worse - because ex-President Donald Trump will run again.  The news media will repeat everything he says... ratings will go up... ad revenue goes up.  Most TV channels may hate Trump, but I think it's more like the Erasure song: "I Love To Hate You".  Not surprisingly, they don't feel the need to fix the problem of excessive revenue.

At least there will be some limits to the crazyness as long as they don’t give back his twitter account.

[Boll weevil]

Decades ago the U.S. designed the A-10 warthog for a ground war in Europe, against the Soviet Union.  It's designed for close air support of ground troops, taking out targets on the ground.  It's able to withstand a lot of punishment, including a direct hit by an RPG.  Considering it was designed for exactly the enemy Ukraine faces, it seems a shame the U.S. can't provide A-10s to Ukraine.

FWIW, the A-10 isn't very survivable in today's environment of MANPADs and larger SAMs.  It's sexy as all get-out, but isn't as awesome as we all imagine it to be.

Now, if you had plenty of SEAD/DEAD to keep the Russian heads down, then yeah, the A-10 could wreak a lot of havoc.

Of the seven A-10s shot down in this data, the pilots survived in 5 incidents.  One was hit by a SAM, lost all hydraulics and was still trying to land in harsh weather when the pilot crashed.  The A-10 has so many flares they drop a few just to say hello - that might help.  But I could be missing more recent stats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_combat_losses_of_United_States_military_aircraft_since_the_Vietnam_War

I'm just a civilian admirer, but have the impression U.S. army troops regard it highly.  Bombs that go off target still explode, but a pilot doesn't have to pull the trigger on it's 30 mm gatling gun until the target is clear.  It seems like a really effective weapon that's trusted by infantry. 

I've heard Ukraine has more pilots than planes right now, so maybe they'd risk it.

I think the statistics provided are enough. Note that 5 of the A-10s were lost in a little less than two weeks of 1991. Todays radars have longer range and the ability to track more targets simultaneously. I’d be surprised if they also didn’t have the ability to network. As unimpressed as I am with the Russians’ performance so far, I don’t see the A-10s lasting very long against those defenses.

[Travis]

Decades ago the U.S. designed the A-10 warthog for a ground war in Europe, against the Soviet Union.  It's designed for close air support of ground troops, taking out targets on the ground.  It's able to withstand a lot of punishment, including a direct hit by an RPG.  Considering it was designed for exactly the enemy Ukraine faces, it seems a shame the U.S. can't provide A-10s to Ukraine.

FWIW, the A-10 isn't very survivable in today's environment of MANPADs and larger SAMs.  It's sexy as all get-out, but isn't as awesome as we all imagine it to be.

Now, if you had plenty of SEAD/DEAD to keep the Russian heads down, then yeah, the A-10 could wreak a lot of havoc.

Of the seven A-10s shot down in this data, the pilots survived in 5 incidents.  One was hit by a SAM, lost all hydraulics and was still trying to land in harsh weather when the pilot crashed.  The A-10 has so many flares they drop a few just to say hello - that might help.  But I could be missing more recent stats.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_combat_losses_of_United_States_military_aircraft_since_the_Vietnam_War

I'm just a civilian admirer, but have the impression U.S. army troops regard it highly.  Bombs that go off target still explode, but a pilot doesn't have to pull the trigger on it's 30 mm gatling gun until the target is clear.  It seems like a really effective weapon that's trusted by infantry. 

I've heard Ukraine has more pilots than planes right now, so maybe they'd risk it.

I think the statistics provided are enough. Note that 5 of the A-10s were lost in a little less than two weeks of 1991. Todays radars have longer range and the ability to track more targets simultaneously. I’d be surprised if they also didn’t have the ability to network. As unimpressed as I am with the Russians’ performance so far, I don’t see the A-10s lasting very long against those defenses.

The A-10 is an effective and inexpensive way to attack ground targets compared to its cousins. If the air picture was such that they thought the A-10 would be easy pickings, no aircraft will be providing ground support anyways. What can kill an A-10 can kill an F-16.

[waltworks]

Who needs an A-10 when you can just use mini cruise missiles?

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/21/mystery-drone-air-force-new-weapon-ukraine-00026970?2

On the other hand, I guess this sort of thing is why we can't afford decent healthcare in the US...

-W

[MustacheAndaHalf]

I'm a little dismayed to see that CNN has turned into the 24-hour Ukraine war news channel.  Interspersed briefly with segments like What are we going to do about inflation?  or that the Queen of England didn't go to Easter services, and then it's right back to the war.

I fear that this non-stop coverage will cause people to turn away because they've been overloaded, not to mention that Other Stuff is still going on but we're not hearing about it. 
I know it's important and it's happening live, but do we really need minute by minute updates around the clock?

I kind of miss the pre Trump years with more normal news. When we finally saw an end to the Trump idiocy of the day, then it was the pandemic non stop. Now, we have forgotten that covid exists and it is mostly Ukraine and the effects of the war. I have mostly stopped reading articles about the war and I never watch news on tv.

I think "normal news" probably ended about 30-40 years ago. Cable news has always been a shallow cesspit of sound bites, commentary, and speculation. How much time did CNN and the rest of cable news devote to the OJ Simpson case, 9/11, the invasion of Iraq, or any other big story in the last few decades? There's just no way to fill 24 hours of continuous news programming with meaningful information - at least not in a cost-effective manner. A bunch of talking heads in an echo chamber is much cheaper to produce than something like investigative journalism or on-site reporting. It's much easier to just regurgitate the same information a dozen different ways.

I didn’t specifically think about CNN or cable news as that is not what we have here in Sweden. In general I think the news have been more single issue focused or I am just tired of reading about all the crap in the world. Maybe it is time for a newspaper brake.

Tak!  I have a friend who's back in Sweden now.

I think the news died on June 13, 2008.  Tim Russert always did his homework, and
a politician pulled out some bullshit he called them on it.  Compare that to his replacement, and it sounds more like a therapy session: "How do you feel about that?".  No homework required.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Russert

And in 2024 it will get worse - because ex-President Donald Trump will run again.  The news media will repeat everything he says... ratings will go up... ad revenue goes up.  Most TV channels may hate Trump, but I think it's more like the Erasure song: "I Love To Hate You".  Not surprisingly, they don't feel the need to fix the problem of excessive revenue.

At least there will be some limits to the crazyness as long as they don’t give back his twitter account.

If you mean the current board members of Twitter, if Elon Musk is patient he'll likely win.  The board has less than 0.1% voting power while Mr Musk has somewhere near 10%, or a 100:1 difference.  Eventually they'll see the writing on the wall.

And then Mr Musk wants freedom.  Who has been denied freedom on Twitter?  Maybe one person more famous than anyone else?  That's what I think happens before the 2024 elections - Mr Musk restores Trump on Twitter.  It's also possible Mr Musk has other ideas, or won't pursue ownership of Twitter... but my guess is this coin flip lands on Musk + Trump.

[pecunia]

Who needs an A-10 when you can just use mini cruise missiles?

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/21/mystery-drone-air-force-new-weapon-ukraine-00026970?2

On the other hand, I guess this sort of thing is why we can't afford decent healthcare in the US...

-W

No, you are a bit off balance with that remark.  Health care in most parts of the world costs less than in the United States.  Some countries where the health care costs less also deliver better results.  So, how does this affect this discussion?

Well, if we had alternate health care that would leave even MORE money free for war weapons!

This Reuters article provides some clarity in Russia's aims for the war.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-fighters-hold-putin-claims-victory-mariupol-2022-04-22/

From the article:

Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russia's central military district, was quoted by Russian state news agencies as saying Moscow aimed to seize the entire eastern Donbas region, link up with the Crimea peninsula, and capture Ukraine's entire south as far as a breakaway, Russian-occupied region of Moldova.

That would mean pushing hundreds of miles beyond current lines, past the major Ukrainian cities of Mykolaiv and Odesa.

Ukraine said his comments had given the lie to Russia's previous assertions that it has no territorial ambitions.

It looks like they want to go all the way around to Transnistria.  they would then essentially, encircle Ukraine. 

I hope the weapons Joe Biden gave them will help prevent this from happening.  Of course, opinions may differ.

[GuitarStv]

If you mean the current board members of Twitter, if Elon Musk is patient he'll likely win.  The board has less than 0.1% voting power while Mr Musk has somewhere near 10%, or a 100:1 difference.  Eventually they'll see the writing on the wall.

And then Mr Musk wants freedom.  Who has been denied freedom on Twitter?  Maybe one person more famous than anyone else?  That's what I think happens before the 2024 elections - Mr Musk restores Trump on Twitter.  It's also possible Mr Musk has other ideas, or won't pursue ownership of Twitter... but my guess is this coin flip lands on Musk + Trump.

This is a very, very plausible scenario.  Good business sense too . . . the kickbacks to Musk after Trump is re-elected will be significant.

[Michael in ABQ]

If you mean the current board members of Twitter, if Elon Musk is patient he'll likely win.  The board has less than 0.1% voting power while Mr Musk has somewhere near 10%, or a 100:1 difference.  Eventually they'll see the writing on the wall.

And then Mr Musk wants freedom.  Who has been denied freedom on Twitter?  Maybe one person more famous than anyone else?  That's what I think happens before the 2024 elections - Mr Musk restores Trump on Twitter.  It's also possible Mr Musk has other ideas, or won't pursue ownership of Twitter... but my guess is this coin flip lands on Musk + Trump.

This is a very, very plausible scenario.  Good business sense too . . . the kickbacks to Musk after Trump is re-elected will be significant.

So a guy worth about $250 BILLION is going to spend another $45 BILLION to help get Trump re-elected so he can get government contracts and tax credits worth a few billion dollars that his companies will probably receive regardless of who's in the White House. Is that your argument?

The impetus for Elon Musk buying Twitter was probably the Babylon Bee (a conservative satire publication) getting their Twitter account suspended for calling a man a man. Musk called the CEO of Twitter to confirm that the Babylon Bee's Twitter account was actually suspended shortly before making his large stock purchase. He gave them an hour-long interview a couple of months ago and talked a lot about free speech, so he's clearly a fan. I don't think Trump has anything to do with it.

[Tyson]

If you mean the current board members of Twitter, if Elon Musk is patient he'll likely win.  The board has less than 0.1% voting power while Mr Musk has somewhere near 10%, or a 100:1 difference.  Eventually they'll see the writing on the wall.

And then Mr Musk wants freedom.  Who has been denied freedom on Twitter?  Maybe one person more famous than anyone else?  That's what I think happens before the 2024 elections - Mr Musk restores Trump on Twitter.  It's also possible Mr Musk has other ideas, or won't pursue ownership of Twitter... but my guess is this coin flip lands on Musk + Trump.

This is a very, very plausible scenario.  Good business sense too . . . the kickbacks to Musk after Trump is re-elected will be significant.

So a guy worth about $250 BILLION is going to spend another $45 BILLION to help get Trump re-elected so he can get government contracts and tax credits worth a few billion dollars that his companies will probably receive regardless of who's in the White House. Is that your argument?

The impetus for Elon Musk buying Twitter was probably the Babylon Bee (a conservative satire publication) getting their Twitter account suspended for calling a man a man. Musk called the CEO of Twitter to confirm that the Babylon Bee's Twitter account was actually suspended shortly before making his large stock purchase. He gave them an hour-long interview a couple of months ago and talked a lot about free speech, so he's clearly a fan. I don't think Trump has anything to do with it.

This is the problem with in-group/out-group thinking.  It makes us attribute to anyone in an 'out-group' from us nefarious motives.  Although I'm not sure that this has to do with the situation in Ukraine...

[ministashy]

I seem to recall Russia lying about it's border exercises, and then invading Ukraine.  I saw the Ukrainian movie theater with nothing else around except the word "children" written in the parking lot.. directly hit by Russia, who then lied about it being intentional.  The train station missile didn't fully detonate, so Russian writing with "for the children" was still visible on it.  All of this is context for me when Russia makes any kind of claim.

I've seen multiple news reports where Russia and Ukraine are treated as equally trustworthy, where statements on both sides are simply repeated.  And they probably get their information from somewhere else!  They don't add context about Russia's prior lying, or even assign an 80-95% chance Russia is lying.  They just quote Russia, a known source for fake news.

And then, later, these same media stations are going to warn me of the dangers of fake news.  They won't mean to be ironic, and they won't reflect on how they report everything Russia says word for word.  Are there any news websites that provide context?  Do I need to search for Ukrainian news stations?

Try the big news agencies: AP, Reuters, Agence France Presse.  Or the BBC, who are required by UK law to be accurate and unbiased.

The BBC quotes Russia without context - you can see their story earlier in this thread.  I didn't quote it because my complaint has nothing to do with the poster who brought it up.

At least with AP & Reuters I expect raw "tape recorder" type reporting, but I certainly do not expect context of Russia's prior lying in their articles.  I don't recall the specifics for DW & France 24, but believe they also left out context.  Personally, I know the context - I'm just frustrated that for weeks Russian leadership gets quoted with no asterisk about their prior lies.

The Russian army left behind thousands of executed civilians, which were proved by satellite images to have been there when the Russians occupied Ukrainian cities.  And yet when Russia dreamed up a conspiracy theory... the news media published it.  And that gave China the cover to just say it needs to be investigated, instead of being forced into a corner for not blaming Russia for slaughtering civilians.

I can't suggest specific news sources that will solve that problem, but two Youtubers I watch that seem to be pretty on point in providing context around the news of the day is Beau of the Fifth Column (both U.S politics and Ukraine) and Perun (he specializes in military/defense analysis, right now centered around Ukraine).  Beau is open about his progressive views, but also provides a lot of context for different topics that I simply don't see elsewhere.  Perun doesn't do politics at all from what I've seen (except for being against the Ukraine invasion), and does more long-form analysis.

[seattlecyclone]

So a guy worth about $250 BILLION is going to spend another $45 BILLION to help get Trump re-elected so he can get government contracts and tax credits worth a few billion dollars that his companies will probably receive regardless of who's in the White House. Is that your argument?

The impetus for Elon Musk buying Twitter was probably the Babylon Bee (a conservative satire publication) getting their Twitter account suspended for calling a man trans woman a man. Musk called the CEO of Twitter to confirm that the Babylon Bee's Twitter account was actually suspended shortly before making his large stock purchase. He gave them an hour-long interview a couple of months ago and talked a lot about free speech, so he's clearly a fan. I don't think Trump has anything to do with it.

Fixed that for you. Trans women are women.

[PeteD01]

Fire at a Russian defense building.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/world-news/huge-fire-at-top-secret-russian-defence-hq-leaves-one-dead-and-30-wounded/

Is there any significance to this?   Another link

https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-crisis/russia-massive-fire-at-nii-2-building-of-russian-ministry-of-defence-in-tver-watch-articleshow.html

I would not think the Russians are being coordinated from a building that far away so see little link to the Ukraine war, but Russians do things top down so maybe there is a hidden story here and the fire may not be an accident.

Nah, it´s just fire season over there.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1517538587151159297

[partgypsy]

From Twitter corrected to say just a warehouse. Still, a bunch of suspicious fires recently...

[Just Joe]

Karma coming to visit the Russians? Ukraine ought to take responsibility. And then a dozen western countries too. Probably the wrong thing to do but it would feel good for a moment. ;)

[pecunia]

Just another summary of the war.

[url]https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/russia-ukraine-war-ukraine-army-size-compared-russia-uk-us-nato-3581362[/url

Just think of how much good you could do with 200,000 strong young people instead of blowing up people's houses.

[GuitarStv]

If you mean the current board members of Twitter, if Elon Musk is patient he'll likely win.  The board has less than 0.1% voting power while Mr Musk has somewhere near 10%, or a 100:1 difference.  Eventually they'll see the writing on the wall.

And then Mr Musk wants freedom.  Who has been denied freedom on Twitter?  Maybe one person more famous than anyone else?  That's what I think happens before the 2024 elections - Mr Musk restores Trump on Twitter.  It's also possible Mr Musk has other ideas, or won't pursue ownership of Twitter... but my guess is this coin flip lands on Musk + Trump.

This is a very, very plausible scenario.  Good business sense too . . . the kickbacks to Musk after Trump is re-elected will be significant.

So a guy worth about $250 BILLION is going to spend another $45 BILLION to help get Trump re-elected so he can get government contracts and tax credits worth a few billion dollars that his companies will probably receive regardless of who's in the White House. Is that your argument?

The impetus for Elon Musk buying Twitter was probably the Babylon Bee (a conservative satire publication) getting their Twitter account suspended for calling a man a man. Musk called the CEO of Twitter to confirm that the Babylon Bee's Twitter account was actually suspended shortly before making his large stock purchase. He gave them an hour-long interview a couple of months ago and talked a lot about free speech, so he's clearly a fan. I don't think Trump has anything to do with it.

I certainly don't think it's Musk's only motive . . . but will still argue that it makes good business sense.

Tesla makes about 5 billion dollars a year.  If he can swing a couple billion in tax credits or discounts that would be pretty significant - and would add up each year.  Musk didn't get to 250 billion net worth by ignoring easy money - or by playing fairly.  (A lot of people don't even know that he wasn't one of the founders of Tesla motors.)

Not sure how much of a fan of free speech Musk really is.  He definitely wasn't a fan of it at all when his employees were talking about unionizing.

[PeteD01]

Karma coming to visit the Russians? Ukraine ought to take responsibility. And then a dozen western countries too. Probably the wrong thing to do but it would feel good for a moment. ;)

No, Ukraine certainly prefers plausible deniability here.
The "fire season" is also beginning right when Mariupol is about to fall with many thousand people, the majority of whom could be described as having been taken as hostages, surrounded by the Russian with troops ready for slaughter.
Do not underestimate the significance the events around Mariupol have for the Ukrainians.
THe Russians know this as evidenced by Putin personally stopping the final assault on the last redoubt of the Ukrainian forces and thousands of civilians in Mariupol.
The Ukrainian government has also made no doubt about that there is a red line about to be crossed in Mariupol.
This comes at a politically difficult time for Putin and he has no way to predict how hard the Ukrainians could hit soft targets in Russia.

[former player]

Here is confirmation, were it required, that Russia has just gone full North Korea -

https://twitter.com/juliaioffe/status/1517641823426158594

"Russian authorities have arrested these people outside the Kremlin *for holding invisible signs.*"

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

A good explanation by Dugin on one way to view Ukraine from the Russian perspective:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXNlNsOXqsM

The one-person chess analogy (i.e. the post-Cold War unipolar global order which he labels "liberal totalitarianism" elsewhere) is a key idea here. Controlling the narrative--or even falsely believing that you can control it--can be a dangerous drug.

Important to keep Kamil Galeev's observations/explanations in mind at the same time, however.

[jinga nation]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vladimir-putin-health-holding-table-russia-b2063102.html

Sick man and his sick defense minister. Surprised he's now letting Shoigu sit right across from him instead of listening to him from the far end of a quarter-mile table. Either Shoigu is barely audible, or Putin has hearing issues, or hopefully both. Putin's always been shown seated in the photo ops from the last month or so, whereas they'd always show him doing his strongman walk. He definitely needs walking assistance.

Odds on him dying in the next 90 days from whatevers ailing him vs being taken out by someone in his inner guard?

[seattlecyclone]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vladimir-putin-health-holding-table-russia-b2063102.html

Sick man and his sick defense minister. Surprised he's now letting Shoigu sit right across from him instead of listening to him from the far end of a quarter-mile table. Either Shoigu is barely audible, or Putin has hearing issues, or hopefully both. Putin's always been shown seated in the photo ops from the last month or so, whereas they'd always show him doing his strongman walk. He definitely needs walking assistance.

Odds on him dying in the next 90 days from whatevers ailing him vs being taken out by someone in his inner guard?

I've seen speculation that the table grabbing is consistent with Parkinson's Disease. It starts with fairly minor tremors when your limbs are at rest. If you have your muscles active (such as holding a table or clenching your hands in a fist) the tremors are much reduced. If that's what he has, it's probably not going to kill him anytime soon.

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vladimir-putin-health-holding-table-russia-b2063102.html

Sick man and his sick defense minister. Surprised he's now letting Shoigu sit right across from him instead of listening to him from the far end of a quarter-mile table. Either Shoigu is barely audible, or Putin has hearing issues, or hopefully both. Putin's always been shown seated in the photo ops from the last month or so, whereas they'd always show him doing his strongman walk. He definitely needs walking assistance.

Odds on him dying in the next 90 days from whatevers ailing him vs being taken out by someone in his inner guard?

Low, but you can post your own guess here

[LennStar]

Here is confirmation, were it required, that Russia has just gone full North Korea -

https://twitter.com/juliaioffe/status/1517641823426158594

"Russian authorities have arrested these people outside the Kremlin *for holding invisible signs.*"

So we had peace signs against a war that is not happening, being in favor of the special operation, white sheets of paper and now invisible? The only thing left is thought crimes, yeah!

---

A sick Putin is of course a bad sign. He wants his name to go down in history as the restorer of Great Russia. If he knows he only has a year or two left (or even less) than he won't make any peace, however bad the situation goes.
On the other hand it's a bigger incentive for all aroudn him to get rid of the man that is throwing Russia back into the middle 20th century.

[former player]

"In Russia the state has ordered publishers to eliminate the word "Ukraine" from textbooks. An attempt to erase a nation and a people, and to leave no trace, has begun."

https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum/status/1517833610899955715

[Travis]

Here is confirmation, were it required, that Russia has just gone full North Korea -

https://twitter.com/juliaioffe/status/1517641823426158594

"Russian authorities have arrested these people outside the Kremlin *for holding invisible signs.*"

A guy was arrested a couple days ago for holding a sign that basically said "Nazis are bad" while standing next to a WW2 memorial. Police now automatically assume if you're putting on any public display you're against the government.

[Travis]

And in case you thought Kherson was just a distant memory:

https://twitter.com/joncoopertweets/status/1517681600925941762?s=20&t=dVvU4CML8FgFrG5i23uK3g

https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1517872983506837504

Even if these numbers turn out to be only half accurate, this is just insane.

[SunnyDays]

Putin has no shame.  He went to Easter church services and was seen repeatedly crossing himself.  As if God is going to bless him, snort.

Then afterwards, I assume it was back to the regularly scheduled carnage.

[pecunia]

After they sunk the Russian battleship, they moved the other battleships offshore further.  However, I saw a video that now the Russians are using submarines to fire missiles at the coast of Ukraine.  The subs can be 50 meters below the surface and still fire the missiles.

How do you stop a submarine?

If Putin is sick, it may be that his contract is up.  I think the standard contract is 24 years.  That's what the devil gave Faust.  So, he probably signed his contract about 1998 or 1999.  It looks like he is working very hard to get himself a good spot in hell.  This Ukraine invasion pretty well guarantees it.