erronis

erronis's Journal

January 30, 2023

'The big battle is coming': Ukrainian forces prepare for the war's most intense phase

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/27/the-big-battle-is-coming-ukrainian-forces-prepare-for-the-wars-most-intense-phase

A good in-depth analysis of the positions of the Ukrainians and Russians at this point and into the future.

The final paragraphs:

Even the most successful offensive on either front is unlikely to end the war. Ukrainians have seen too much of Russia’s genocidal intent in occupied territory to contemplate surrender, while Putin has made victory an existential matter for his regime. (My emphasis)

However, the offensives and counter-offensives over the coming few months could be decisive in setting the trajectory for the rest of the conflict. Ukraine’s success or failure will have an important effect on the stamina of the country’s backers to continue supplying advanced armaments, Kyiv’s strategic advantage.

Moscow’s most important strategic advantage is its vast reserves of manpower, coupled with the cheapness of Russian life for the regime, and so far for the population as a whole.

“Russia’s leadership can afford to throw into battle enormous numbers of people and suffer enormous casualties without social consequences,” Melnyk said. “So that is the biggest threat for us in a long war.”

To cut the conflict short, Ukraine is hoping to deliver a defeat big enough to shock Russia out of its current state of passive acceptance. It is far from clear yet what that will take.

January 28, 2023

Speaking Whale - a fascinating audio discussion about whales, language, humans, and AI

https://rumblestripvermont.com/2023/01/speaking-whale/

Tom Mustill is a conservation biologist and he makes beautiful films about where nature and people meet. He’s worked with Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough, he’s been shat on by bats in Mexico, and recently he finished a book called How to Speak Whale. It describes the very real possibility that someday, maybe even in my lifetime, we’ll begin to understand the complex language of whales–and all this would imply.

I interviewed Tom for hours and I didn’t want him to stop until he’d told me every last thing he’s learned about whale behavior and every story he could remember. He was polite about it. I don’t know why I felt this insatiable need to hear every story. Maybe it seems that if we could understand whale culture a little bit, everything would make a little more sense? Anyway I recorded Tom for as long as he’d let me.

Tom Mustill's web page: https://www.grippingfilms.co.uk/about-tom-mustill

Roger Payne: https://rogerpayne.com/

Roger Payne has studied the behavior of whales since 1967 and is best known for showing that the complex vocalizations humpback whales make are rhythmic repeated patterns and therefore are properly classified as songs. He has also showed that before propellor driven ships the loud, low frequency sounds of fin and blue whales were audible across entire oceans (a proposal since confirmed).

51 years ago Roger founded what is still the longest continuous study of baleen whales based on known individuals recognizable by their natural markings (it currently follows 3800 individual southern right whales).

January 23, 2023

Another anti-musk, anti-twitter rant

Posted just now in response to yet another OP that just sticks a twitter link out there like it is "real news".

I hate to beat this drum. But just posting a link to Musk's fouled platform is a disservice.

Since so many here on DU say that they get their "news" from twitter - be aware - Musk is in control of what you see and will track you.

If you like Musk - fine - keep on just posting twitter links. But don't expect any thinking people to follow them to see the content.

But if you understand that he is not in this to forward accurate news clips, then you are participating in his propaganda network.

January 7, 2023

Salon: Making excuses for dictators is nothing new: "Mr. Republican" and the Nazis

https://www.salon.com/2023/01/07/making-excuses-for-dictators-is-nothing-new-mr-republican-and-the-nazis/
(via Digsby: https://digbysblog.net/2023/01/07/the-american-nazi-history/)

Readers may be familiar with Rachel Maddow's explosive new podcast, "Ultra." It tells the incredible story of a German spy who infiltrated Congress in 1940-41, inducing two dozen congressmen and senators to spread Nazi propaganda in floor speeches, op-ed columns and constituent mailings. Simultaneously, armed extremist groups began training for a violent takeover of the country. In many ways, the eight-decades-old story is a disturbing forerunner of the Trump era.

Contrary to our nostalgic memories of unity, America was deeply divided over the war in Europe, military aid to Britain, and whether fascism was the wave of the future that we might as well submit to. While political division on the eve of entry into the war was not uniformly partisan (some prominent Democrats supported isolationism), the GOP was by far the party that stood for America First and strict noninvolvement in foreign conflict.

That members of Congress would willingly become conduits for Nazi propaganda shows that for some, sincere concern to stay out of war was not their only motivation. There was surprisingly strong domestic sympathy for Hitler and the fascist powers. Those who actively worked for Germany crossed the line into subversion and treason, but even mainstream proponents of isolationism showed a tolerant understanding for fascism that, decades later, seems either shockingly naïve or disgracefully callous.

It is easy enough to write off Father Coughlin or Charles Lindbergh for their overt antisemitism and admiration of totalitarian regimes. But there is one America Firster who to this day is almost universally celebrated by the GOP as a statesman exemplifying pure, principled conservatism: three-time aspirant for the Republican presidential nomination, Sen. Robert A. Taft. He was such a pillar of the GOP that he was dubbed Mr. Republican.

January 4, 2023

Secret Commandos with Shoot-to-Kill Authority Were at the Capitol

Source: Newsweek

On Sunday, January 3, the heads of a half-dozen elite government special operations teams met in Quantico, Virginia, to go over potential threats, contingencies, and plans for the upcoming Joint Session of Congress. The meeting, and the subsequent deployment of these shadowy commandos on January 6, has never before been revealed.

Right after the New Year, Jeffrey A. Rosen, the acting Attorney General on January 6, approved implementation of long-standing contingency plans dealing with the most extreme possibilities: an attack on President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence, a terrorist attack involving a weapon of mass destruction, and a declaration of measures to implement continuity of government, requiring protection and movement of presidential successors.

...

On the morning of January 6, most of these forces staged closer to downtown Washington, particularly after intelligence was received indicating a possible threat to FBI headquarters building or the FBI's Washington Field Office. FBI tactical teams arrived on Capitol Hill early in the day to assist in the collection of evidence at sites—including the Republican and Democratic party national headquarters—where explosive devices were found. FBI SWAT teams and snipers were deployed to secure nearby congressional office buildings. Other FBI agents provided selective security around the U.S. Capitol and protection to congressional members and staff.

The presence of these extraordinary forces under the control of the Attorney General—and mostly operating under contingency plans that Congress and the U.S. Capitol Police were not privy to—added an additional layer of highly armed responders. The role that the military played in this highly classified operation is still unknown, though FBI sources tell Newsweek that military operators seconded to the FBI, and those on alert as part of the National Mission Force, were present in the metropolitan area. The lingering question is: What was it that the Justice Department saw that provoked it to see January 6 as an extraordinary event, something that the other agencies evidently missed.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-secret-commandos-shoot-kill-authority-were-capitol-1661330

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Hometown: Green Mountains
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Member since: Tue Feb 5, 2013, 04:27 PM
Number of posts: 15,241