The Situation in the Ukraine. #24

JohninMK wrote:

auslander wrote:I will be 70 in a few months. I, like you, fully understand that as we age time seems to accelerate exponentially. I'm sitting here trying to understand where March went and why I did not accomplish all I wanted to do in that month.

I am, due to aging however gracefully or not so gracefully, much more patient and understanding than I was a decade ago. My wife actually had the nerve to tell someone at Battery that I was 'kind and thoughtful'. I fully intend to enjoy the next two decades of life, that's if genetics hold true for my lineage.

Ageing gracefully is what you are doing now. After 70 you are allowed, possibly for the first time since you were 5 or 6, to actually say what you think because you realise that it really doesn't matter.

Like you I have become kind and thoughtful, so they say. To my mind its the wisdom of age. Mind you, few tap into that wisdom.

franco wrote:

JohninMK wrote:

auslander wrote:I will be 70 in a few months. I, like you, fully understand that as we age time seems to accelerate exponentially. I'm sitting here trying to understand where March went and why I did not accomplish all I wanted to do in that month.

I am, due to aging however gracefully or not so gracefully, much more patient and understanding than I was a decade ago. My wife actually had the nerve to tell someone at Battery that I was 'kind and thoughtful'. I fully intend to enjoy the next two decades of life, that's if genetics hold true for my lineage.

Ageing gracefully is what you are doing now. After 70 you are allowed, possibly for the first time since you were 5 or 6, to actually say what you think because you realise that it really doesn't matter.

Like you I have become kind and thoughtful, so they say. To my mind its the wisdom of age. Mind you, few tap into that wisdom.

So you two old farts are telling me that my bitching about turning 60 in a couple of weeks is...well... childish

auslander wrote:

franco wrote:

JohninMK wrote:

auslander wrote:I will be 70 in a few months. I, like you, fully understand that as we age time seems to accelerate exponentially. I'm sitting here trying to understand where March went and why I did not accomplish all I wanted to do in that month.

I am, due to aging however gracefully or not so gracefully, much more patient and understanding than I was a decade ago. My wife actually had the nerve to tell someone at Battery that I was 'kind and thoughtful'. I fully intend to enjoy the next two decades of life, that's if genetics hold true for my lineage.

Ageing gracefully is what you are doing now. After 70 you are allowed, possibly for the first time since you were 5 or 6, to actually say what you think because you realise that it really doesn't matter.

Like you I have become kind and thoughtful, so they say. To my mind its the wisdom of age. Mind you, few tap into that wisdom.

So you two old farts are telling me that my bitching about turning 60 in a couple of weeks is...well... childish

You are a youngster. 60 again? I wish! I will never stop working, my normal day is fourteen hours at one task or another. The pisser is you slow down somewhat. On the other hand being this age does make for some interesting home life. Every few weeks I'll set up my charming bride for the fall. She'll walk in the room and I've rearranged the furniture just enough to make her think perhaps her memory is failing her or I'll give her the blank stare and ask her who she is. I'm not dumb enough to do either without a well planned exit route which should not involve passing her. She'll look at me with a bit of surprise but it only takes about five seconds for those pretty Turkoman eyes to get real small......

Sepheronx, if you ever hold the door for this grandpa and your nostrils will be braided to your toes and you will have a whole new understanding of time in relation to pain. I may be old but I have a good memory and have not forgotten what I learned over the years.

Good night, gentlemen, and thanks for the laughs. You're a good bunch.

Militarov wrote:I feel like i am working at geriatric department... Paps if you need some medical advices i have doctor in house lol

sepheronx wrote:

auslander wrote:

franco wrote:

JohninMK wrote:

auslander wrote:I will be 70 in a few months. I, like you, fully understand that as we age time seems to accelerate exponentially. I'm sitting here trying to understand where March went and why I did not accomplish all I wanted to do in that month.

I am, due to aging however gracefully or not so gracefully, much more patient and understanding than I was a decade ago. My wife actually had the nerve to tell someone at Battery that I was 'kind and thoughtful'. I fully intend to enjoy the next two decades of life, that's if genetics hold true for my lineage.

Ageing gracefully is what you are doing now. After 70 you are allowed, possibly for the first time since you were 5 or 6, to actually say what you think because you realise that it really doesn't matter.

Like you I have become kind and thoughtful, so they say. To my mind its the wisdom of age. Mind you, few tap into that wisdom.

So you two old farts are telling me that my bitching about turning 60 in a couple of weeks is...well... childish

You are a youngster. 60 again? I wish! I will never stop working, my normal day is fourteen hours at one task or another. The pisser is you slow down somewhat. On the other hand being this age does make for some interesting home life. Every few weeks I'll set up my charming bride for the fall. She'll walk in the room and I've rearranged the furniture just enough to make her think perhaps her memory is failing her or I'll give her the blank stare and ask her who she is. I'm not dumb enough to do either without a well planned exit route which should not involve passing her. She'll look at me with a bit of surprise but it only takes about five seconds for those pretty Turkoman eyes to get real small......

Sepheronx, if you ever hold the door for this grandpa and your nostrils will be braided to your toes and you will have a whole new understanding of time in relation to pain. I may be old but I have a good memory and have not forgotten what I learned over the years.

Good night, gentlemen, and thanks for the laughs. You're a good bunch.

Alright Grandpa.  Don't forget to take your meds too.  We don't want to remind you were you currently are and what your name is

Militarov wrote:I feel like i am working at geriatric department... Paps if you need some medical advices i have doctor in house lol

Dear god, and here I was kinda panicking about my mortality after my cousin passed away.

I think these are some of the coolest old guys I have had the pleasure to talking to.

GarryB wrote:

Cool is our middle name

You mean check for a pulse cool?    

Rodinazombie wrote:https://www.rt.com/news/338694-dutch-referendum-ukraine-eu/

61% of dutch voters voted NO to the eu-ukraine association agreement being ratified.

I have no doubt that the eu elites will just ignore this and plough on regardless and ignore democracy as usual,but it shows what the ordinary people at least in holland think of the eu and ukraine.

JohninMK wrote:Looks like 5000 Russian soldiers have returned home from DNR/LPR.    From Interfax

Some 5,000 Russian servicemen are staying in the occupied part of Donbas and about 50,000 in Crimea, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said.

"If you publicly support the conduct of the elections, then what 5,000 of your military men are doing on my territory in the occupied Donbas and 50,000 of your servicemen in Crimea? It is illegal, it is the violation of international law?" the president said at the National Press Club of Japan in Tokyo on Wednesday, answering a question of a Russian journalist about the elections in Donbas.

Khepesh wrote:Simply a raccoon...

I'm certain that I have written several times that the danger is that ukrops can launch an attack from a standing start with no or only minimal extra preparation. They also have the advantage that they know they are not going to be attacked, and so they can dictate when and where military action takes place. There is an analogy with the assault on Golan Hights in October 1973. In this analogy Donbass is Israel and Ukraine is Syria. I quote directly from the book "Arabs at War" by Kenneth Pollack, and where he describes the Syrian preparations for the assault.

"Their units also began practising the sudden conduct of offensive operations from a standing start so they could launch their attack with minimal preparations that could otherwise tip off the Israelis. Like the Egyptians, the Syrians also began conducting frequent maneuvers and large-scale exercises to desensitize the Iraelis to their preparations for war. In addition, they conducted a careful reconnaissance and intelligence gathering campaign to determine Israel's order of battle, the layout of it's Golan fortifications, the road network, and Israeli command and control on the plateau."

A further analogy is that while, to an extent, behind Syria was Soviet Union, so behind Ukraine is USA. But just as Syria, Ukraine is an unruly client and the complaint back in the days from Moscow that the Syrians take anything except advice, can be directly transfered to the relationship between Kiev and Washington. The begging hand held out, but they want to control how the toys are used.

History never exactly repeats itself, intelligence gathering and other surveillance has greatly improved since 1973, but basics remain, and if a plan worked before, and in it's initial stages the Syrian offensive was successful, then it can be tried again, with modifications. Pollack was a military analyst at CIA and I am sure that the expertise of men like him, if not himself, will be put to use. But anybody can read his book, anybody can work out what Kiev may be doing without even reading his book, so we know, unlike in 1973, that this type of surprise is possible. So we expect it, but plan for the unexpected. Bluff, double bluff, counter double double bluff, known unknowns, unknown unknowns......

JohninMK wrote:

JohninMK wrote:Looks like 5000 Russian soldiers have returned home from DNR/LPR.    From Interfax

Some 5,000 Russian servicemen are staying in the occupied part of Donbas and about 50,000 in Crimea, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said.

"If you publicly support the conduct of the elections, then what 5,000 of your military men are doing on my territory in the occupied Donbas and 50,000 of your servicemen in Crimea? It is illegal, it is the violation of international law?" the president said at the National Press Club of Japan in Tokyo on Wednesday, answering a question of a Russian journalist about the elections in Donbas.

Update, looks like 1000 have returned (from Fox news via Fortrus)


"The exact figures are provided by scouting and are confirmed by satellite imagery and drones at the intelligence level. We know now there are 6,000 regular troops just in the occupied territory in the east of my country. Plus more than 15,000 troops in Crimea, plus 40,000 fighters led by commanders among the numerous Russian regular troops. So, this is a huge contingent, whose numbers exceeds the numbers of the armies of many European States," said Poroshenko.

On this basis, the President believes that Europe should be thinking about what if the contingent enters their territory; according to Poroshenko, such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

"We need to develop a new script that would create well-coordinated pressure on Russia to force it to sit at the negotiating table and to stop its aggression", said the head of state.

sepheronx wrote:Isn't NAF larger than 40,000?  I thought there was more mobilization?

Khepesh wrote:Another train load of equipment heading down to Crimea. Various stuff with Rapira and T-72B. That they now have Bulat and T-72B deployed somewhere close to the border at Perekop is interesting as it shows they may be thinking seriously in terms of defending there.

Khepesh wrote:Another train load of equipment heading down to Crimea. Various stuff with Rapira and T-72B. That they now have Bulat and T-72B deployed somewhere close to the border at Perekop is interesting as it shows they may be thinking seriously in terms of defending there.