Russia Invades Ukraine

[Foggy]

The troops in the Kherson region are now in serious trouble, yesno?

It seems they are going to have to fight with no ammunition, no food, no resupply of military equipment like tanks and artillery ... it's going to be extremely dangerous to extract a fighting force out of the area, is how it appears.

But students of Frank Herbert know that the survivors are likely to be the best, most resourceful, and of course, most violent and dangerous soldiers anywhere. When the environment is basically unsurvivable, only the meanest and toughest survive, and then that group becomes wildly powerful.

So I suspect we're going to see some really bad Earthlings coming out of the struggle for Ukraine.

[Slim Cognito]

Life imitates Escape From New York.

[Chilidog]

Reports are that it was a truck loaded with irony meters. on the auto portion of the bridge.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that "the reaction of the Kyiv regime to the destruction of civilian infrastructure testifies to its terrorist nature."

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/10/08/euro ... index.html

[RVInit]

[Volkonski]

[Volkonski]

[Suranis]

They can still cross the Strait via ferry, or swimming, therefore its not an infringement of the right to travel as such.

[Volkonski]

[Volkonski]

[Volkonski]

[Ben-Prime]

I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that a nation-state whose primary defense against invaders has long been personified as "General Winter", reflecting how tough it is to get men and supplies into Russia through the harsh winter season, is suddenly saying "But, but, but .... our supply and troop transport line!"

Shocked like Captain Louis Renault, only without winnings, except, you know, whatever the Ukrainian word for schadenfreude is.

[pipistrelle]

This hasn't gone according to the planned conquest in under a week, back in late winter.

[Chilidog]

They can still cross the Strait via ferry, or swimming, therefore its not an infringement of the right to travel as such.

Too bad there are no crocodiles.

[Volkonski]

[Ben-Prime]

They can still cross the Strait via ferry, or swimming, therefore its not an infringement of the right to travel as such.

Too bad there are no crocodiles.

The Florida National Guard's CinC is still Ron DeSantis, so would probably drag heels, but I'm sure the Louisiana National Guard under John Bel Edwards could part with a few rapid deployment tactical gators.

[RVInit]

[Gregg]

Anyone of a certain age and heritage who sees that photo has to think "Chessie Cat"

[pipistrelle]

Oh lawd. A high school acquaintance with a doctorate in education is ranting about how Ukraine needs to negotiate with Russia and Zelensky is a clown and a warmonger. I can't.

Edit: I am not surprised the same people who were epidemiology and medical experts during COVID-19 and vaccine introduction are now military and international relations experts.

[much ado]

Anyone of a certain age and heritage who sees that photo has to think "Chessie Cat"

Yes, I do remember Chessie. When I was probably 5 years old or so, my older brother carried me down to the junction where the B&O line crossed the Pennsy line to see the B&O steam locomotive up close. Pennsy had the right of way, so the B&O trains had to wait where the tracks crossed for any Pennsy trains to clear. There was a wooden gate across the B&O tracks that had to be opened by hand. They were still hauling coal by steam in SE Ohio then. Last steam train was in 1956. I remember the Chessie logo on some of the cars.

Thanks for reminding me.

ETA:

[keith]

I remember seeing that logo and seeing it as a stylised Chesepeake Bay. Always. I never saw it as a cat. Never.

Now I can't unsee it.

[Kriselda Gray]

I remember seeing that logo and seeing it as a stylised Chesepeake Bay. Always. I never saw it as a cat. Never.

Now I can't unsee it.

Maybe it's supposed to be both - stylizing the Chesapeake Bay in a way to resemble a cat?

[Volkonski]

[Volkonski]

[bill_g]

All I want for Christmas is a new bridge.

[RTH10260]

Discussion on the suggested "truck bomb"

I just have seen an report of a vlogger who analyzed the available cctv footage frame by frame. He claims this was not a truck bomb.

IMHO I have to agree on two things he did not mention: (1) Ukranians have not been known to perform suicide missions. (2) no footage ever showed a extended roundish burnt area on the surface of the damaged causeway.

The anaylsis starts by pointing out that two different sections of the bridge collapsed. That could hardly happen by a single point explosion. His analysis of the last few frames before the lightball showed at one of the pillars of the bridge a faint shadow moving in. He proposes as the cause of the explosion a Ukrainian remote controlled / robot controlled torpedo / minisubmarine (I have seen images of such a thing washed up on a Crimea beach). He proposes that there was a simultanious second explosion at a second pillon of similar origin.

ETA

What speaks against a truck bomb is the fact that a clandestine group would have to be operating within Russia to amass the amount of explosives. They would have to steal from Russian ammunition depots. One cannot just go around and collect discarded life explosives even in war time. Even the Russian army might notice missing stock. The transport would have likely needed to be a military vehicle to pass thru checkpoints, possible showing well done fake papers.