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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:12:58 GMT -8
The three symptoms of laziness
#1
I Recently Compared Kherson to Stalingrad in WWII.
Hitler refused to let his general retreat to save his army. Today this is being reported:
Russian President Vladimir Putin is loath to give up the city of Kherson, and his reluctance to order a withdrawal defies military logic and could lead to the loss of many of Russia’s best troops..
Kherson was the first and only Ukrainian provincial capital to be taken by Russian forces. The city fell on March 2 just over a week after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
For several months, Ukraine has been using HIMARS missiles and other long-range weaponry to degrade Russian forces in the Kherson region. The attacks have taken out bridges, command and control centers, ammo dumps and troop concentrations.
And now as Ukraine mounts its long-awaited counteroffensive, Russian forces are being pushed into an untenable position with their backs to the Dnipro River. With the bridges over the Dnipro heavily damaged, Russia is having difficulty resupplying its troops in Kherson.
Military experts interviewed by Igor Kossov of the Kyiv Independent say the logical strategic move would be for Russian forces to withdraw from Kherson city and set up a new defensive line on the eastern side of the Dnipro.
But Putin has said “nyet” to any strategic retreat.
The Kyiv Independent wrote that abandoning Kherson city would be “humiliating” for Putin because “withdrawing from the city that the Kremlin has just proclaimed Russian would undermine the whole annexation effort.”
Here’s what some military analysts told the Kyiv Independent:
“If they were smart, they’d pull back to the east bank of the Dnipro,” said Phillips O’Brien, a professor of strategic studies at St. Andrew’s University in the U.K. “They’re stuck on the west bank, they’re having real trouble getting supplies across. So they’re trying to maintain a modern army with very weak supply lines.”
“It’s a turkey shoot of the Russians,” he added.
The Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), an independent investigative project that originated in Russia, told the Kyiv Independent that trying to hold Kherson would be a major drain on Russian resources. It also ties up some of Russia’s best soldiers at a time when they are desperately needed elsewhere, for example in Luhansk Oblast where Ukrainian forces are advancing.
In a strategic masterstroke, Ukraine convinced Russia that its main counteroffensive would be launched in the southern Kherson region. As a result, Russia rushed elite airborne divisions and fresh soldiers from the Eastern Military district to Kherson, according to the CIT.
Instead, Ukraine successfully struck in the northern Kharkiv region where defenses were weaker, while waging a war of attrition in the Kherson area.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:17:06 GMT -8
Hold the Line!!! ... What Line?There are reports that the Russian line in Kherson has collapsed. Again.  After three days of consistent and highly disciplined running away in a panic, Russian commanders were able to put the brakes in place better than 30km away from where the front line was last Saturday. Anchoring the left with a pair of “fortress towns” at Bruskynske and Ishchenka, and the right with Mylove, which is well positioned across a bridge that is almost certainly down, Russia created a new defensive line that was supposed to prevent any further approach to Berislav and that mostly-busted bridge at Nova Kakhovka. However, late in the day on Wednesday, there were reports that the western end of this line was having trouble, with Ukraine both pushing around the end of the line and liberating a string of villages east of Ishchenka. Then, on Thursday, came the word that the middle of the line had started to buckle, with Russian forces dropping back several kilometers. Finally, reports that the eastern end at Mylove — in spite of a pair of downed bridges along the route from Dudchany — had broken completely with Russian forces in flight down the highway to Berislav. Here's What Russian "Strategic Realignment" Looks Like
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:22:26 GMT -8
The Middle East is Such a Complex Mess.
Palestinian police have arrested a suspect in the killing of a 25-year-old man after his body was found decapitated in the occupied West Bank.
LGBTQ groups in Israel, where Ahmad Abu Marhia was seeking asylum, say he had received threats because he was gay.
LGBTQ groups say he had spent two years in Israel waiting on an asylum claim to flee abroad after receiving death threats from within his community.
Homosexuality is rejected within the most socially and religiously conservative parts of both Palestinian and Israeli societies. The reports suggest he had fled his home on a humanitarian permit while hoping to go to Canada.
Activist Natali Farah told Israel's Haaretz newspaper Mr Abu Marhia was well known and liked and the whole LGBTQ community was "crying now".
Palestinians also expressed revulsion at the beheading.
A presenter for Karama radio station, quoted by the Times of Israel, said the crime had "crossed every single red line in our society, whether in terms of morals, customs, or basic humanity".
Some 90 Palestinians who identify as LGBT currently live as asylum seekers in Israel, the newspaper said, after suffering discrimination in their home communities. They have only been allowed to seek work in Israel since July.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:24:10 GMT -8
Apparently Severe Beatings Can Cause Ill Health
The mother of a teenage girl who died during protests in Iran has accused authorities of murdering her daughter.
In a video sent to US-funded Radio Farda, Nasrin Shakarami said she had seen injuries on her daughter's body which contradict an official statement.
Authorities say Nika Shakarami, 16, appears to have been thrown from a building, possibly by workmen.
Meanwhile, an official forensic report has said a woman whose death sparked the protests died from ill health.
The family of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, say she died as a result of being beaten by morality police.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:26:13 GMT -8
This Seems Mostly Symbolic
Barnard College will give students access to abortion pills next year, officials at the private women’s college in New York City announced Thursday.
The move is a direct response to the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion — a momentous break that left states to determine their own stance and prompted more than a dozen states to ban the procedure completely.
The decision to offer abortion pills on campus was made “in the event that there is a barrier to access in the future, for any reason," Barnard Dean Leslie Grinage and Chief Health Officer Dr. Marina Catallozzi said in a statement, adding campus providers will be "prepared and trained in the provision of medication abortion by Fall 2023."
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:32:19 GMT -8
Is Dianne Feinstein High???
President Joe Biden’s stunning announcement Thursday that he would pardon marijuana offenders and that his administration would reform federal law comes after decades of inaction by Congress despite growing popular support for cannabis legalization.
The House of Representatives earlier this year passed a bill to legalize marijuana but the measure stalled in the Senate amid opposition from Republicans and even some Democrats, such as Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.).
The federal Controlled Substances Act since the 1970s has put “marihuana” in the same category as the most dangerous drugs, ones that the government considers ripe for abuse with no possible medicinal use.
Congress could have amended the law but didn’t bother, even as cannabis has become widely used for treating pain, nausea and other health issues.
The president can’t unilaterally change the Controlled Substances Act. Still, the law allows the administration to change marijuana’s status through a formal rule-making process with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice. On Thursday, Biden said he would ask HHS secretary Xavier Becerra and Attorney General Merrick Garland to initiate that process.
Public opinion on whether marijuana should be legal has dramatically changed over time. In 1980, two-thirds of voters opposed legal pot, but by 2019 two-thirds supported it.
A Pew Research Center survey from April 2021 found only a microscopic number of Americans ― just 8% ― thought marijuana should be illegal in all circumstances. A full three-fifths of Americans thought it should be legal for medical and recreational use, with 31% supporting it being legal only for medical purposes.
Support was high across demographic groups, though Asian Americans, older Americans and conservative Republicans were less likely to support full legalization. Just 32% of Americans over age 75 ― the age group Biden himself falls in – support legal recreational marijuana, compared to 70% of Americans aged 18-29.
Biden Can Only Pardon the 6,500 Federal Convicted. 659,700 Were Convicted by the States, Just in 2017. 91% of All Arrests are for Possession. They Don't Get Pardoned.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:35:47 GMT -8
If You Hear a Lot of Republicans Having Orgasms, Here's Why
Federal investigators are confident they have enough evidence to bring criminal charges against Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, according to multiple reports.
The decision, which reportedly is still pending, will ultimately be made by David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who is overseeing the case. He was appointed to the post by former President Donald Trump.
Hunter Biden, who has been under investigation since 2018, could face charges for committing tax crimes and making a false statement while buying a gun, according to The Washington Post.
Justice Department prosecutors are deliberating whether the evidence garnered is enough to result in a conviction for Biden if they went to trial, the newspaper reported.
The probe initially focused on Biden’s overseas business dealings but later expanded to look into whether he engaged in tax evasion and whether he made false statements in documents required to buy a firearm in 2018, sources told the Post. Biden reportedly answered “no” to a question inquiring about his use of controlled substances, even though he has since admitted he was using drugs during that year.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:37:44 GMT -8
It Ain't Me, Babe
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:41:13 GMT -8
Do Russian Generals Think Destroying Apartment Buildings Degrades Ukraine's War Ability?
The death toll from a Russian missile attack on apartment blocks in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia rose to 11 on Friday as the city was hit again by missiles and — for the first time — by explosive packed drones.
With its army suffering a series of stinging battlefield defeats in recent weeks, Russia has been deploying Iranian-made drones to attack Ukrainian targets. The unmanned, disposable “kamikaze drones” are cheaper and less sophisticated than missiles but have proved effective at causing damage to targets on the ground.
The Emergency Services of Ukraine said the toll of Russian S-300 missile strikes on the city a day earlier rose to 11 and a further 21 people were rescued from the rubble of destroyed apartments.
Meanwhile Ukraine Destroys Weapons Depots and Bridges
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:46:00 GMT -8
Twitter Isn't Musked Up Yet
If the squabbling ever stops over Elon Musk's renewed bid to buy Twitter, experts say he still faces a huge obstacle to closing the $44 billion deal: Keeping his financing in place.
Earlier this week, Musk reversed course and said he'd go through with acquiring the social media company under the same terms he agreed to in April. But after months of tweetstorms and legal barbs, there are scars and suspicions on both sides.
Experts say that behind the scenes, banks could be scrambling to find buyers for $12.5 billion in debt from the deal, and Musk is trying to hold together a group of equity investors that is pitching in billions more. The erratic billionaire is on the hook for the rest.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:47:22 GMT -8
Of Course He Has More Squirreled Away
Whether Trump is still holding classified documents is the subject of a report from The New York Times. Top officials from the Justice Department have spoken to Trump’s attorneys and made it clear they don’t think he has returned everything he is holding. While it’s difficult to tell what documents Trump may have, what’s obvious is that he’s refusing to cooperate.
Jay Bratt, chief of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section at the Department of Justice, spoke to Trump’s attorneys over recent weeks to tell them that they believe Trump is still holding classified documents. Trump’s attorneys reportedly split on a response, with one group suggesting that an outside party be brought in to conduct a new search and another group just insisting on a blank refusal to talk. Refusal seems to be the winner.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:52:03 GMT -8
He Doesn't Have to Lose a Lot of Votes
“I just can’t do it,” said Vince Jantz, an east Cobb County resident who recently told Republican volunteers at his doorstep he planned to vote for every GOP candidate on the ballot except Walker. “Everything that’s been reported about him concerns me.”
There is anecdotal evidence that trend is intensifying. Martha Zoller, a conservative commentator and a Gainesville-based radio host, said she’s received many calls from Republicans with concerns about Walker.
“They don’t know if they can believe him or the allegations,” Zoller said. “I still believe that ultimately people are going to vote based on their pocketbook. And I think that means this is likely to go into a runoff.”
Warnock Was Ahead Before the Abortion Story
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 8:54:31 GMT -8
HIMARS Is Not a Greeting To the Red Planet
According to a conversation said to be between Russian soldiers intercepted by the SBU, Ukraine’s domestic security service, the use of U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) has been as devastating in the south as it has been elsewhere along the frontline. One Russian soldier is allegedly recorded saying, “Here the legs are shaking. [The HIMARS] hits, the earth is shaking. Here, ours are all trembling.”
In another intercept, a Russian soldier calls his father back home encouraging him to avoid mobilization. Eight of his comrades, the soldier says, recently left a hospital in Kherson without arms and legs. And Ukrainian advances on the west bank of the Dnipro have now brought the majority of the Kherson Oblast within range of Ukraine’s supremely accurate Western-supplied artillery, giving them a host of new Russian targets to destroy.
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 9:00:44 GMT -8
I Don't Think the Russian Army Has Soldiers to Spare to Guard Arizona's Border
Katie Hobbs (D) shot back at Lake:
"If Kari Lake can’t identify a uniformed member of the Arizona National Guard from a Russian soldier, she has no business leading our brave men and women as governor."
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Post by mhbruin on Oct 7, 2022 9:25:49 GMT -8
Russian Soldiers Sleeping in Pigsties
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