Jump to content

Gravy Train

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    1070
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Gravy Train

  1. ...so like 22 routers and a couple Nexus switches? 😆 Good job, Russia, now you all get to deploy Huawei or some bootleg Sonicwall or whatever remains on the black market with unknown firmwares.
  2. Seems like the ideal warhead type to counter embedded trenches but that also implies a healthy air fleet to deliver such munitions.
  3. Apparently people hate their experiences at dealerships so much that they don't want to deal with the hassle of returning every 2-3 years for a lease schedule, which snarls the used car market. Since January 2020, around the time dealerships started playing shell games with dwindling inventory, lease originations have dropped 40% and aren't coming back. Of course, their buying power has dramatically decreased over that same short period, with rising vehicle prices and finance rates, which might never be reversed. https://jalopnik.com/people-aren-t-leasing-cars-and-it-s-killing-the-used-m-1850018655
  4. Harkening to the very title of this thread, we learn Russia's petty bitchassedness went so far as to torture Ukrainian PoWs captured from Snake Island, desperately searching for the warfighter who told the Moskva to go fuck themselves.
  5. There used to be an Austin area ticket broker who posted on TOS, don't know if he made it over here. Austin, Dallas, Houston, doesn't matter... If you know one or someone posts here, shoot me a PM, I'm looking into a couple events coming up.
  6. They're becoming too busy-looking for me. Mercedes are on a whole other level of busy gimmicky interiors but BMW is starting to throw more textures and random polyagonal shapes in than Lexus ever had.
  7. Passing by the shopping cart full of Russian Standard Vodka marked down for 50% within the entry of my local Spec's has been awkward. Shit's been there for months.
  8. Sounds like you also need an effective CTO or VP of Technology, if you wanna shoot me a PM
  9. I thought they're basic pre-programmed, GLONASS-guided drones that aren't very precise with course-correction or final approaches. Many of their cheaper cruise missiles work the same but add heat signature logic into guidance, which is why they've been so prolific with power infrastructure and civilian residences.
  10. Thanks, he's unsure how often he can get away but that most of his client-development opportunities are in Texas, and there's a chance he's visiting Austin over this current trip. Crowdsourcing scarce medical supplies or Starlink terminals seems high on the priority list still.
  11. I nearly forgot about an important impression Kostiantyn noted in our dialogue last night-- that most Ukrainians who fled Europe for safety at the start of the war share the desire to return, rebuild and settle as quickly as peace is restored. Many of his software engineers relocated to Romania temporarily, which seemed like an easier route to exit the country in the early days of conflict, but none have the desire to permanently settle there. We share confidence that the rebuilding effort will be epic and that this fight for their independence will permanently reduce the liklihood of corrpution returning to local offices, that they all realize how poorly prepared they were in 2014, and it's served as a lesson for their culture.
  12. Fortunately, I believe Congress has enough intel where our support will remain bipartisan, even if consituents from one party feel disillusioned over it. Like most things, the White House and our Press could do a far better job underscoring our need to support our allies and stability in Europe. I want to say the messaging could be better, but most of the opposition has failed to pick up a book or doesn't realize they're regugitating Russian-spiced agendas.
  13. They love our support and our way of life, but are taken aback by our internal political struggles and social issues which bubble up in the press. He says that Ukrainians share an American ethos in that the people of a nation can put their differences aside to fight for their independence. He starkly stated that's the difference between Ukraine/U.S. vs Russia- that Ukrainians (or Americans) would fight for their nation, where Russian's cause is to fight for their president. Pretty sure any American who visits Ukraine right now is treated as royalty, and he wants me to come over and visit as soon as I'm ready. He flashed me a smile with confidence that I'd be safer in Lviv than The Bronx right now and that he lives a normal way of life, enjoys stable electricity and uses Starlink Internet. I forgot to mention, he's a couple years younger than me (guessing around 42) and does have a military 'slip,' issued by the government, whereby it's possible he could be called up for duty. This hasn't happened though, as he doesn't have prior military service and his specialty is in IT, not in any fabrication or military hardware skill. He said he's had colleagues who were once IoT engineers and are now providing service to the military by modifying civilian drones, so now I know how one of the radio contacts was hijacked to serve as a grenade-drop mechanism. His travel to Dallas started by way of car to the Polish border checkpoint, where he has to declare what he's taking, what he's returning with, and when he's coming back. Says their border guards are really picky over that kind of stuff as they're hesitant to let any able-bodied man leave the country. He then flew from Warsaw to DFW via Atlanta. In order to return to Ukraine in good-standing with his military slip, he has to bring back an item or donation of high value to the country. He was last over here in December, when he returned with a Starlink terminal to donate. This time, he's bringing a $2700 Butterfly mobile ultrasound device to donate for the front lines.
  14. Okay, back home and can try to gather thoughts on my conversation over dinner: Zelenskyy was over his head when he first received Western intelligence on Russia's invasion plans. I can understand how improbable it seemed to him at the time, but the perspective is he had warning and overlooked the threat for almost a year leading up to the Feb 24 strike. Poroshenko knew military conflict was inevitible and tried to coach on Russia's buildup as Zelenskyy took office Yanukovich really set them back as a prospering nation attempting to disassociate from Russia The average Ukrainian trusts nothing communicated from Russian sources-- it's usually false there's always an agenda behind a message The average Ukrainian knows about the human atrocities taking place in the East, regardless of where they reside The average Ukrainian also gives no fucks about changing their way of life with conflict raging around them-- there's a sort of bravado about standing their ground, and there's a quote from an old woman on national news who once stated, "we lost our roof, our running water, our gas, our electricity, but we have freedom" The average Ukranian knows Russia is getting their shit pushed in on their territory and that they are running out of missles Russia will run out of money before running out of men, and that spells the real trouble within. Once the money dries up for military supply, for conscripts and for subsidies in the poorer oblasts, watch the discontept boil over So much of Russia's somewhat-modern military capability was borne of Ukrainian engineering and supply, including some of the Sarmat programs. My friend is involved with a Ukrainian Mil-Hacker group on Telegram. This is a pretty tight knit group of around 200 volunteers, most with advanced software and IT infrastructure backgrounds. Each day, the Telegram channel declares a 'challenge' on something related to the war, targeting Russia. Many are coordinated DDoS attacks on Russia telecom networks, some are hyperlocal and target their military comms. They're among the group responsible for halting Russian banks, breaking their postal and delivery services, and bringing down cellular networks Russian expats in Europe are grating. Most are still drinking the propaganda kool-aid and can be awful to deal with Germany does have a Russian problem- Ukrainians are disgusted with Scholz and understand enough Russians fled to Germany that they don't have a handle on everyone with a visa Poland is Ukraine's 'brother in arms,' and that anti-air coverage in Lviv is largely augmented by Polish missle systems He believes internal political parity exists to counter Putin but none united and loud enough to overcome their state propaganda. Ukrainians don't give any credit to Navalny, after his statements on Crimea (that Ukraine had little position over it any longer). In Ukraine, Sergei Furgal's efforts are more admirable for his membership in the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and leading anti-establishment opposition in the far east. Unfortunately, his influence isn't going to be noticed in the west aside from means to send him to trial in Moscow and lock him up, in which he's serving 22 years for a sham trial on a double-murder accusation. Igor Girkin gets a free pass to talk shit about the MoD as he still carries FSB credibility China is already bending Russia over in Siberia-- since 2019, there's a Chinese shadow logging industry operating mills in the region and and transporting lumber down the Trans-Siberian, but few are seeing any economic benefit from their rapid deforestation
  15. They legit used maps that were published prior to 1986 and had no idea of the containment area. I met my 'Ukrainian brother' tonight in Dallas, an old colleague I've kept up with on LinkedIn, who now is the CEO of a Ukraine based software development firm. He's in town to prospect clients, but as a condition of his exit, he must return with an article of significant aid to his country. I bought him a beef rib and beers from Terry Black's BBQ. We probably spent three hours catching up on life and the conflict he deals with on a daily basis. Fortunately, he and his family are safe in Lviv, but he did have to move from Kherson a year ago and his brother was left behind. I'm gonna forget all the talking points and perspectives and some may come back to me. I gotta check on some things at home before I post, and he's inspired me to make a visit soon. If I do, I'm best to smuggle in any high dollar medical equipment needed on the front lines.
  16. All twenty T-14 Armatas inbound to make for fun M-777 targets
  17. Same thread shows one of our RQ-4B Global Hawks spending its entire range encircling something from the Black Sea Fleet, while a report from the account states that 5 vessels from that fleet are carrying a total of 32 Kalibrs set to volley into Ukraine over the next 24-72 hours.
  18. We've all established the novel coronavirus originated from China, be it wet market or virology lab leak. Several other pandemics originated from China too, including variants of the avian flu and a swine flu with human pandemic potential. Like Covid-19, China's response should be enough for us to continue our decoupling posture from China. Their officials knew of the outbreak weeks prior, but travel associated with the Chinese New Year really kicked off its global spread. What's changed since?
  19. Interesting that with a population of just 490,000, Kaliningrad has already lost ~74,000 able-bodied men.
  20. Sir, this is the Ukraine thread. Therefore, сука блять, иди на хуй!
  21. Those hypothesis go way further than necessary. With accession into the EU, with border security, Ukraine is ripe to become the union's biggest trading partner. Economic development opportunities are incredible, from precision manufacturing, to shipbuilding, to petrochemical... and those are the trades they're already good at. I have an old Ukrainian software engineering contact who's since started his own firm. They are a bright, crafty bunch who just need security and an honest seat at the table.
×
×
  • Create New...