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SL Xpress

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Everything posted by SL Xpress

  1. Might be a big shipment of entrenching tools.
  2. The thing that is great about this thread is I can associate myself with abject stupidity regardless of the position I take. I appreciate the diversity of dumbness.
  3. Ummm, just to be clear....
  4. I feel a little like Mrs. Lincoln right now, instead of "how was the play?" it's: "Other than that Mr. SL Xpress, how was the regular season?" That's a great end for a great group of players who never let circumstances dictate their response. I love that they got that win and did it in such dominating fashion on senior night in front of a truly energized crowd. Good stuff.
  5. I know we've shit on the Germans for being so reluctant to support Ukraine, but they're really stepping up in major ways across the board. And not just with their own stuff. They've been pressuring others to step up their game, too. It doesn't erase the fact there's a large contingent of them who would love to go back to doing business in Russia, but as an American, before I get worked up about their speck, I should pay more attention to my log. 100 Marders is significantly more than 40. 50 Leopard 2 tanks is significantly more than 18 (and those 18 are supposed to be A46s). They've been putting all kinds of pressure on the Swiss to find work arounds for their commitment to neutrality. They've even put pressure on the Poles to send more Leopard 2s. You have the UK doubling their Challenger II contingent. The Strykers are on their way. Hopefully the 50 CV90s get there from the Swedes. Haven't heard much about their status, and they're supposed to be awesome. Ukraine doesn't get a whole lot of chances to do this counter attack right. But if they can make a big push it could dramatically change the narrative of the war, just like it did when they made their Kharkiv push, and then later took Kherson. It can't be imminent anyway, with all the mud. I'm hopeful. I want to hear about more armor heading in that direction, and more ammunition/shells.
  6. The losses started piling up when you stopped the post Beard count.
  7. I don't understand what you mean by private prison scams of the 80s and 90s. They're still very active as far as I know. To the tune of about 8% of the total prison population. My big problem with private prisons is that the justice system is one of those places you should never introduce a profit motive. It will inherently corrupt the justice system. By its nature. In about a dozen ways. It's a horrible idea. Might as well have private police forces and private firefighting. Which, of course, we do in places. There's no justice system that's going to be anywhere close to perfect. But it's a good idea to start by not purposefully destroying it from the inside. Which is what private prisons do. Public roads going to tollways is more a case of government bureaucracy at work and how we measure things. The federal government long ago, in a good intent way, began emphasizing various methods of getting the biggest bang for their federal buck. A part of that was to emphasize road projects that came up with more than the 10% from local entities that put them on the list. It was found that local entities could form a quasi government organization, the equivalent of a municipal utility district, sell bonds to finance the construction, use those bonds to up the ante from 10% to 20% or 30%, and then suddenly that project got bumped to the top of the federal list. And then the maintenance of those bonds are sold to a contractor who was able to profit off the difference collected versus what had to be applied to pay off the bond. Like many activities of government, there are all kinds of consequences. But the core value - stretch the impact of federal highway transportation dollars by encouraging local entities to put more skin in the game - wasn't evil, per se. But once a government program is funded, you're automatically going to create a group that benefits from that funding, and they're going to do their best to expand its use, as well as try to discover ways to exploit it. But that's true no matter who the beneficiary is. Then it becomes a matter of which beneficiaries do you identify with the most politically. I'll also say I'm not against the idea of paying for road use in high traffic areas at premium times - but only if the resulting revenue is used to support and subsidize a robust public transportation system. But I don't know of a case where that has happened specifically. Which makes no sense to me. Public transportation will never be revenue neutral, and it shouldn't be expected to. What better place to generate revenue to support it than high traffic areas at peak hours? On the Charter School discussion, one of my best friends taught at Austin Discovery School for years. This idea that all charter schools are profit centers is an extremely broad generalization. Doesn't mean it has no merit, but that's certainly not the case 100% of the time. That school for sure was no profit center. They barely kept the doors open. I'll also say our schools have fundamental issues that go far beyond the implementation of charter schools. If charter schools ceased to exist tomorrow we'd still be in serious trouble. The biggest problem with public schools in my opinion is that parents naturally want to give their child every advantage they can, and one of the biggest ways to do that is to make sure they're enrolled in the place that can provide the best education. Which is invariably a lot more expensive to attend than a public school available to other students. Then there's also the issue of how do you provide a better equality of opportunity when so much of a child's education is determined by their home environment. We're not taking children away from their parents en masse at birth to place them in government housing. But regardless, what we are doing right now cements and perpetuates those issues rather than addressing them. I also have a fundamental problem with how the school system incentivizes ambition. The most ambitious school teachers are always going to seek out administration jobs rather than stay in the classroom, because it's the only method to maximize their pay. If there was some kind of equitable way of rewarding the best teachers financially for staying in the classroom, I'd be all for it. But any measuring stick I come up with is fraught with its own issues. That doesn't mean something shouldn't be sought out, though. Trying to keep the best educators in the classroom would be a seismic shift in certain ways in terms of how we view public education in this country.
  8. I've never believed that a loss in Ukraine automatically means Putin is divested of power. What I do believe is that Putin will die someday, in some way. I do not believe we'll ever know for sure if Stalin died from some kind of poison, or it was natural causes which caused the hemorrhage of his brain. I do know that no one called for medical help until long after it could do some good. However Putin dies, I'm not going to care if it's from natural causes or not. I also don't know how much changes in Russia after Putin is gone. Probably not much, really. Maybe the next leader is even more ruthless. Stalin was certainly more ruthless than Lenin, and Lenin wasn't exactly a shrinking violet. Plenty of authoritarian regimes have pursued dictatorial rule over several transitions of power. I don't see Russia changing its character much outside of being conquered and a long occupation, and I don't foresee that happening in my lifetime. Or my children's lifetime. But this war is flat out dumb. If you're a leader who wants to restore the Soviet borders, invading Ukraine has set that dream back decades, if not longer. Russia needs to step back, regroup, try to emulate China under Deng, or Japan under the Meiji Restoration, or Germany under Hitler. Modernize their industrial base. Modernize their military. Somehow value competence over kleptocracy. But their fatalism runs really really deep in that society. There's such a collective "Fuck it. That's Russia. We'll always suffer," rather than a roll up your sleeves and make it better mentality there. I don't believe that gets changed. It's not that Russians aren't smart. Or hard working. But there's a cultural flaw there. The same cultural flaw that makes them bullies. Whatever this flaw is, it also makes them resilient, whether you're talking about Mongol hordes, Swedes invading, French invading, Germans invading, fighting Muslims from the Ottoman Empire, you name it. The big problem Russia has right now is that it doesn't actually value doing your job well. It values bullies. People who are gifted at taking advantage of others. People who are gifted at eliminating rivals. People who are gifted at surviving brutal daily get voted off the island type games over the course of their lifetime. Maybe the next leader changes that. But I don't actually believe that. But I do believe the next leader could withdraw from Ukraine, if only to lick their wounds and get ready for their next phase, whatever that looks like. I'm all for that.
  9. I'm just curious what an acceptable percentage is? "Let's kill 40% of them!" doesn't have the same ring to it, but for practical purposes, if that's what we're looking to adhere to, I think we could work with it.
  10. These fucktards couldn't get a revolution going on Gilligan's Island, much less Russia. These are exactly the kind of opponents Putin has done a great job of empowering over the course of his career, meanwhile poisoning, shooting, imprisoning, and exiling anyone who is a legitimate threat. They're buffoons. I hate it they're getting any oxygen whatsoever.
  11. There is not a society on this planet, either now, or at any point in human history or pre history, that welcomed all comers into its midst. We do not have the capacity to do this as a species. There will always be those who use actions such as what you're referencing to decry it and seek power based upon it. And history shows they eventually succeed in acquiring it. As a practical matter I'd shoot for incremental gains rather than wholesale changes that will simply result in a massive reaction that will have the opposite effect you're hoping to create. But who knows? Let's see someone get into power and enforce a massive increase in immigration, and see how it plays out. I'll also point out that Tunisia represents the most successful of all the Arab Spring states, and by most successful, I mean it's been a complete disaster. Kais Saied runs a democracy in name only. That said, at least they managed to field a functional democracy for a short period of time. They certainly did better than Syria, Egypt, or Libya, the other major western backed Arab Spring movements.
  12. Talking to him. Talking to other people who worked with him. I was always a bigger fan of Frank Haith and Rob Lanier. And Russell Springmann for that matter. As future head coaches. Just felt they provided a better presence as bench coaches. I thought Beard’s initial staff was a terrible bench coaching staff, for example. I was very pleased when Donewald was promoted for that reason. The position titles do make a difference. Anyway, neither Haith nor Lanier have gone on to be superstars or anything, but they’ve had successes. Terry has always been pretty much what I thought he’d be, including this year. He’s not precise enough. He’s not detailed oriented. He doesn’t understand how to be truly compelling. Nice guy. I’ve always been glad whenever we’ve had him on staff. Just not a great head coach.
  13. I only clicked on it because I like you. I have to google bariatric surgery, because I don't know what it is, but from the context of your first post I assume it has something to do with being fat. I don't know everything involved, but I do know I wish you all the success you deserve in your journey, and I hope all the struggles end up being fulfilling ones in whatever way they're meant to be. It sounds like a serious decision and commitment. A sincere good luck with everything from me.
  14. It's funny seeing the photo of those Leopard 1 tanks the Belgium businessman bought from his government and now the Belgium defense minister wants to buy them back for a discount rate. I wonder what's going on with that story? Man, the Swiss have not been making any friends on the ammo front. Brazil either. They have a ton of Gepard ammo that they're not releasing, along with some howitzer ammo. The real issue is they're a manufacturing center for a lot of it, and they're saying their neutrality rules prevent 3rd parties from selling military hardware that the Swiss have manufactured. Including ammo. There's some talk in the opposition party to change the rules so they can protect their defense industry, otherwise countries aren't going to purchase their ammo from them any more. I realize that's not the point of the article, but it reminded me of some of the issues with dealing with the Swiss. It's been amazing seeing them trying to contort themselves to remain factors in Europe while still trying to keep to their tradition of neutrality, which I get is very important to them regardless of what I think about it. I was also reading an article on Oryx today basically defending the Germans' contribution to the Ukrainian war effort, while admitting their political posturing has made them look bad. They were making comparisons of the German contribution with the French, for example - because of course they're comparing it to the French, they're Germans - and the French were not looking so hot. Anyway, thanks for the link. I hope they are able to get it sorted out.
  15. I don't know that I worry about it, as much as I simply acknowledge it. The point I'd make along with the sheer size of the buyout, is what Cronin is indicating when he signs that contract. You don't sign a contract like that if you're looking to leave. If we take 3 random coaches we've talked about on here - Cronin, Musselman, and Bennett - I'd say they're in that order in terms of least likely to most likely for Texas to be able to obtain. Part of it is due to UCLA's tradition, but a big part is that buyout. It just doesn't make the chances of pulling him away from there look very good to me. But I wouldn't call that worrying about it. If I can buy a house with a 30 year amortizable mortgage, why not a buyout contract? Amirite?
  16. The whole thing has been amateur hour just stinking of someone seeking attention. I'm going to keep assuming it's a false flag operation, because that makes me feel better.
  17. That buyout, though. I mean, if you want to be marketable to other teams even a little bit, you can sign a contract with a big buyout without it being $26 million. I mean, $26 million. That's a lot.
  18. Skynews speculating the Bakhmut withdrawal is already taking place. Citing Prigozhin's claim the city is nearly surrounded, Magyar's video stating he'd been withdrawn, and then video of a railway bridge being blown up.
  19. Both Magyar and Kyianyn have been withdrawn from Bakhmut. Neither of them have seemed that excited about it. Hints that part of it may be because of their videos. There's a blackout in Bakhmut that's been referenced by a number of media types covering the war. Kyianyn also had the message accusing authorities of corruption in Kyiv right before he was withdrawn. In today's video - after having been withdrawn from Bakhmut - he shows a renewed passion for supporting the defense there (he has never been in favor of withdrawal, but he still shows a different level of passion for its continued defense), accusing Ukrainians who want the defenders withdrawn of falling for Russian psyops that want to see the troops gone from there. Prigozhin has one such video blatantly trying to create that environment released today. Magyar talks about his 242+ days in the Bakhmut area with a sense of frustration, but he promises to continue to support Ukrainian forces by raising money, listing the price for the drones he manages to keep supplying, equipped with thermal imaging, and that is the reason he continues to push out his videos. As a connection between the supporters who help him do what he's doing, and the military prosecuting the war. I'll post Kyianyn's, then Magyar's, then Prigozhin's videos in that order. All from Dmitri from WarTranslated:
  20. The operation looked extremely disciplined, but kudos to the editor, too. I realize the editor wasn't necessarily risking their life (maybe they were the ones with the GoPro, dunno) but including the drone footage operating side by side with the body/helmet cam was highly effective and impressive. I remember watching footage of the Kharkiv offensive, and after the armor would break through the lines, guys were rolling up to positions in pickups with a 50mm MG mounted in the back along with SUVs, and just pouring out to overwhelm the Russians. This is using APCs from the Vietnam era. Still great vehicles and a widely used auxiliary to Bradleys even 10 to 20 years ago. I can hardly wait until we see battalions and divisions utilizing Leopards and Marders/Bradleys/CV90s.
  21. This graphic bugs me. Not that I don't agree with the conceit that the US can and should do better, but trying to shame the US because it's not measuring up to other countries in terms of the percentage of the defense budget going to Ukraine is not only absurd, but it's counter productive. First of all, it's been a known issue in Europe for decades that they haven't been spending a large enough percentage of their GDP on their defense. What is the number one reason for that? Well, because the United States is taken for granted as providing a nice large safe umbrella in terms of conventional and nuclear forces so they don't have to. Full stop. Second, as the world's only superpower and the policeman for the global order, the US has obligations that Estonia, Latvia, LIthuania, Bulgaria, Poland, Luxembourg (hahahahahahaha!) Czech Republic, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, the UK, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands can't even begin to comprehend, meet, or even help a little bit with. Even countries like the UK and Canada, two of the US's most dependable allies, have let their overall armed forces go to complete shit, and I am not exaggerating. Their navies in particular - the most important element in effective projection of power - are a shell of what they used to be 30 years ago, and they weren't all that great back then, either. And that's talking about the guys who are actually helping. These are European countries who rightfully see the invasion of Ukraine as an existential threat. Frankly, all the European countries should be closer to Poland's 20%. What the fuck are they saving shit up for? No one else but Russia is going to be the danger they're spending to protect themselves from (well, except for Greece - Hey Turkiye!). Here's your chance to use outdated military equipment to actually fuck up the Russians BEFORE they get a chance to attack you. Start sending the shit over and increase your budget to buy replacements. Ukraine can use the outdated equipment right now, and you can modernize your forces that have desperately needed it for a long long time. I know I'm preaching to the choir on here, but this really pissed me off. And it's not compelling to political forces in the US who don't want to be involved with Ukraine, whether for nefarious reasons like Russia is sending money, or a legitimate preference for isolationism this country has always possessed. Efforts towards guilt and shame lead to Americans wanting to tell folks to fuck off, not go, "Golly, you're right. We're just not doing as much as Estonia. We need to step up!" You better be giving the US every fucking pat on the back you can, while at the same time repeating the message it's still not enough. People are dying and suffering in ways they wouldn't be if the US steps up a little more, as grateful as we all are they've been doing as much as they have. Step up now rather than dribbling out the support means this war ends faster, rebuilding begins faster, more lives are saved, and the world economy can begin its recovery from the vast disruptions in supply chains for fundamental commodities like food and energy. My apologies for the rant, but this really stuck in my craw. I hate this sort of shit. It's not helpful. Frankly, this is the kind of message Russia could put on blast and would be a great psyop, but instead it's being propagated by an imbecile who is actually in favor of US support for Ukraine. Narrator: They were hit again.
  22. Okay, I've watched a lot of footage. A lot. But this is the most compelling coverage of Bakhmut I've found. This lady reporter, and she's in a lot of the videos from this site, goes around asking everyone how scared they are and what in the world they're doing where they are - point blank. She acts like a scared ninny, to be honest. And yet there she is, running around a few hundred meters from the fighting, with artillery shells and grad rockets landing in close proximity somewhere. A shop owner she tries to call into account reverses the tables on her, "What are you doing here?" "Well, what are YOU doing here." The 93rd Armored Brigade is one of the most famous in Ukraine. One of the Cyborg units from the Battle for the Donetsk Airport. I had read somewhere that some of Russia's biggest advances came after they had rotated out of Bakhmut, and so they were sent back in to help stabilize the situation. This video shows how much they're depending on recently mobilized troops to fill their ranks - soldiers who are often coming to the front lines of Bakhmut after only a few weeks of training. At one point a leader comes in the room to announce a group of 10 soldiers refused to report to the front lines. Another interview with a young drone flyer incorporates knowledge of a personal relationship with one of the heroes of the Maidan Revolution who inspired him to read a famous Ukrainian writer who wrote about Ukrainian nationalism, but died in the Irzum in the defense of Kyiv. There's another feature on a pair of IFV crew who show absolutely no fear for the enemy. It's outstanding stuff. Well worth the 35 minutes. Subtitled, if that matter to you.
  23. I want to note that the Kalinouski Regiment is the one made up entirely of Belarussians fighting for Ukraine. I can't vouch for the 100% part, but that's what they claim.
  24. Apparently a new Russian disinformation campaign is starting, this time featuring the "Russian Volunteer Corps" I can't even begin to take this seriously. We'll see how much mileage they get out of this. It's also never clear to me how much is for domestic and how much is for a foreign audience. I could see this playing well with the domestic audience.
  25. I still say as historic cultures the Austrians, Germans and Swiss are self conceited arrogant assholes who are convinced their farts don’t stink. It has less to do with the Holocaust, Dutch famines, and tensions between liberators versus conquerors and more with something deeply embedded. Not necessarily at a genetic level, but for sure on a powerful sociological one. I’ll put it this way. Calling a German/Austrian/Swiss OCD is a bit like calling an Irishman an alcoholic. Edit: Oh, and I should emphasize these are generalizations. It should be assumed I’m aware there are very distinct cultural differences even within those countries. Not everyone is the same. I still stand by the characterization as a whole. And while the Germans’ Final Solution was on a different scale, the number of cultures that have done bad things to Jews around the world is a very long list. They just didn’t load them all into trains and straight up murder 6 million of them. But since this thread is about the Ukraine War, I’ll point out Russia is famous for its historical pogroms, even while Jews have always made up an important part of its intelligentsia. Russian Jews have been a critical part of the success of Israel, too. Same with virtually all of Europe, really. It’s pretty easy for me to argue that Europe’s world hegemony and the dominance of Judeo-Christian culture doesn’t happen without the Judeo part.
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