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Posted
3 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

1) Russian dressing is the only proper dressing on a Reuben.  Putting Thousand Island on it just turns it into a kosher Big Mac.

2) Russian dressing isn't proper Russian dressing unless it has caviar in it.

3) Aside from Katz's, the best Reuben I've ever had is at Scholz's.  Damn--I'm hungry.

Katz's is great. Langer's in LA ftw. Better bread and more tender pastrami. 

there was a holy shit moment in Dublin

 

Do Trump's negotiators listen mainly to Russia? SPIEGEL has the transcript of a crisis switch, which shows how deep the distrust is among Europeans - also among Chancellor Merz and President Macron.

https://archive.is/k0bq8

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Posted
1 hour ago, morehornsepower said:

Putin apparently clarified his 'peace plan' today: "Give us what we want, or we'll continue to try to take it by force."

Fuck this guy. And fuck anyone who tries to justify taking his side.

What kind of fucked up simulation are we in where we don't even pretend to be the champion of democracy or the rule of law anymore?   😡😡😡

 

die-hard-john-mc-clane.gif

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Posted
1 hour ago, Chad Fuck said:

Is this even a real question?  They literally took Russia's "peace" plan, put it on WH stationary, and sent it out as the US plan.  You tell me.

I think they refrain from assuming that the reader knows everything alleged about the machinations, and provide the perspective you're looking for. I'd say that's a good thing. 

Quote

While the Europeans always publicly praise Washington's new initiative, the paper shows that in addition to Merz and Macron, other participants of the Schalte do not trust the two US emissaries.

 

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Posted
59 minutes ago, Chopper said:

in addition to Merz and Macron, other participants of the Schalte do not trust the two US emissaries.

I'd think poorly - as in, so poorly they could never recover in my eyes - of anyone who DID trust those two absolute in-over-their-head clowns.

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Posted (edited)
15 minutes ago, B00M said:

How much of Russias gold reserve has been sold? How much money do they have left? 

Putin Laughing GIF by euronews
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reserve

Note that while Russian gold reserves are listed as 2,332.7 tonnes, of the 405.7 tonnes held by the National Wealth Fund at the beginning of the war, only 173.1 remained as of November 2025. From November Russia started selling physical NWF gold on the internal gold market, whereas it had previously sold it to the Central Bank, to maintain NWF liquidity while preserving physical reserves

Supposedly $215 billion earlier this year on hand.

Edit: last month it was mentions they had to dump a shitload of money into their rail infrastructure because it was losing a lot of money.  They probably had more gold than publicly known, but things are probably worse than publicly known.

Edited by atomheartbevo
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Posted
covering a jeep in mines/C4 charges and ghost riding it into a bunch of enemies is PEAK Battlefield

Former Battlefield dev here: Can confirm

Only thing that comes close is ejection seat + RPG + return to plane
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Posted
1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

G7XPqNmWAAAvi8U?format=jpg&name=medium

 

That has to be the fourth or fifth drone strike on Syzran since August.  I think that name has been coming up an awful lot the last six months

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Posted (edited)
30 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

That has to be the fourth or fifth drone strike on Syzran since August.  I think that name has been coming up an awful lot the last six months

They hit it multiple times in 2024, and hit it this year starting in February

Russia's Syzran oil refinery suspended operations following a drone attack, sources say | Reuters - February this year

Drones attack energy facilities in Russia, Syzran Oil Refinery hit - November this year

Quote

The Syzran Refinery in Samara region is part of the Samara group of refineries acquired by Rosneft in May 2007.

The plant’s crude distillation capacity equals 8.5 mln tons (65.1 mln barrels) per year. The refinery processes West Siberian crude (produced by Yuganskneftegaz) as well as feedstock from Rosneft’s oil fields in the Samara region (Samaraneftegaz). The plant’s deep conversion facilities include catalytic reforming, fuel hydrotreatment, light hydrocracking, catalytic and thermal cracking, isomerization, bitumen production, and gas fractioning units. Syzran Refinery produces a wide range of petroleum products, such as high-quality motor fuels, jet fuel, bitumen, etc. The construction of the Syzran Refinery began before the Great Patriotic War, and the first batch of oil products was produced in 1942. In early 1970’s, the plant capacities were expanded and modernized: the crude oil distillation capacity grew by 40%, hydrotreatment and bitumen production capacities grew by more than 70%.

Quote

The enterprise continues implementing activities aimed at reduction of non-recoverable losses. As a result, non-recoverable losses have been reduced to 0.66% of the summary processing volumes.

In 2014, 7.14 million tons of oil were processed at the Syzran Refinery, an increase by 3.8% versus 2013, and 6.8 million tons of marketable commodities were produced. The refining depth was 65.99%. Gasoline and diesel fuel of the grade Euro-4 and 5 are being manufactured.

 

ae2o7b.jpg

Edited by atomheartbevo
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Posted
6 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

So they may have been trying to hit the FSB building, and some electronic interference sent it into the building on the 500 ruble bill, lol.

 

G7Yr5wWWMAANy__?format=jpg&name=large

Again.  Faster.

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Posted
22 minutes ago, Parliament said:

Again.  Faster.

I'm guessing their strategy here is a little payback for Chechens torturing Ukrainian POWs, a little payback for the TikTok Brigades pretending to fight in Ukraine and filming themselves attacking Ukraine for Mother Russia and flooding Chechen social media with the videos, and probably more about telling the Chechen people "Hey, your leaders are backing this war in Ukraine, and Putin is not willing to spend on air defenses for you, why would you send your sons and husbands off for this?"

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Posted

https://www.threads.com/@_nickmelnick/post/DR4v9hKDJY6?xmt=AQF0OjxG7bz7qHRLJVckqEOYZu9v0gL3rMxShGhts56amg

️Ukrainian kamikaze drones strike a Russian "Su-24M" bomber in Crimea.As part of the operation, the following were also hit: - an antenna inside a radome; - a 39N6 “Kasta-2E2” radar station; - an “Orion” UAV; - two 48Ya6-K1 “Podlyot” radar stations; - a freight train and a Ural truck.

 

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Posted
48 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:

Asian Dawn?

The 90s porn actress?

9 minutes ago, MillerEP said:

https://www.threads.com/@_nickmelnick/post/DR4v9hKDJY6?xmt=AQF0OjxG7bz7qHRLJVckqEOYZu9v0gL3rMxShGhts56amg

️Ukrainian kamikaze drones strike a Russian "Su-24M" bomber in Crimea.As part of the operation, the following were also hit: - an antenna inside a radome; - a 39N6 “Kasta-2E2” radar station; - an “Orion” UAV; - two 48Ya6-K1 “Podlyot” radar stations; - a freight train and a Ural truck.

The train and the truck can be replaced easily enough (maybe not the train engine).

Everything else?  Probably not.

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Posted
1 hour ago, MillerEP said:

https://www.threads.com/@_nickmelnick/post/DR4v9hKDJY6?xmt=AQF0OjxG7bz7qHRLJVckqEOYZu9v0gL3rMxShGhts56amg

️Ukrainian kamikaze drones strike a Russian "Su-24M" bomber in Crimea.As part of the operation, the following were also hit: - an antenna inside a radome; - a 39N6 “Kasta-2E2” radar station; - an “Orion” UAV; - two 48Ya6-K1 “Podlyot” radar stations; - a freight train and a Ural truck.

 

Where you been man?  

Welcome news.

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Posted (edited)

What a load of shit.

Being located in Europe is a requirement for all new members. As such, the alliance cannot, by definition, be composed of a majority of non-European nations and, therefore, cannot be "perpetually expanding," since the list of non-NATO countries is now somewhat limited.

 

Edited by bolverk
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Posted
6 minutes ago, bolverk said:

What a load of shit.

Being located in Europe is a requirement for all new members. As such, the alliance cannot, by definition, be composed of a majority of non-European nations and, therefore, cannot be "perpetually expanding," since the list of non-NATO countries is now somewhat limited.

 

Having no knowledge of this, does that mean Mexico can't join?

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Posted (edited)
2 minutes ago, Jameslaw121 said:

Having no knowledge of this, does that mean Mexico can't join?

Correct. They cannot.

Edit: It's the same reason Japan and South Korea haven't joined.

Edited by bolverk
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Posted
29 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Correct. They cannot.

Edit: It's the same reason Japan and South Korea haven't joined.

Japan and South Korea Make sense. But Mexico is actually in the North Atlantic. Not that it really matters, just learned something new today.

Posted
32 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Correct. They cannot.

Edit: It's the same reason Japan and South Korea haven't joined.

And Australia.  Those three would join if they could,   We used to have SEATO which was the Asian equivalent of NATO.

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Posted (edited)
20 hours ago, Schulz2.0 said:

"Overnight on 4–5 December, Ukrainian long-range drones reportedly struck the gas terminal at Russia’s Temryuk port on the Sea of Azov, just across the Kerch Strait from occupied Crimea. Russian regional authorities themselves confirmed a UAV attack and subsequent fire that damaged port infrastructure, while videos from the scene show large fuel fires and secondary detonations. Open-source analysis indicates the blaze centered on a gas terminal used for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), with OSINT accounts suggesting that a nearby Gazprom-linked oil terminal may also have been within the target area. Temryuk is a key logistics hub handling LPG, oil products, and petrochemicals—commodities that help fuel Russia’s war machine and sustain its occupation of Ukrainian territory."

The Temryuk NGL Terminal is ~ 50 miles from the Kerch Strait, on the Sea of Asov.

image.png.df1d9d16479c147e6861b233e1ee982e.png

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a commercial term, either the purity Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) products, or some combination of them. The terminal receives NGL's via rail, has ~ 100,000 bbl (4.5 MM gallons) of NGL storage on site, and loads the LPG tankers. More evidence of Ukraine's approach to systematically "degrade" the Russian Oil & Gas Infrastructure.

Good for them in choosing a location that is relatively remote, though it has a smallish footprint.  The orientation of the storage tanks, or bullets, are pointed towards each other, rather than away. Not the ideal orientation, but changing that would point the tanks at the rail rack and tanker loading/unloading berth.  Either way, it's a juicy target. 

image.thumb.png.05e98f06dfda7317df1957944376c7ca.png

 

 

Edited by PTINS
typo
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Posted
1 hour ago, Vertuzzi said:

https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/germany-russia-war-nato-secret-plan-8ce43a8d?st=gZjMt3&reflink=article_copyURL_share
 

Interesting article from the journal last week. The section regarding the bridge closing in northwestern Germany, which cut off the only railway link serving the North Sea port of Nordenham, really drives home just how critical infrastructure protection is during war. 

Critical infrastructure is not designed to be war proof.  A single drone with a grenade is a scary thought.

Yes, I understand and support Ukraines targeting of Russian O&G export infrastructure to cripple the war machine.

But longer term, removing 10% of the world oil production, and the closest source of natural gas to Europe, is going to have longer term effects, on everyone. The coupling of war reparations and lifting of sanctions is going to be a thorny issue that will take time.

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Posted
24 minutes ago, PTINS said:

Critical infrastructure is not designed to be war proof.  A single drone with a grenade is a scary thought.

Yes, I understand and support Ukraines targeting of Russian O&G export infrastructure to cripple the war machine.

But longer term, removing 10% of the world oil production, and the closest source of natural gas to Europe, is going to have longer term effects, on everyone. The coupling of war reparations and lifting of sanctions is going to be a thorny issue that will take time.

Would you say that Europe’s plan to phase out Russian LNG by 2027 is still obtainable? Imports from the US and Qatar are increasing, just wondering if it would be enough to completely offset the Russian pipeline. 

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Posted
32 minutes ago, Vertuzzi said:

Would you say that Europe’s plan to phase out Russian LNG by 2027 is still obtainable? Imports from the US and Qatar are increasing, just wondering if it would be enough to completely offset the Russian pipeline. 

That is a complex question. "Phasing out" is a price sensitive term, and human nature generally means anybody will do anything for the right price. Putting the LNG "sanctions" aside, at the end of the day, a spot cargo of Russian LNG will be cheaper than others, simply because the transit time from Russia is less than the US Gulf Coast, or the Middle East, or Australia.

The capacity of the two Nordsteam Pipelines was ~ 10 BCF/day, which is ~ 4-5 world class LNG Plants. That is a big hole to fill. Russia's total LNG capacity is ~ 5 BCD, some of which was earmarked for Europe.

Some of these came on line recently, in the Arctic and St. Petersburg, and how much they can actually produce is kind of a mystery.  It is new enough, and given the challenges of the arctic, and Russia business in general, demonstrating reliability is a prerequisite for longer term contracts. In many cases, the companies/countries that need the LNG are also owners in the liquefaction/export facilities, so they take their ownership share of the LNG in-kind, rather than depending on third party sells.

LNG is a very different animal than oil or refined products. In some cases, though there is a point to point "contract" for the LNG, that contract is in limbo until the ship docks at the destination. In times past, it was commonplace to have a ship change direction in transit and go to another destination, without any significant contract repercussions. While on the high seas, it is fair game for the highest bidder.  Even within the local gas market, that information is closely guarded, because a huge influx of gas moves the market.

US LNG costs will become more expensive, because the underlying demand for natural gas will increase. 

In the early 2000's, gas was expensive, so the US started building LNG import terminals.   

image.png.8e504a2300bd0d2b7d673b7cfda795b0.png

The Chenier Plant at Sabine Pass started as an import terminal in 2008. We received LNG imports into Louisiana ~ 2010 (I think we received 4 cargo's), and in 2012, Chenier received a FERC permit to building export facilities. The combination of horizontal  drilling and hydraulic fracturing of shale, unlocked the gas resources, and all bets changed. 

Biden's election in 2020 changed the narrative, and Russia's Invasion and Nordstream's explosion spiked gas prices, for a bit.

The Donald, and new reality of the US stepping in to fill the European void from losing Russian gas is not an issue from a resource/capacity perspective. The price of the LNG is the first big question.

Domestic gas prices have doubled in the past few months. Cheap oil stops the drilling in the Permian, which is primarily based on oil economics. Appalachia is all gas, much higher near term gas potential than the Permian, but moving gas south to the Gulf Coast is limited by pipeline capacity. 

Sending US LNG gas to Europe while increasing domestic gas prices is going to leave a mark. The Eastern US is already seeing increased gas bills because of administrative and infrastructure costs. Layering in higher commodity prices will not be well received.

And, as we all appreciate, the whims of a new administration in DC, is hard to predict.

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Posted (edited)

https://www.threads.com/@militarynewsua/post/DR5dUahiKqX?xmt=AQF04wylzu6q5PH-wlI1ni2PXTykDVS1i4m8bcT8tRZW4g

️Right now, kamikaze drones are attacking targets in 🇷🇺Ryazan. 
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https://www.threads.com/@militarynewsua/post/DR5iJdviBbo?xmt=AQF0tahQ--5YsDpnVeHqEJ-VjhcKjv_OvnPYRY3Tn6fwHQ

️It is reported that kamikaze drones attacked the 🇷🇺Ryazan Oil Refinery. 
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^Hitting it again

Edited by MillerEP
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