Friday. And A Fun "Competition".

Many of you know that I write... I mean torture myself with the fourth book and, you may have guessed it already, it is about the events of 2021-2023. Geopolitics and war. I thought to title the book Vom Kriege (On War), but then I remembered that some German (Prussian, really) dude wrote the book with this title in 1830s, wink, wink. The Art of War was also taken by this nasty Chinese plagiarist who beat me to it about 2.5 thousand years before, LOL. Strategy title was taken by Alexander Svechin. So, you see how difficult is my life. Now, for shits and giggles, knowing what I do and what I write and against the background of the events of the last two years, who would dare to propose the title for my new book. Caveat: World War Three title is verbotten, because it was already abused by a bunch of political "scientists". 

And here is a reward from a genius:

Have a go at it...

Butthurt Is Strong On This One.

The Popular Mechanics rag is called popular, because it is not designed for reading by people who have serious technical education (background). Generally, anyone who employs Kyle Mizokami has to have the remnants of one's credibility removed. Now another clown, Darren Orf, with degree in, and you have guessed it, journalism ejaculates: Turns Out Russia Is Overselling Its 'Unstoppable' Hypersonic Missile. 

In fact, just this week, Vladimir Putin announced imminent plans to test his frigate-launched Zircon hypersonic missile, which can supposedly reach speeds of Mach 9. The embattled Russian leader took part in the farewell ceremony (albeit remotely) of the Admiral Gorshkov frigate back in January, and the ship will launch the missile during a training exercise with South Africa and China navies later this month. Russia says it’ll be “the first-ever [launch] during an event of this kind,” though the launch is likely a show of force to the West more than anything. While an “unstoppable” Russian missile would certainly be a problem for the U.S. (along with most of Europe), Putin might be overselling the weapon’s capabilities. In 2021, Nikolai Yevmenov, commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, told a Russian news site that the weapon still had problems—and some of those problems are likely highlighted in a new report by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office. While the 72-page report did find that hypersonic missiles “have the speed to be useful in the early stages of a conflict,” the report also threw some cold water on the red-hot hype surrounding hypersonic technology. The biggest dose of reality is that the technology still hasn’t found a way to manage the immense amount of heat produced by a system traveling in excess of Mach 5.

Poor boy, obviously, missed the whole "news" that Admiral Gorshkov tested Zircon 3M22 for the last couple years and that Zircon completely passed its IOC phase and is already in serial production since 2022, and is a fully developed weapon. But can you imagine explaining this to a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia with degree in English (Journalism), who cannot even understand that Congressional Budget Office's Report discusses ONLY US programs in this field. Even the title of Report speaks for itself:

U.S. Hypersonic Weapons and Alternatives  

Somebody, please, explain to this fool that CBO discusses in this report general issues of hypersonic flight as related to the United States only. The only reason this "expert" produces this volume of coping is because being Western journo ignoramus he cannot come to terms that the United States not just lags dramatically behind Russia in terms of hypersonic weapons, but that it has no defense whatsoever against those weapons. The only thing which the US has been able to accomplish recently so far was the launch of a prototype of sorts of a booster aeroballistic vehicle which, reportedly, performed as expected. The US is nowhere near to fielding anything comparable to 3M22 Zircon and is not going to be there for a very long time. 

In fact, CBO's report IS about horrendous costs--color me surprised, not--it takes to develop anything workable hypersonic. The amount of copium and BS in this PopMech article is astonishing. The problems described in the report are the problems the US Military-Industrial Complex hasn't been able to resolve so far, and is having a huge issue with observing Russia and China fielding a variety of hypersonic weapons, but especially so such as 3M22 Zircon. As I am on record--you cannot explain a person with Master's Degree in "journalism" the physics, let alone tactical and operation implications of hypersonic weapons--they simply will not understand that. That is why average Western journos lie for a living, because they do not know how to do anything else. 

P.S. I omit here well documented combat use of Kinzhals in 404. Obviously Orf never heard of that.

Have Moscow And Budapest...

... settled the issue of Hungarian enclaves in former Ukraine already? Here is significant interview to Polish resource by former Hungary's MP a day ago. 

The Hungarian government believes that Russia will win the war against Ukraine and therefore avoids sanctions against Moscow, Hungarian politician and former MEP Benedek Jávor told EURACTIV Poland in an interview, adding that Budapest silently hopes there will be a modification of borders in the region.“They [Hungarian government] want to maintain good relations with Russia. They believe Moscow will defeat Ukraine, and there’s a chance for modifying the borders with Ukraine and annexation of the Podkarpackie region,” Jávor said. Asked if this is an “official” plan, he replied negatively but said former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev had openly suggested that after destroying Ukraine, Russia could divide it up between Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.“I heard the Hungarian willingness to stick to this plan during informal talks with government politicians. Orbán hasn’t mentioned it openly,” Jávor said. 

Of course, Victor Orban will not say anything like this openly, but it is implied in contemporary Russian-Hungarian relations.  That fits not only into the pattern of these relations but into a historically firm trend of smaller nations changing their geopolitical orbits around major powers. In Russia's orbit one gets to be assured of energy supply and, under some circumstances, protection, including military one. And then, of course, there is the issue of culture. Russians do not really care what political system or religion one has, as long as it is not hostile and socially and culturally traditional. Hungary fits the bill perfectly. Nobody asks anyone to love Russia. Strictly business and what could be defined as conservative (not in the American sense) values. 

Does Orban believe in miraculous revival of Europe and its culture? I don't think so. Just today, fresh from Hungary.   

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto issued a scathing rebuke of the US ambassador to Budapest on Thursday, asserting that he has no business meddling in the nation’s internal affairs. The minister’s comments came after Ambassador David Pressman, who has represented Washington in Budapest since September 2022, told Politico earlier this week that Hungarian policymakers “continue to push policies endorsed by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.” He was referring to Budapest's opposition to anti-Russia sanctions and support of Moscow’s proposals for a ceasefire. When asked to respond to the statement at a press conference, Szijjarto said, “Nobody can tell us from the outside how to live, so it is of no interest what a citizen of another country – be it an ambassador – thinks about the domestic political processes in Hungary. “We ask for more respect for the Hungarians, even from the ambassador,” he added. It is not Pressman’s “job to interfere in the internal affairs of Hungary,” the minister declared. 

You see, Hungarians can be Russophobic all they want, as long as they maintain reasonable relations, Russians do not care. If that is not enough, Turkiye's Interior Minister has his very interesting (and realistic, I may say) take on the whole US-EU and Turkiye relations:

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu accused US ambassador Jeffry Flake of trying to “confuse” people in the host nation and told him to get his “filthy hands” off the country. He has previously claimed that Western nations were waging “psychological warfare” to undermine tourism in Türkiye. “I’m telling you very clearly, get your filthy hands off Türkiye. I know clearly what you have done, what steps you have taken, and how you want to confuse Türkiye,” the minister said in a speech on Friday. Soylu claimed the first questions “every US ambassador” arriving in Türkiye was asked were “How can I stage a coup” and “How can I harm Türkiye.” The minister also stated that European nations were “run” by American diplomats.The remarks came a day after the US and several EU nations decided to temporarily shut down their their consulates in Istanbul due to “security considerations.”

I cannot say that he is incorrect. Soylu surely has a point. This trend on many nations having a point will continue, until the whole EU structure collapses. Per US attempts on China. Well, those Washington's "strategists" should sort their clusterfuck out in 404 first, and Russians observe it in genuine amusement.

Larry On Balloons.

Excellent and very informative.  

U.S military commands NORAD and NORTHCOM have been soiling themselves during the last 48 hours because a Chinese spy balloon is flying over the United States mainland. The U.S. military initially recommended a shoot down and Joe Biden gave the greenlight. But cooler heads prevailed, in part because there was concern expressed within the military chain of command that falling debris could kill Americans on the ground, and the U.S. opted to let it fly. The war party in the United States is apoplectic. The media is reporting that the military ignored Biden’s order. Jesse Waters on Fox News — he normally is a strident Biden critic — is openly siding with Biden and condemning the military for not popping that balloon. This is madness. The countries with military satellites circling the globe do not have a formal agreement under international law defining where earth’s atmosphere ends and space begins. (More about that in a bit.) 

Enjoy at Larry's blog.

What A Load Of Contrived BS.

I repeat--you cannot explain to 99.99% of people within the Beltway what real war is, how military strategy is subordinated to the strategy of the state (meaning geopolitics in a larger sense). Lastly, you cannot explain it to the average US MSM journo or "analysts" (or "expert") which is a euphemism for the general lack of culture and ignorance.  

The war in Ukraine is reaching a new phase, and US strategy is undergoing an important shift. Fears of Russian nuclear escalation are receding as fears of a long war featuring unrelenting attrition are increasing. So President Joe Biden’s administration is ramping up support for Ukraine now in hopes of producing an eventual diplomatic resolution — an “escalate to de-escalate” strategy that may prove very difficult to execute. Nearly a year into the war, uncertainty about its course is greater than ever. For the first six months, Russia had the initiative: The major questions were when, where and with what success it would attack. Over the following five months, Ukraine had the initiative, and analysts tried to divine the location and prospects of its counteroffensives.

Hal Brands, read my lips--the United States can not do "strategy", it never could after WW II. It took SMO to expose utter incompetence of the US "elites" with all their military, diplomatic and academic institutions. It is a parade of the ambitious amateurs who are no good for any serious task of statesmanship, despite all their hefty fraudulent degrees. US "diplomacy" is a butt of jokes among the rest of the world, US military cannot fight a serious combined arms conflict with peer, without sustaining catastrophic losses, and now even NYT--this propaganda sewer is forced to admit:

KYIV, Ukraine — Andrew Milburn, a former American Marine colonel and leader of the Mozart Group, stood in a chilly meeting room on the second floor of an apartment building in Kyiv about to deliver some bad news. In front of him sat half a dozen men who had traveled to Ukraine on their own dime to work for him.

“Guys, I’m gutted,” he said. “The Mozart Group is dead.”

The men stared back at him with blank faces.

One asked as he walked toward the door, “What should I do with my helmet?”

The Mozart Group, one of the most prominent, private American military organizations in Ukraine, has collapsed under a cloud of accusations ranging from financial improprieties to alcohol-addled misjudgments. Its struggles provide a revealing window into the world of foreign volunteer groups that have flocked to Ukraine with noble intentions only to be tripped up by the stresses of managing a complicated enterprise in a war zone.

Aw, what a drama. Did anybody tell those guys high on kicking doors of the Iraqi and Afghani villagers' houses that their "skills" and "experiences" are not applicable in the REAL war combat zone, against the enemy which is armed to the hilt and, quoting ZZ Top, "knows how to use it." In fact is very good at fighting at any tactical and operational levels, while in terms of strategy... That is really something else when speaking on the 80th Anniversary of the conclusion of the Stalingrad Battle.  

Ukraine’s plans to seize Crimea from Russia are unlikely to succeed in the near future, lawmakers in the US House Armed Services Committee were told at a classified meeting with the Defense Department, according to Politico. The outlet reports that it spoke to four people who disclosed details from the meeting but wished to remain anonymous. Although the sources did not explain what had led defense officials to their assessment, they stated that the main assertion was that Ukraine does not have the capability to drive Russian forces out of the peninsula. Nor do they expect that situation to change anytime soon. If Kiev attempts such an operation, its success cannot be guaranteed, one of the sources noted. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh declined to comment on the classified briefing or discuss “hypotheticals or speculate on potential future operations.” However, Singh claimed that Ukraine’s “ability to fight and take back sovereign territory… speaks for itself.” 

There is a famous Lenin's slogan: Study warfare in the most genuine way (Учиться военному делу настоящим образом). They never learned shit, evidently, in Washington.

80th Anniversary of Stalingrad Battle.

Vladimir Putin today will visit Stalingrad. No, it is not a typo--this day Volgograd will officially become Stalingrad again. A number of the road signs have been changed to Stalingrad and in 2013 Volgograd's City Duma passed legislation that for 10 days a year Volgograd will be called Stalingrad (in Russian). 

The scale of this battle is astonishing. To commemorate the end of Stalingrad Battle, three monuments to Stalin, Zhukov and Vasilevsky have been unveiled today. 

At this moment I will not elaborate in depth on the West's "interpretation" of this battle, suffice it to say that at least half of what is known about it in the West is sheer propaganda, such as the fate of German POWs, including causes of their deaths. But then again, with "historians" such as Beevor or Applebaum, who needs Goebbels. 

In related news. A group of Turkish volunteers has joined Russian battalion named after Sudoplatov (Google who this legendary man was) and is undergoing now combat training and combat cohesion, and then will join Russian Army in battle (in Russian). Surprised? I am not. Keep in mind what SMO is all about. We may also never know the number of Americans, Britons and French fighting for Russian forces. We just know that they are there. 

Later, there will be Kursk, Bagration, Berlin, but it was in Stalingrad 80 years ago when it became clear that not only Axis forces will be thrown out of USSR, but that German Nazism will be crushed and Red Army will finish war in Berlin. Stalingrad changed WW II dynamics completely.

My Talking Head.

I was happily busy last 24 hours with my wonderful friend visiting me. But I recorded the video today which you may find... "encapsulating". So, enjoy. 

Candace's snippet is so precise.