Yes, This Was Called ...

... NVP (Начальная Военная Подготовка--Initial Military Training) in Soviet schools and yes, we were taken to ranges to shoot live munitions. Apart from studying all kinds of other military shit. Girls were studying tactical medicine and also were allowed to shoot. 

Russian youngsters as young as 12 are now required to participate in drone and firearms training during school hours. This Kremlin initiative is being interpreted as a stark indication that Vladimir Putin remains committed to prolonged military conflict.

And no, it is not a "stark indication"--it is a return to normalcy in the nation whose military history dwarfs anything there is in the world. It is also a return to what many Americans (with the exception of urban metrosexuals) instinctively know--boys need to grow into men and defenders. Here is how it looked like in Soviet times.

All of us went through this. It is a good sign together with the transition from the baloney of Bologna Process in education and discarding all those "degrees" like Bachelor's (equivalent of incomplete higher education) and all other M.S. to the system of concentrated professional higher education in specialties with a strong emphasis on overall culture and STEM bases from public schools. In military of the XXI century (albeit it was true already in 1960s) moreover? Don't trust me, here is the US Army:

Since the 1980s, America’s world ranking in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has declined, placing our once unquestioned supremacy in technological innovation and application on par with or behind those of our economic and military adversaries. A recent warning from the Office of the Secretary of Defense Acquisition and Sustainment Industrial Policy declared the paucity of STEM-educated Americans may lead to a “permanent national security deficit.” The lack of STEM education extends to Army officers. In 2018, the Army Strategy assessed the strategic environment to include partners, allies, and adversaries leveraging “advanced capabilities” such as cyber, counter space, electronic warfare, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI). This assessment has proven true in the Russia-Ukraine War, an artillery-heavy war interwoven with the burgeoning development and implementation of new and evolving technologies that demand innovative thinking, alliances, and strategy informed by STEM+Management (STEM+M)

There is ALREADY "permanent national security deficit", that is why Pentagon, CIA et al have difficulties grasping what is happening. Difficult to make a sense of capabilities when you have majored in English Literature, Journalism or Business from University of Phoenix. That gets us into this funny territory of System of Systems, because nations and their militaries are exactly that. 

In Related News ...

There are NO penguins in Arctic)) Greenland is in ARCTIC. 

Penguins live in ANtarctica and adjacent lands, that is Southern Hemisphere. I sense Ivy League edikeishn. 

When You Are ...

 ... a stump and is dumb as one. Famous BS about Winter War. Atrocities. 

Yes, And I Want ...

... to win ... one million dollars(c). 

ABU DHABI, January 23. /TASS/. Several European countries really want Kyiv to achieve an "energy truce" at a meeting of the trilateral working group with Russia and the United States in Abu Dhabi. This was stated by a TASS source.

Reaction from Russia. 

More:

I don't know how to explain it. I'll try again. As it happened with 404 when Russians decided to stop sorting out "bad" Ukrainians from "good" ones, overwhelming majority of Russians views Europe and Europeans as existential enemies of Russian Civilization, period. Somebody must explain to Europeans that overwhelming majority of Russians doesn't care about Paris, London or Tuscany. There is a lot of concern, however, about treasures of Louvre when France will be beaten into Sharia and the power of criminal gangs (ah, wait ... already), or how to finish off Germany. Europe wanted that, now the retribution comes.

Europe IS 404.

I don't understand these "terms" used by journos. Backlash. 

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is facing severe backlash from key international partners after a combative speech at Davos, where he went on a tirade accusing Europe of “indecisiveness” toward Russia and insufficient support for his country. The backlash comes as Zelensky’s popularity in the West is already on a downward spiral over his constant criticism of Kiev’s European backers while demanding billions in support – while Ukraine continues to struggle with high-level corruption scandals and a dire military situation. The reactions to his speech at the World Economic Forum from European capitals were swift. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called it “unfair to Europe,” telling Corriere della Sera that the continent has “guaranteed Ukraine’s independence” through immense political, financial, and military support.

This is not a backlash--these are impotent European cowards and war criminals getting insulted by their equal. Europe is new 404. But shaking the air and producing some verbiage is not a backlash. Let me demonstrate what backlash is. This is Kiev.

And this is Kiev's mayor verbatim today:

MOSCOW, January 23 — RIA Novosti. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko invited residents of the capital to spend the night in heating points or leave the city. He is quoted by the publication "Strana.ua". "Kyiv has identified strongholds of heating (invincibility) in each district of the city. A large number of people will be able to stay overnight in them, if necessary," the publication says.

At this point of time, Kiev lost 90% of power generation, Russia finishes off thermal power plant in 404--there IS NO comeback from it. With it comes the end of 404 as a state. There is also a clue to what trilateral "talks" are--Russian delegation there, in UAE, is headed by the chief of G(R)U and is military only in its composition. Get a hint. My video today is about it. 

Down The Memory Lane.

That was the "plan" by curators of 404 Nazis. If anyone forgot. 

Yesterday, there was a mass grave uncovered in Kursk Oblast--524 bodies of Russian civilians executed by NATO. Around one thousand is still missing. The Fourth Reich in action, but now it follows the path of its predecessor. Obviously, with Poroshenko being high on NATO Kool Aid promising this to Russians was a bad idea. 

In related news, in an attempt to alleviate the butt-hurt, the neocon central Newsweek ... lies. 

US hypersonic missile warship put to sea. A United States warship recently completed sea trials following upgrades to launch hypersonic missiles capable of striking targets at over five times the speed of sound. USS Zumwalt, one of three Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers, underwent modernization to become the first U.S. Navy platform capable of launching the Conventional Prompt Strike, or CPS, a hypersonic boost-glide missile designed to defeat enemy defenses.

I have news--the US doesn't have hypersonic weapons and is not going to have them any time soon. So, sticking some VLS for non-existent weapon to the white elephant is not producing "hypersonic missile warship", which, in the end is absolutely defenseless against real hypersonic weapons. Yes, the US Army announced the "fielding" of LRHW. Fielding being the term for all kinds of activities not related to actual weapon. But let me remind you about this weapon. 

Another Army officer at the event, who is not immediately identifiable, told Hegseth that Dark Eagle has a warhead “under 30 pounds,” which is relatively tiny for a long-range weapon — smaller in size than what’s found on an AIM-120 air-to-air missile, for instance. The officer stated the warhead is just to get its “projectiles out” and that it can deliver effects over an area about the same size as the parking lot they were standing on.

The Navy has its own program, Intermediate Range Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) Weapon System, as you might expect--the weapon also doesn't exist and when it will, nobody knows. But you can be assured of a variety of headlines and articles explaining how these weapons WILL work if they ever become actual weapons. But then we will have to get into the operational details of the modern naval warfare, where any US Navy's ship is nothing but a fat prestigious target and that in real world of conventional war it is not survivable. And then, of course, comes this issue of anti-missile defense and requirements for anti-hypersonic intercepts, but let's hope that the US and Russia (and China) find some modus vivendi. Otherwise it will take a long time trying to explain this. 

And what it all means for strategic balance. And I am not even talking about this. 

You have to explain to Pentagon that they need to attend elementary hyper-sonic school before trying to catch up. But no worries, the US military "is a finest fighting force in history"(c). 

Nima And Me.

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