Tuesday, August 31, 2021

She Is Not Supposed To Be Around Children, Period!

Good that parents reacted. This is not to speak of the fact that she does look and behaves bat-shit crazy. There are many people like her around US schools who damage children instead of teaching them basic civics and how to be good citizens, which is a good start on the road to become educated--a function at which US public school system fails miserably, because teaching serious math, physics and chemistry requires serious skills. Unlike it is the case with Critical Race Theory, Third Wave Feminism and LGBTQ "values"--that "education" requires zero talent and knowledge. 

I am afraid though that the poison has spread in the organism of American statehood and some even see privatization of schools as the only way out.

It is simple. Privatize the schools, all of them. Then, each side can be accommodated. Will this stop all of the infighting? No. Both sides will still want to impose their desiderata on the other. But at least it will reduce tensions. No man of good will can want a civil war to take place in this country and that is where we might be headed if tensions are not reduced. It is the same with regard to divisive educational issues of lesser import: Should children all wear school uniforms? Should they be required to partake of the Pledge of Allegiance; sing the Star Spangled Banner? At what age should sports teams be inaugurated? Should sororities and fraternities be welcomed in high schools? There are not totally unreasonable arguments on both sides of all these and other such issues. The only way everyone can be accommodated is with an all-private school system.

I cannot say that I completely disagree with this point of view.  Something should be done and US public education system is utterly corrupt top bottom, and it is not just public K-12 education. American higher education, it's "humanities" programs especially, is an exhibit A of an educational schizophrenia fluctuating between equally extreme concepts of "liberal left" (which is not really left) and laissez-faire fundamentalism. The system is imploding. We can only speculate about the number of teachers and professors with obvious mental issues populating today what used to be a respectable public education system. Not any more.

Monday, August 30, 2021

What a Coincidence.

As I repeat ad nauseam--the root of the mythology of modern combined West is in WW II, where it was effectively saved from itself by primarily Red Army, and this fact completely messes up this whole idea of the United States exceptional "liberation" of Europe from the evils of Nazism, a strictly European invention, by those Stalin's dirty Asiatic hordes. Like in 1814 with Russian Army triumphantly entering Paris, Red Flag over Reichstag in May of 1945 doesn't allow many in the West to sleep and face the reality of the XX century, in which the West decided to commit a suicide. Removal of those Soviet/Russian "hordes" and those who led them in liberation of the death camps and Europe from the history, or re-framing their role in this process of liberation, is a task which Western historiography and propaganda machine got engaged with immediately after the WW II. This revisionism is vital for the existence of  Pax Americana, because modern world of ours was born in the crucible of WW II in which America was a second, however important, fiddle in ridding world of Nazism. 

There are several ways of how Western revisionists--a euphemism for barely literate people with agenda (a defining characteristic of Russia Study field in the West)--do their job.

1. They completely exonerate Nazi Germany and Axis from its crimes (e.g. visit Unz Review and see one of a highest concentrations of crypto-nazis dominating discussion boards there), often it goes hand-in-hand with Holocaust issue and total ignoring of Axis being responsible for 27 million lives of Soviet citizens and millions upon millions of other lives. These are the most insane and illiterate people and they are incapable of tracing basic causalities. 

2. They equate the responsibility of Nazi Germany with that of the USSR for unleashing the WW II. This cohort, including "professional historians" has a lot in common with those mentioned in p. 1. They also are on the position of stressing that even if Nazis were guilty, Stalin's USSR was so horrible and so Mordor that "hell with them, they had it coming". These people also are not strong in history, nor do they have a military background which would allow them to grasp technical, operational, strategic and economic realities of WW II, and as in p.1 in circle they place guilt on Stalin and Soviet Union.

3. Russian "voices" such as Rezun, Solzhenitsyn, adjacent to them Western voices, such as "mass rape specialist" (a euphemism for falsifier) Antony Beavor, other "Russian" dissidents who have an army of followers in the West, despite their sophomoric writing and open falsification of the history and who go for the jugular and deny Soviet/Russian people any agency and ability to distinguish right from wrong, which is wholesale attributed to "communist" ideology and Stalin is singled out as a main culprit. 

4. Pursuers of "Jewish-centric" version of Russian history, in which Russian October 1917 Revolution was a Jewish conspiracy and because of that Russians, as in p.2 "had it coming" and too bad Nazis didn't wipe Russians out.

All this is a result of a combination of factors of both very low and constantly declining intellectual level of Western societies in general, and of ideological imperatives of a Cold War which disregards actual, still available but shrinking, scholarship in favor of pure propaganda. Plus, of course, a visceral hatred of Western "elites" of Russians as an obstacle to West's delusional dreams of domination. This is a very brief review of this phenomenon and I dedicated two thirds of my first book to this issue. 

But evidently, there are still some people out there who are bothered by a murky stream of a grotesque pseudo-history in the United States and who cannot keep silent anymore. Ian Dowbiggin makes a review of yet another pseudo-historical excrement which passes in the United States for scholarship.

Rewriting History for the New Cold War. A Bard College professor has produced a sweeping, revisionist history of the Second World War that places the blame at Russia's doorstep.

Read the whole article, and pay attention to Unz "team" immediately appearing there to defend the book being reviewed and Dowbiggin arrives to a conclusion which for my readers shouldn't be a secret for many years:

Stalin’s War fits comfortably into a world where it is now fashionable to hate Russia. Earlier this summer, Nick Carter, Britain’s top military commander, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that Putin’s Russia was “an acute threat” to European peace. The CBC’s coverage of Carter’s comment was the latest in a series of media stories in recent years about Putin’s foreign policy, his clampdown on dissent in Russia, and his alleged “meddling” in the domestic affairs of other countries. Last March, President Joe Biden even called Putin a “killer.” The twist on anti-Russianism today is that, unlike during the anti-communist years of the 1950s, it’s now the Soros-backed progressive left that demonizes Moscow.
Russians are keenly aware of that and here is a coincidence. Sergei Lavrov, speaking to veterans of Great Patriotic War in Volgograd (Stalingrad) today stated:

ВОЛГОГРАД, 30 августа. /ТАСС/. Попытки выставить Иосифа Сталина главным злодеем его эпохи являются частью атаки на отечественное прошлое, на итоги Второй мировой войны. Об этом заявил в понедельник министр иностранных дел России Сергей Лавров на встрече с ветеранами Великой Отечественной войны в Волгограде. Он подчеркнул, что осуществляемые извне нападки на историческое прошлое России нацелены не только на то, чтобы переписать историю, но и политически ослабить РФ. "[Вы упомянули] Иосифа Сталина, который <...> всеми процессами должен был руководить. Я абсолютно согласен с тем, что историю нельзя трогать. Кстати, нападки на Сталина как на главного злодея, сваливание в одну кучу всего, что он сделал в довоенное время, во время, после войны - это ведь тоже часть той самой атаки на наше прошлое, на итоги Второй мировой войны", - сказал министр.

Translation: VOLGOGRAD, August 30. / TASS /. Attempts to portray Joseph Stalin as the main villain of his era are part of an attack on our country's past, on the results of World War II. This was stated on Monday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a meeting with veterans of the Great Patriotic War in Volgograd. He stressed that outside attacks on Russia's historical past are aimed not only at rewriting history, but also politically weakening the Russian Federation. "[You mentioned] Joseph Stalin, who <...> was supposed to lead all the processes. I absolutely agree that history should not be touched. By the way, attacks on Stalin as the main villain, lumping together everything he did in the pre-war period, during, after the war - this is also part of that very attack on our past, on the results of World War II, "the minister said.

Lavrov's statement is not going to change anything in the West, least of all in the United States which as a society has no concept of a war as such nor is capable to think outside America-centric world, including its elites and most of "scholarship". This gap is unbridgeable and it will continue to grow. I guess the West needs new Solzhenitsyn, which is not easy to find in times of internet and social networks. Lavrov's statement is for Russians primarily, new generation, that is, which increasingly wants and demands to see the history of their country as a continuous process in which Soviet period, with all of its failures and achievements, is just another step in Russia achieving her greatness. Plus, can we cut the crap? Few westerners have any idea what Soviet period was and how it played out in the past and plays out in present day Russia. They just don't get it. They will not get it. But even registered foreign agent Levada Center and a cloaca of The Moscow Times cannot hide the fact:

Why this happens is beyond the grasp of people described above in this post (pp. 1-4), as per "Western history", I am on record--the whole clusterfuck which modern West is today is a direct result of a complete lack of self-awareness and of operational knowledge of the outside world across the whole spectrum of activity from economics, warfare, politics, culture and history. With "historians" like Sean McMeekien West as we know it doesn't have much time left anyway.

Sunday, August 29, 2021

When Shoigu Speaks...

....world listens. Or, using the old Russian proverb: if there is a gun hanging from the wall on the stage in the first act of the play in theater, in the last act this gun will shoot. It was clear that if anti-shipping and land-attack cruise missiles appeared in the first act of a massive geopolitical play in 1950s (a venerable P-15 Styx), and continued to hang on the wall throughout a whole play, in the final act of this particular play they were supposed to shoot. They did. Speaking to Vladimir Solovyov Shoigu stated some pretty obvious truths, simple ones, really, as TASS reports:

Translation: If to speak about what we have in the nearest future, it is increase in ranges of hyper-sonic weapons. This also means increase in speeds (!!!!), if to talk about these hyper-sonic weapons, it is increase in accuracy, this, also means adaptation of carriers to these new weapons systems.   

OK, we know that Kinzhal alone has a range of 2000 kilometers on its own (without the range of carrier--MiG-31K), 3M22 Zircon has a range of 1000+ kilometers, while upcoming GZUR has a range of 1,500 kilometers. All of it at speeds of M=9+ (GZUR M=12+). So, what Shoigu is talking about then? Recall, I asked this question for years, the last time--exactly a year ago. 

What's next, ASM with 3,000 kilometer range? Absolutely. This is the reality of the Real Revolution in Military Affairs and it completely rewrites tactical, operational and strategic manuals and directives. It completely redefines naval (and other three domains) warfare and don't tell me that I didn't warn you.

I would say that I am still pretty conservative in my estimates of 3,000 kilometer range ASM, because judging by the dynamics of hyper-sonic weapons' development in Russia, it is highly likely that within next few years (3-5) we will see M=15+, 5,000 kilometer anti-shipping missiles (with land-attack capability) which will further redefine the outlook for surface fleets and will mark the start for a very protracted period for the combined West, primarily the United States, attempting to develop at least something which can be presented to public as "effective" air-defense means against such threats, which, of course, will be primarily PR.  As I warned for years--the warfare between state actors as we know it is no more. 

Shoigu, however, being in the top three trolls in Russia after Putin and Lavrov, answering the tongue in cheek question on why he still didn't present himself to Ukrainian Court which demands Shoigu to appear personally in a front of it and be sentenced for Crimea's return, admitted:

"Виноват, исправлюсь" (Guilty, I will correct that). 

Ukraine, of course, when trying to state her case in such terms as it did with Shoigu, should always question what does she wish for, since, at some point of time, her wishes could be granted, which, in case of Shoigu, could mean, indeed, appearance in person together with couple of combined arms corps at the steps of Ukraine's whichever court will hear Shoigu. 

Just for fun, ARMY-2021 took place all over Eurasia and in China (the Chinese part of ARMY-2021 has a title of Clear Skies), one of the competitions was a use of the manpad (in our case Igla) against fast aerial target. Here is the ONLY guy (Russian officer) who managed to shoot down Chinese TY-300D target missile. 

This whole thing is now circulating all over the internet, so I decided to circulate it further. It is fun and good military porn.      

Saturday, August 28, 2021

Friday's Saturday or Saturday's Friday...

Guys, I am moving my whole operation to new PC, so I am busy. But life doesn't stand still and while at it read excellent Saker's write-up on Afghanistan and Patrick Armstrong's superb description of Europe's conundrum. Meanwhile, I have now new studio-quality microphone and I am about to unleash on the world my terrifying Runsglish. Meanwhile, Leonid and Friends re-imagined an immortal EW&F classic, enjoy. 

Enjoy. 

Thursday, August 26, 2021

You Know This Will Be Good...

Because it is based on REAL events, including THAT Su-24 whose shooting down by Turks turned out to be the start of tectonic events both inside Turkey and outside, and even globally. The new Russian movie Sky (Nebo) is about Syria and about real people who fought for her and even more than that.

Trailer from Russia's MoD. A very remarkable phrase in the trailer, when lieutenant-colonel (most likely based on Oleg Peshkov) responds to the offer to work in civil aviation: "I don't work for Russia, I serve her." I can already see an impact of this movie on Russia in general and her youth in particular. Finally, real Russian heroes are going back to the wide screen. Hollywood is silent. Release date on October 7.

Niall Ferguson Has No Idea.

Russians discuss today a piece Niall Ferguson of Hoover Institute penned for The Economist (red flag immediately) and many scratch their heads in disbelief. Whole piece was translated and is posted at a famous Russian resource InoSMI (Foreign Media), and even respectable RIA gives a summary of this "historic insight" (in Russian) under the title A Big War Was Promised to the World Because of the Crash of American Empire. To understand who Mr. Ferguson is, I posted a link to his bio above, one has to immediately recognize that he is the man who never held any viable job in his life and is a product of humanities departments of Anglo-Saxon educational institutions which gave us BoJo, W, Obama, neocons etc. You get my drift. The original of Ferguson's piece could be found at The Economist site for those who have a disposal income they feel no compunction in wasting on all kinds of pseudo-scholastic psychobabble The Economist is known for, but here it is:

Niall Ferguson on why the end of America’s empire won’t be peaceful. As it leaves Afghanistan in chaos, America’s decline mirrors Britain’s a century ago. It may also invite wider conflict, warns a historian

Before I get to this Ferguson's piece, I have to mention the other glorious (and not without a talent or significance) British mind, late Sir Roger Scruton, who being a nominal British, or Anglo-Saxon in general, "conservative" left after himself some rather strange (pseudo)historic constructs on matters of global balance of power, such as his conclusion that, and I quote:

John O'Sullivan has forcefully argued that the simultaneous presence in the highest offices of Reagan, Thatcher and Pope John Paul Second was the cause of the Soviet Collapse. And my own experience confirms this. 

Well, it is natural for former editor of a neocon rag National Review to be fully a-historical and ignorant because that is what Anglo-Saxon-Jewish "conservatism" is--it is a narrative which fails in three major aspects, which Ferguson's piece demonstrates perfectly. Albeit, it has to be noted that when faced with complexities of a modern world most historians everywhere begin to make one huge mistake--they start to draw parallels to cover up own incompetence in practically any mechanism which drives modern world. As a result, they produce a distorted picture at best, at worst--they falsify, both willingly and not, the whole history. I am on record about my extreme caution regarding drawing any historical parallels, and when I do draw them, I do it with major caveats. This failure with "historical parallels" I usually tie to a second failure of Anglo-Saxondom "history"--it is its utter incompetence in modern warfare and global power balance and Ferguson's piece is an Exhibit A of a beaten to death, trite and ignorant historical narrative. 

American decline DOES NOT mirror Britain's decline in any way since at the height of her power British Empire could subdue aborigines with the power of her 16-inch guns, carried around the globe by the squadrons of battleships of the Royal Navy and London could manipulate global politics to a degree being an island, a locality insulated from travails of a continental warfare with all its horrors that is, and if Ferguson does not understand the difference between nuclear superpower which can destroy the whole world several times over and tries to draw parallels with a senescent Empire which by 1939 was a hollow force militarily and could not out of own means stand against Nazi Germany and her allies, Ferguson needs to refresh his "history" by reading a true brilliant British mind:

Great Britain went out as a lesser of the Big Three both as a result of economic weakness and inability to develop a sound strategy for WW II, an event which was rewritten by Anglo-Saxon historians to such a degree, that both in London and D.C. it long ago stopped being connected to the reality of events of the XX Century completely. But I am sure Ferguson understands those intricacies of the WW II events and a default nature of the America's superpowerdom in 1945. Right? Today, when Great Britain is a tertiary military power whose military potential is dwarfed by that of the United States and Russia, and China and whose economy is primarily FIRE, that is largely non-productive one, we come to the third failure of Anglo-Saxon "historians" and "intellectuals"--they have no clue about how real economy works. Enough to read the rag in which Ferguson published his piece--The Economist. 

Few publications are as delusional and are detached from the world's economic reality as London's own The Economist (and the group which owns it). In many respects The Economist could be viewed today as a log of the decline of the global Anglo-Saxondom and of Britain's desperate desire to feel herself relevant in the world which ignores The Economist's analysis and virtues and moves on based on military and economic power which dwarfs anything Great Britain even had. And here is the main point, there are NO parallels between British decline which was protracted and...only relatively insignificant against the background of the colossal events of the WW II and of the Eastern Front which played a crucial role in both British decline and America's emergence as the post-WW II superpower. This history is yet to be fully written and it surely cannot be written by likes of Ferguson. Not only there are no parallels between Britain's and American decline, but we are in a completely new paradigm and stage in world history, where, indeed, the fate of the whole world is at stake--a scale of consequences no British monarch, statesman or intellectual, least of all Churchill, could ever imagine. 

The prevention of the possible (predicted by Ferguson) war of American collapse cannot be based on anything Churchill or most other British minds with a claim to fame could ever conceive, being traumatized by British decline and still residing in a delusion of British, long gone, grandeur to which they accommodate the history by means of rewriting it, instead of learning about the outside world. They simply have no mental instruments to grasp a profound difference between the tools of a state in 1939 and in 2021. American decline is based not on the "exhaustion from the empire", especially with the US Dollar being world's reserve currency and the United States being able to export inflation around the world since 1971, but on inability to win any war, especially on cheap, which, when combined with a catastrophic deliberate deindustrialization, doomed the United States--a set of circumstances Great Britain never encountered, not to mention the fact of the United States failing to form a core nation. Superficial similarities between any empires are just that, superficial similarities. All empires fall. There is very little in common between Roman, Russian, British or American empires. In fact, most of what is different between them dominates the balance and drawing any parallels between them is a fool's errand. 

Appearance of the British Fleet within 50 kilometers of Jutland Peninsula meant that this fleet must be met with same of Germany, resulting in a bloodbath in 1916. Bismark engaged HMS Hood at 26, 500 yards with final third salvo at around 14,100 yards, in 1941. Neither 1916 or 1941 military and geopolitical realities correspond to the present realities. Today whole of Royal Navy or US Navy's CBG can be destroyed in bases with salvos from 4,500 kilometers away or in the ocean from ranges of 1,500 kilometers. The seat of the British, or any other, for that matter, Government could be destroyed with the accuracy and precision unmatched by anything in the history of human civilization and all this could be done without the use of nuclear weapons. Or with them, if it comes down to it. This is what keeps today the world in balance and at peace--inability of the combined West to match those capabilities. These are the realities of modern world which many in Anglo-Saxon world with graduate and post-graduate humanities degrees refuse or fail to acknowledge and continue to pretend that some past glories may somehow compensate for the lack of serious technical, military, geopolitical and economic knowledge. But that is the issue I write about non-stop--they just cannot learn, because they cannot handle the truth(c). Ferguson's meandering piece in The Economist is a perfect example and illustration of the causes for a general decline of Anglo-Saxondom in the XX century. Or speaking in layman's lingo--Ferguson, go and goddamn learn your historical facts.

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Arms For Sale.

Rosoboronexport signed the first contract--the country is not disclosed yet--for newest Pantsir S1M (in Russian), which is a further development of now legendary S1s and this one has an increased range or targets' "intercept" of 30 kilometers and elevation of 18. But among news pouring in about Russia producing nothing (wink, wink), this one stands apart--the signing of contract for the new batch of S-400s between Russia and Turkey is expected by the end of this year (in Russian).  If that wasn't enough, Russia offered Turkey help in developing the fifth generation fighter. I don't need to elaborate on geopolitical significance of this news, since Turkey, being a NATO member, looks increasingly interested in military cooperation with Russia for obvious reasons. Same as Egypt, whose political "top" was "impressed" by the fate of Libya and, obviously, doesn't want to repeat the fate of her Arab neighbor. 

Two days ago, Vladimir Putin gave a start for the construction of six new ships for Russia's Navy, among them two newest Borey A SSBNs, two latest Project 636 SSKs and two corvettes, one of project 20380, another of the ocean-going variety of project 20385, capable of carrying 3M22 Zircon. All that bounty is for Russia's Pacific Fleet with the exception of the Boreys, because it is unclear if both of them will join Pacific Fleet or only one. But here is one ship which caught my attention: 

This is the newest project 15310 cable-laying ship Volga, which, without much fanfare, was launched at Kerch shipyard Zaliv few days ago. It is a beautiful, 10,000 ton of displacement, modern vessel (the second one of the class is also nearing the completion at the same shipyard) which is yet another proof of a major boost in Russia's shipbuilding industry which many Western "experts" buried just few years ago. These two particular auxiliaries will operate as Russian Navy's ships and the next big thing from Kerch are, of course, those two amphibious assault ships, which will be four times heavier and larger than Volga and her sister-ship Vyatka. And I am not even talking about SSK Zvezda at Far East which is extremely busy building giant Aframax class vessels and this:

Russia builds those ice-breakers (their different iterations) like there is no tomorrow and most of it is related to the obvious economic dynamics of the emerging Eurasian market, which will need a lot of energy, the type of energy EU wants to forbid to use and thus complete its descent into the economic and geopolitical obscurity.

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

It Is Important. R.I.P. Charlie.

When this news are reported all over the world it shows. TASS reports (in Russian), and everyone else. He was a nice guy of Rolling Stones. I never was INTO The Rolling Stones, but Soviet mignon (meaning 4 songs, not LP) in 1970 (yes, ninety seventy) captivated me as it did everyone else who were leaving a childhood. Excellent jazz drummer and great artist in his own right, in the times when talent mattered, he will be remembered as one of the greatest of generation which made UK cool as it did a great modern music. Globally.

Those whose heart didn't react to this sadness--go fuck yourself.  Because it is a proper day to Paint It Black. 


And don't tell me that if you were in band you didn't try to copy this intro.  I don't even want to go into the Full Metal Jacket by Stanley Kubrick and Vietnam.

For Those Who Care.

About a clusterfuck in Afghanistan, Bernhard of Moon of Alabama posted an excellent piece by Michael Brenner, who sums it up pretty nicely in the piece symptomatically titled: The Foreign Policy Borg And The Retreat From Afghanistan. I liked this introduction:

There are few things in this kaleidoscopic world of ours that we can count on – for predictability, for fixity of outlook, for unswerving resistance to the vicissitudes of life. The American foreign policy community is one of them. They reliably react to stunning events in the world with reiteration of what they have been saying for years and decades They do so in unison. They never admit error of analysis or of policy, they preserve a righteous tone, and they retain a permanent inventory of persons to scapegoat – and, equally important, those who are always exempt from blame. The Afghan debacle demonstrates, once again, how deeply entrenched this behavioral pattern is. It is self-evident, it is glaring, and it is a reason for both shame and for doubting the United States’ ability to conduct its external relations in a sober, reasonable manner.

Read the whole thing at MoA, it is worth your attention. I just want to add that a sober foreign policy by the US is impossible in principle within the existing framework of American statecraft, which doesn't understand war for what it is. It can't. But I didn't say anything here what I didn't say before. It is a cultural thing. 

Here's the News(c).

Apart from a very sad news of Charlie Watts of Rolling Stones passing away-RIP Charlie-the day started with some "bang". 

1. Borisov confirmed that construction of SSGNs of project 885M Yasen will continue beyond the number which is under current contract (in Russian): 9 subs in the first batch, 4 of them already completed or nearing completion and 5 being under construction. Per my humble opinion--a very wise decision since Yasens' performance and modernization potential are impressive. 

2. Official contract for 3M22 Zircon is signed, immediately following the signing of contract for Kinzhals (in Russian), and that is everything one needs to know about the development of Zircon--it works. 

3. First batch of serial T-14 Armata MBT has been delivered to the army and deliveries will continue in 2022. Evidently they finished polishing the system. 

4. The rest... Will see in coming days. 

Meanwhile Russia, China, Vietnam, many others do real Olympics--tank biathlon. NATO and the US have been invited many times to take part--declined. 

Some say this is the most Russian thing ever. Well, Russians love tanks, no doubt about it. It is definitely fun for participants and spectators type of sport. I will try to learn more about this robot which is the sentinel for check points Robo-C (in Russian) later. I would hate to end up in situations like these:

You knew, didn't you, that this clip was coming, right? LOL. Damn, Ronnie Cox was always such a proverbial villain in all movies.   

Monday, August 23, 2021

Rezonans (Resonance) In Sakhalin.

Russia already operates three of these radar systems in the North, as units of the 45th Air and Air Defense Army of Northern Fleet. Yes, Northern Fleet is more than just a fleet, it is a formation which is a Military District onto itself and as such operates organic forces, such as this 45th Army. Now, TASS reports (in Russian), new Resonance-N Radar will be deployed to Sakhalin. The funny thing about this radar is that it is a meter wave-length diapason (that is HF-VHF per wave-length standard) but, unlike urban myth about this type of radar not being able to provide targeting, this one does and it officially declared as having range on aerodynamic targets of 600 kilometers, ballistic targets--1000 kilometers, and the elevation of 100 kilometers. It detects, tracks and develops targeting on any "stealth" target and hypersonic targets moving with the speed of M=20. They say this is Rezonans:

Certainly looks like, including obvious northerly location.

As Western sources reported in 2019:

At this stage we all need to stop this charade and cut the bullshit and start using RLOA (RELATIVELY Low Observable Aircraft) because these fairy tales about "stealth" by now have become so tired and beaten to death cliches that it is not even funny. Like this abused verbal stupidity: Stealth Submarines. Really. Well, here is the piece of history, during the reign of Peter the Great, yeah, early eighteen's century, one of the first proposition for crude submarine to Czar was titled as Потаённое Судно, which in English is, well, Stealth (Clandestine) Vessel. Every submarine which ever was built, is in operation or ever will be built is "stealth" by definition. And even these, original stealth weapons, are detectable and in many cases were destroyed. But this verbal, semantic garbage persists--such as "the high rate of speed" (speed IS the rate by definition and the rate of the rate is acceleration, in this particular case) used to describe car chases by journos in criminal chronicles--so is stealth, which long ago, when applied to aircraft, is not an impediment to being detected, tracked and have firing solution developed. I wrote about this so many times.

New types of the anti-aircraft missiles being deployed now for years have active multi-channel warheads totally capable of performing a refined search and lock on target using a very "crude" initial targeting data which gives a "rough" position of target. They are full-blown "shoot-and-forget" weapons and that spells the end for hi-end attempts to cloak aerial targets (aircraft, missiles) against all those L-S-C-X band radar which with modern signal processing and networking see those targets anyway. You may ask, of course, but what about SU-57 or SU-75 Checkmate? Russians still build "stealth" aircraft--yes, they do. It is like an additional scarf and sweater under parka which slightly increase your chances of not being frost bitten or die from cold when you step outside your house in Yakutsk in the middle of Winter. It helps but it only works as a system of measures of a general reduction of physical fields (optical, magnetic, acoustic, radio etc.) which all modern weapon systems have. On the level of such players as Russia it means little for air-defense. You all saw what happened couple days ago in Syria--a shocking proof of obsolescence of West's (Israel is the West in operational sense) weapons. Once ROFAR technology becomes operational, combination of ROFAR, classic radar, optics, passive detection methods and advanced signal processing based on sensors' fusion--they spell the doom to air-combat as we used to know it. 

In Russia, tests of a prototype of an active phased antenna array based on radio photonics – ROFAR – have been completed.

That was last year. Now Russia holds new, ARMY-2021 International Military-Technical Forum and some news from it are already interesting. 

Expect a lot of military porn this coming week. The new contract for Kinzhals has been already signed. But I think we are in for some surprises. They are always present.    

Saturday, August 21, 2021

Objective Control.

It is not difficult since modern, after 2000, air-defense complexes document hits on targets electronically and then info is shared with "customers" within network. In addition, other means--radar, optronic etc.--track hits and compile statistics. Syrians, it is known, have Polyana C4 system, capable to distribute data and control battle-space against hundreds of targets. 

Or the other set-up of terminals:

I believe Syria has namely this version (D4M1) which is capable to run at least a 14-node (air-defense systems) network. And then, there are strictly Russian means of detection and Air Defense which cover most of Syria, Lebanon and Israel. And here is the deal--Russians do not lie about Israel's strikes. Why? Time after time, Russian data from Syria in terms of tactical and operational situation was confirmed and now Russians say this: 

МОСКВА, 20 августа. /ТАСС/. Сирийские системы ПВО российского производства "Бук-М2Э" и "Панцирь-С" уничтожили 22 из 24 управляемых ракет, выпушенных истребителями ВВС Израиля по провинциям Риф Дамаск и Хомс 19 августа. Об этом сообщил журналистам заместитель руководителя российского Центра по примирению враждующих сторон в Сирии контр-адмирал Вадим Кулить. Он отметил, что 19 августа, около 23:00, шесть тактических истребителей ВВС Израиля из воздушного пространства Ливана нанесли удар 24 управляемыми ракетами по целям на территории Сирийской Арабской Республики в провинциях Риф Дамаск и Хомс. "Дежурными силами сирийских ПВО из находящихся на вооружении вооруженных сил САР комплексов российского производства "Бук-М2Э" и "Панцирь-С" уничтожено 22 ракеты. Потерь среди сирийских военнослужащих и разрушений объектов инфраструктуры нет", - сказал Кулить.

Translation: MOSCOW, August 20. / TASS /. Syrian Russian-made Buk-M2E and Pantsir-S air defense systems destroyed 22 of 24 guided missiles fired by Israeli Air Force fighters in the provinces of Rif Damascus and Homs on 19 August. This was announced to reporters by the deputy head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the Warring Parties in Syria, Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit. He noted that on August 19, at about 23:00, six Israeli Air Force tactical fighters from Lebanese airspace struck 24 guided missiles on targets in the Syrian Arab Republic in the provinces of Rif Damascus and Homs. "The Syrian air defense forces on duty have destroyed 22 missiles from the Russian-made Buk-M2E and Pantsir-S complexes in service with the SAR armed forces. There are no casualties among the Syrian military personnel or destruction of infrastructure," Kulit said.

You know who enjoys those reports? And this is 92% combat effectiveness of not newest Russia-made complexes? Right! Chinese, who have a shitload of copied Russian complexes such as Buk and S-300, not to mention actual Russian-made other hi-end systems such as S-400. Israel Air Force, whose main air-to-ground weapons are Delilah and Popeye in many respects are the embodiment of the American concept of the air war, not to mention purely American weapons used by Israeli Air Force, and as such are designed form the outset against the opponent who has next to zero air defense capabilities and no air force. A defining feature of all those systems is their subsonic speed, even when sticking all those bells and whistles on them, such as "stealth", or better signal processing and counter-jamming capability, which do not resolve the main issue--their near impotence against modern, deeply-echeloned and networked air defense, which from the outset is designed against the opponent with a maximum strike capability, including supersonic velocities of its main strike means, which, incidentally, the United States doesn't have. 

Well, there you go. This is why Chinese are enjoying this. This is not to say that Syrians do not, they surely do and those legends about Syrian warriors winning hi-tech battles against Israel and the US will live on the Arab street for ages, handed down from generation to generation. In other really stunning news, Russian Defense Ministry (and you all know, that unless Shoigu didn't approve it, no fly will sit at the window) dropped a bomb yesterday:

МОСКВА, 20 августа. /ТАСС/. Сирия может быть включена в Организацию Договора о коллективной безопасности (ОДКБ), если это будет выгодно этой стране и государствам организации. Об этом сообщил начальник Главного военно-политического управления Минобороны РФ Андрей Картаполов в эфире радиостанции "Говорит Москва". "Почему бы нет? Во-первых, устав не догма, он должен отвечать непосредственно обстановке, если это будет выгодно всем, и Сирии, и партнерам по ОДКБ, я не исключаю такую возможность", - сказал Картаполов.

Translation:  MOSCOW, August 20. / TASS /. Syria can be included in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), if it is beneficial for this country and the states of the organization. This was announced by the head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the RF Ministry of Defense Andrei Kartapolov on the air of the "Moscow speaking" radio station. "Why not? Firstly, the charter is not a dogma, it must respond directly to the situation, if it is beneficial to everyone, both Syria and the CSTO are partners, I do not exclude such a possibility," Kartapolov said.

Some people in Israel and the US reached for the anti-anxiety pills. But then again, if Syrian Air Defense is capable of performing this way against the complex terrain, make your own conclusion if it will be that difficult to operate against less cluttered sea surface by modern Russian and Chinese combat ships whose radio-horizon against very low flying anti-shipping missiles is still within the 25-30 kilometer range (depending on the type of ship and elevation of its radar). Do you know what it means? It means that every anti-shipping missile currently (and in the future) deployed by NATO gives roughly 70-80 seconds for ship-borne air defense complexes to react which is plenty of time to detect, track and develop firing solution for any modern AD complex even in the event of it being completely excluded from cooperative network, which is really a very remote possibility, albeit not excluded entirely. In real modern hi-tech combat, everything moves today at high supersonic and hypersonic speeds and modern, let alone newest, air defense systems by Russia (and likely China) are designed to deal with those contingencies, not with what increasingly becomes easy targets even for Syrian Air Defense and no amount of spin in media by the so called "experts" or simply not reporting these news, can obscure this fact. 92% against such a salvo--it is an astonishing result.

Friday, August 20, 2021

OK, THE Man Is A 80th lvl Troll)))

As you know, Frau Kanzlerin is in Moscow on her farewell tour and during her meeting with Putin in Grand Kremlin Palace, her cell-phone rings. Watch Putin's reaction. 

And what he says (do not forget to turn on English captions) and how. I think he knows and is completely aware of who he is now--without unnecessary and fake humbleness, the guy is a greatest political figure of the XXI century. No wonder overwhelming majority of Russians want him around. Who wouldn't. He is in great shape mentally and physically.

Friday, Relax.

One of the most genius guitar players today, who literally plays everything, even disgraceful "sermons" in the so called "churches".  

Of course, how can one do without late Eduard Khil'. 

But, this is truly magnificent in its own right. The piece starting at 0:55, good God! The guy is a music genius. 

Andre Antunes is magnificent!! Here are his favorite Russian composers. 

Enjoy. I certainly do!

Thursday, August 19, 2021

Swiss-American "Artist" Presented Moscow With His "Sculpture".

You don't need to know Russian to understand a commentary, the picture is worth a thousand words. 

Urs Fischer thought that a city with one of the finest, if not the finest--St. Petersburg will have issues with this statement--art and culture scenes in the world, Moscow that is, was definitely lacking in terms of "art". So, here it is, a pile of shit, as it became known immediately in Russia, is now demonstrating a very "advanced" Western culture and art. I omit here all the details how this "art" appeared in Moscow but here it is. Russians have a gradation for this type of modern art: 

Насрал под дверью, позвонил и убежал — это инсталляция.  Если сначала позвонить в дверь, а потом насрать на порог — это перформанс. 

Translation: If you took a dump at the door, then rang the bell and ran away--this is installation. If you rang the bell and then took the dump on the threshold--this is performance. 

I think Fischer's idea was to do an installation, because for a performance, even very sophisticated Moscow has enough people with baseball bats and good fighting skills, that Fischer may not have survived a performance. So, let's call that pile of shit an installation. But, of course, nothing is new under the Sun. One immediately recalls a genius Danish cartoonist Herluf Bidstrup who already in 1950s saw what was coming. He was a communist, you know--the old school one, a real deal.

His work, marked by a true artistic genius and incredibly precise social commentaries, remains relevant even today. Looking at a pile of shit disgracing the Moscow-river embankment one can only cringe about the degeneracy which in modern West is being peddled as an "art".  I am sure somebody is having really bad few days in Russia's Culture Ministry, because the reaction of Russian public is unanimous, as it would by any human, who discovers that somebody took a dump at the threshold of his or her house.

Ah, Yes! The Issue of "Expertise".

Bryan MacDonald--a man who invented a brilliant term Russophrenia--writes (courtesy of Patrick Armstrong and his Russia SitReps) in his twitter.

Well, it is clear to Bryan, to me, and others, but not to D.C. or Brussels, because as has been repeated ad nauseam--they are incompetent there. Obviously most Russia "experts" in D.C. are not acquainted with Russian dramaturgy (they prefer mediocrity like Solzhenitsyn or Pasternak's subpar prose), but if they were, they would certainly pay attention to a famous 1868 play by Alexander Ostrovsky "Enough stupidity in Every Wise Man" (На всякого мудреца довольно простоты) in New York the play was performed under the title "The Diary of a Scoundrel". The play could have been as well written and staged today in and around D.C., especially in relation to the cadres of "Russia experts" there--double-dealing manipulators with Brussels and Washington's swamp vanities. A perfect environment for perpetuating utter non-sense and outright lies, which lead to a stupidity of, mostly self-proclaimed, wise-man taking over. It is also perfect for failing to grasp very simple things, like Russia's foreign policy.

Henry Bernard Levy is a Jewish-French neocon, pseudo-academic and, generally, not a very smart man (good demagogue, though), he is also very aggressive, as is often the case with activist people with zero military background but solid globalist pedigree, and now he tries to push for the son of late Ahmad Shah Massoud to take the place of his murdered father and make Panjshir the center of resistance to Taliban. Sure: 

Of course, the main problem here is the fact that war-mongers like Levy, who, at some point of time, need to face International War Crimes Court, are not that good with planning, especially strategic and operational ones. Sergey Lavrov is on record today (in Russian) that Russia is for dialogue of all forces in Afghanistan and formation of government representative of all factions. But in the end, Levy plus other West's wise-men should understand that there is no fighting Taliban (if it comes to it) without Russia supplying weapons and other resources (Northern Alliance, rings the bell?) to said Massoud Jr. As Pepe Escobar writes in his excellent piece:

I met Masoud father – an icon. Afghan insider info on Masoud son is not exactly flattering. Yet he’s already a darling of woke Europeans, complete with a glamour pose for AFP, an impromptu visit in the Panjshir by professional philosopher swindler Bernard-Henri Levy, and the release of a manifesto of sorts published in several European newspapers, exhibiting all the catchphrases: “tyranny”, “slavery”, “vendetta”, “martyred nation”, “Kabul screams”, “nation in chains”, etc. The whole set up smells like a “son of Shah” [of Iran] gambit. Masoud son and his mini-militia are completely surrounded in the Panjshir mountains and can’t be de facto effective even when it comes to regimenting the under 25s, two-thirds of the Afghan population, whose main worry is to find real jobs in a nascent real economy. Woke NATOstan “analyses” of Taliban Afghanistan don’t even qualify as irrelevant, insisting that Afghanistan is not strategic and even lost its tactical importance for NATO. It’s a sorry spectacle illustrating how Europe is hopelessly behind the curve, drenched in trademark neo-colonialism of the White Man’s Burden variety as it dismisses a land dominated by clans and tribes.

So, guess who we all should be betting on to succeed in Afghanistan? Forces "promoted" by wise-men with acute case of stupidity or on Russia and China putting out fires of the war by what they do best, better than anybody--diplomacy supported by military and economic power, traits combined West, especially impotent EU, do not have anymore. But even Stars and Stripes did publish Isachenkov's piece which contains this: 

The last sentence about Soviet invasion is especially true. "If we knew what would follow after Soviet withdrawal, we wouldn't have resisted." Do you know who said that? Yes, late Ahmad Shah Massoud. Make your own conclusion. 

P.S. Check out Andrei Raevsky's (The Saker) Interview with rock-legend Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, totally worth it. Congratulations to Andrei with such a legendary guest. 

                    Interview with Roger Waters

Having Roger as a guest is a highlight in any journalist's career.

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

A Minute of (Geopolitical) Humor.

Granted, a surreal one, but humor nonetheless. A major geopolitical player, a power of the powers, a strategists' strategist...the European Parliament delivers in its press-release a much needed comic relief:

Of course, how could  EU fail to "develop a new Strategy for Afghanistan"? Especially after its "strategy"  worked so well in Ukraine. Maybe Vicki Nuland did have a point? "Fuck the EU" sounds reasonable to me. Especially in regards to Afghanistan. If there ever was organization which is most useless and irrelevant to any serious statecraft, applied geopolitics and situations of the scale which we observe for the last few days that will be European Parliament. Even Rocky Mountain Llama and Alpaca Association has a bigger impact on Afghanistan than European Parliament. How this collection of losers (I am talking about European Parliament) can develop anything other than suicidal and, by definition, homicidal policies is beyond me. But their comic relief couldn't have come at a better time, we all needed it. There is nothing funnier than chihuahua trying to assert itself in the company of grizzly bears and buffaloes. Or very large dogs, at least. 

There is a reason there are so many memes about that. But I am sure strategery will help. 

Monday, August 16, 2021

The Phrase of a Day, or a Week.

Pepe Escobar wrote an excellent piece on Afghanistan and made a laconic but precise comment, which I personally name the Phrase of  a Day.  

Read the whole thing, this is how real journalism is done. 

Some Sidelined News.

Relatively sidelined, relative to a chaos in Afghanistan which now occupies all media 24/7. But life goes on and for richer customers Russia flies in Turkey an export version of SU-57E (in Russian), which will be shown at the IDEF' 21 exhibition which opens tomorrow in Istanbul. It is the 15th time that IDEF'21 is held, and it is not accidental that it will be presented in Turkey. Mr. Erdogan was already treated to SU-57 before and you remember his question to Putin, right? 

"We're Buying This One?" Turkey's Erdogan Asks Putin In Front Of Su-57 Fighter At Air Show

Something tells me, the first export contract for SU-57 could be signed with Turkey. 

I know, I know, there are many objections, some of them valid, regarding Turkey getting her hands on the top notch military technology, but remember--the name of the game is not just cash, a lot of it, and prestige, and I am sure Turkish Air Force would love to fly sexy SU-57. No, at issue here is Eurasia's colossal market and opportunities it provides for those who are involved, and you know it is always quid-pro-quo. Turks are smart people and they know big profit when they see it--forming Eurasian market offers saliva-inducing opportunities across the board--from energy, to agriculture, to transport, to aerospace. Especially after Turkey's decades-long and futile bid to join EU. Well, in Eurasia, Turks will be treated as equals and as long as Turkey behaves herself, there are plenty of rewards, not least of which is a security provided through both alliances and cutting edge military technology. 

In the end, Russians love Turkish resorts and, in a tragic event, the crew of Russian Be-200 plus Turkish engineers perished few days ago, when one of the Beriev planes, which helps to fight Turkey's immense fires, went down. Many of those fires are around Turkey's coastal resort towns, which Russian love to visit. Massive evacuations of population and vacationers took place recently there. So, in general, there is a lot what is going on there and Turks definitely appreciate Russia's help. But since we are all still in unfolding situation in Kabul, listen what Douglas Macgregor has to say to Tucker starting from 2:54. 

I warned about it for some many times, that I lost count. The worst event that could have happened to the United States was this easy swift victory over utterly incompetent Iraq's Army, which convinced always mediocre intellectually, and utterly ignorant militarily, American political-class, that they know how to fight a war. They don't, they never did, even the history they study is primarily exceptionalist propaganda and mythology. So, Macgregor basically tells it as it is. Now FOX complains the National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan never held a real job in his life, really, really? That's 99% of US media-political establishment, a bunch of freeloaders, some of them with such "degrees" as Bachelor of Science in...Home Economics. That's the background of Marsha Blackburn, a senior senator from Tennessee. I am sure that's the kind of people who fit perfectly all necessities of a current dysfunctional American state. Wait till Ph.Ds in Critical Race Theory and Ph.Ds in safe-spacing will take the helm. Boy, we will have so much fun.

Making a "No Shit" Headline Permanent...For a While.

Somebody begins to suspect something. WaPo reports. 

The footage of rifle-toting Taliban fighters occupying the presidential palace and rolling up the Afghan national flag stood as a defining image of a failed U.S. effort to transform Afghan society at the cost of a trillion dollars and thousands of lives lost. “Decades from now, these images will be invoked as a vivid example of the limits of U.S. power, and of its inability to fight modern wars effectively or to end them on favorable terms,” said Michael Kugelman, an Afghanistan scholar at the Wilson Center.

Expect a lot of trite self-evident BS like this occupying the first pages of the West's media in coming weeks, with "scholars" expressing their opinions which are worthless in any practical sense. In related news, the sky is blue, water is wet etc. For Kugelman personally--learn about real war, in spare time, you know. The problem, of course, is deeper, much deeper than obvious humiliation of the United States. French globalist rag Le Figaro concludes (in an obvious attempt at numbing a profound butt-hurt) that even America's traditional competitors or enemies such as Russia, China or Iran are not joyful from America's failure. At this stage I need to make "No Shit" headline permanent. No, Russia is not "enjoying" America's humiliation, because real geopolitics and national interests do not work like this. By the "do not work like this" I mean a two-bit sublimation by Western "academe" of own complexes into pseudo-scientific dick-measuring contests in matters in which they have no even minimal competencies--a defining feature of modern West's (pseudo) "intellectual" class. Real great powers care about order and predictability, not some clusterfuck which is left by the United States anywhere it goes to "promote democracy".

Phil Giraldi wrote an excellent piece on this matter, namely American ambassadorship using a pseudo-"scholar" and certified clown Michael McFaul as an example, and stated:

Whenever one gets into discussions about the decline of America’s ability to positively influence developments around the world a number of issues tend to surface. First is the hubristic claim by successive presidents that the United States is somehow “exceptional” as a polity while also serving as the world’s only superpower and also the anointed Leader of the Free World, whatever that is supposed to mean. Some critics of the status quo also have been willing to look a bit deeper, recognizing that it is the policies being pursued by the White House and Congress that are out of sync with what is actually happening in Asia, Africa and Latin America, being more driven by establishing acceptable narratives than by genuine interests.     

Not only the United States doesn't have a diplomacy, as a tool of a statecraft, in any operational sense, it fails in something which is even more important--intelligence. As the events in Afghanistan have shown, US "intelligence" estimate on Kabul being able to hold on for "around 90 days" was not just bad, which is always the case in the last few decades, but it was obviously a figment of imagination, and not a good one at that. Recall Patrick Armstrong's: 

NO, YOUR INTELLIGENCE IS ACTUALLY BAD. VERY BAD.

Or Margarita Simonyan's famous address to the US:

I’ve been telling you for a long time to find normal advisers on Russia. Sack all those parasites.

They will not, and they will continue to believe own BS, because if they will stop deluding themselves, they will have to live with unbearable facts of their responsibility for what they have done around the world and to own country which is...well, read my latest book. Russia is not "enjoying" because she will have to deal with Taliban on a state level as Afghanistan's legitimate government, but Taliban's first actions, including immediately providing good security for Russian diplomats in Kabul, is a promising sign (in Russian). Obviously some arrangements need to be made, including regarding the fate of ISIS cells (courtesy of the US and British "corridor" for them from Syria) in Afghanistan who need to be eradicated, plus there are issues with Al Qaeda. Russia is in waiting. If Taliban puts Afghanistan under full control and will provide law (well, Sharia is THE law) and order, including, as they already conveyed to Moscow, observing human rights, Russia will remove the title of "terrorist organization" from Taliban, which will open some interesting perspectives for Kabul. Taliban DOES know this--emerging Eurasian market is extremely promising for all participants. 

As current Russian meme states:       

"We will not allow to turn Afghanistan into Ukraine--this is how Taliban explained main motive for their Blitzkrieg". 

Remarkably, there is a lot of truth in it. As Douglas Macgregor bitterly states:

All that can be said with certainty is that between 2001 and 2021, none of the senior officers expressed opposition to the policies of intervention and occupation strongly enough to warrant their removal. None felt compelled to leave the service and take their opposing views to the public forum. When it became clear that the collective strategies and tactics in Afghanistan and Iraq were failing, not only General David Petraeus, but most of America’s senior military leaders chose to prevaricate and distort facts in public to show progress when there was none. How many American lives might have been saved had someone only told the truth will never be known. There is no getting around it. America’s senior civilian and military leaders (together with their supporting service bureaucracies) are fundamentally incapable of developing or implementing effective military strategy.

They can't tell the truth, because:

And that was the case for a long time in America and that is a true "No Shit" moment. They will learn nothing. 
 
UPDATE: for those who are interested--the interview of Boris Gromov to Vzglyad (In Russian). Use Google Translate--it is worth it.