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In the end, every county in Arizona but heavily-Republican Cochise chose to certify the election today. And their meaningless stunt will get overruled in court and then it'll all be over but the crying.
Ukraine: The battle space is changing. Two reasons:
(1) the shitty weather. It's wet, cold and muddy. Maneuver warfare with tanks and artillery is hard in those conditions. In two weeks the ground will be frozen with daytime temperatures across Ukraine either well below freezing in the north (Kieve, Kharkiv) and at or near it in the east and south (the Donbas, SE regions, Kherson and Zaphoriza Oblasts, Crimea).
(2) The Russians are establishing defensive positions building them to the east Karkive Oblast, the current Donetsk - Zaphoriza boarder. In Kherson (headed S to Crimea) defensive positions are being constructed along 3 major GLOCs from Crimea into southern Ukraine and the Donbas. All these positions and the lines of defense suggest that the Russians are preparing to try to delay an expected Ukrainian offensive once the ground is frozen, not to hold territory. The positions, most of them 3 deep, are intended to inflict maximum casualties if Ukraine attempts to retake large portions of currently occupied Ukraine through an armored assault. This includes an assault on Crimea. It is clear that Russians are on their back foot with the momentum on the battle field favoring Ukraine. The one exceptions where fighting is fierce is in around Bhakmut (the doorstep of the Donbas and Donetsk Oblast). An inordinate amount of attention is being paid to this strategically meaningless city ..... Putin is demanding a win and his generals are trying to produce one. Ukraine is resisting and so far successfully but at great costs.
Analysts suggest that this defensive strategy implies that the Russians want to hold out until mobilization takes full effect. Most of them feel that since the mobilization effort has been such a disaster that adding "cannon fodder", what these poorly trained and equipped soldiers amount to, isn't going to make a significant difference on the multiple fronts the Russians have been forced to defend as they are overly extended. The first lines of defense, reportedly filled with new, inexperienced soldiers, will be defeated by the more well trained and equipped Ukrainians. The second and 3rd lines of defense are apparently what is left of more experienced Russian soldiers. What will make a difference is fading western resolve to stick with Ukraine. Of course Putin is counting on that in the long game he is playing. What is working against him is rising discontent at home and questioning of his competence to lead Russia. Importantly, there is mounting criticism of his Army's failure to win battles instead of retreating. See Bhakmut above.
Something that relates to the point I raised about the similarities between the game of football and actual combat operations is the development of plans, strategy and tactics and thier execution. It is the development of bad tactics followed by terrible execution by Russian soldiers that fail to support the achievement of strategic success laid out by Russia's generals. This has been evident on the Ukraine battlefield since day one. The Russian generals, the HCs, are not dumb. What they lack is good coordinators, that is, subordinate officers to design the tactics and competnet soldiers to execute. The good Russian officers are dead or wounded. Russian soldiers are poorly equipped to fight in cold weather and morale is terrible and will worsen in the cold.
Case in point. Generals say, "prepare to defend these key areas in depth and when confronted with them, pull-back to avoid heavy losses while inflicting maximum losses on the enemy." These are legitimate, realistic and achievable strategic goals. So, the Lieutenants build three deep defensive trenches including dragon teeth antitank structures. They focus on the roads, construct these defensive positions key roadway areas that are currently supporting the extensive logistics efforts of the Russian army. Good idea. However, the defensive lines just end; there is no flank protection allowing the Ukrainians to attack off-road over frozen ground, envelope the defensive positions, starve them of beans bullets and fuel and force surrender. This is exactly what the Ukrainian tactic was to advance as quickly as they did in the Kharkiv Oblast in early summer.
It remains to be scene what happens in the next 3 months but it will be telling. Ukraine has suffered losses. No getting around that and both sides are war weary. There will probably be a pause for the next three weeks until the ground freezes. Ukrainian forces are well equipped to carry the battle to the Russians who are not well equipped and probably unprepared for winter combat operations. That's speculation and it's probably wishful on my part to think that Ukraine stands on the precipice of another major land victory. We just don't know at this point what events will transpire, militarily and politically.
Mission to CFB's National Championship accomplished. But the shine on the NC Trophy is embarrassingly wearing off. It's M B-Ball ..... or hockey or volley ball or name your college sport favorite time ...... until next year.
I can't tell what even caused Ye to walk out. T.P. even expresses sympathy for him at the beginning of that clip. Maybe there is more context to it but that clip makes Ye look like a triggered bitch.
Last edited by Hannibal; November 29, 2022, 08:34 AM.
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