CayceG

IF (big if) the US transfers Reapers/Predators to Ukraine that are in fact armed, I would imagine Ukraine already has crews that can operate them. They operate Bayraktars just fine, and I can't imagine the terminal to control an MQ-1/9 would be that different in concept. But I would also guess that if there are any US personnel standing over the shoulder of a Ukrainian operator, they wouldn't be Air Force or Army. They'd work for The Company. And if that's the case, and the Russia winds up striking the Ukrainian drone base, then my guess is in a few years the CIA Memorial Wall will get a couple more stars on it that aren't explained.

My neighbor's ex-husband works for one of Musk's companies. I think Spacex, actually. He has said that sometimes there are random emails that Elon sends that require everyone to drop everything and do what he says, regardless of time of day or other workload. And it's expected. Neighbor's ex-husband just shrugs and says "It is what it is. Just comes with the territory. I get stock options, so it's fine." I would not be fine.

Vostochny Cosmodrome is under construction and nearly finished, so I'm betting it's as part of the ribbon cutting for the cosmodrome.

I just heard some news about my friends Tanya and Vova. They are in Zaporizhzhia. Vova is on his way to university and traveled out of his village with his parents. They had to traverse over a dozen Russian checkpoints, at times being strip searched. But they're fine and out of the Russian occupied area.

I have an update on my friends in Mariupol. For those that don't know, I'm part of a group that has worked with summer camps in Ukraine. The American group has a counterpart group of Ukrainians that serve as our liaisons, interpreters, and guides whenever we're there. My group has worked with the same interpreters for over 10 years now and I've been part of the group for 4 trips to Ukraine. These people aren't just folks we hire--they're our friends. My friends Tanya and her 18 year old son Vova live near Mariupol. Tanya is a school teacher. Since the Russians have the city surrounded, no one has heard from them. This week, one of our Ukrainian friends was tasked with finding them. This involved contacting all of Tanya and Vova's friends on social media. One of Tanya's students had recently traveled to her village and had seen them in person. Tanya, her husband, and her son Vova are all okay. However, Tanya has an older son that she is unable to contact. Tanya isn't able to use any electronic communications. As part of the Russian occupation, the Russians have cut all cell phone service and cabled communications service in the areas they occupy. I don't know what the future holds. I hear that Ukraine is moving forces to the east and south to liberate the occupied areas and free Mariupol. But I don't know what that will result in. The fighting will likely be fierce. For now, Tanya and her family are okay. All I am able to do is pray for their continued safety.

No Wai! They seem super cool. I'm simping hard rn.

But on a happy note, I've found a wonderful Ukrainian folk quartet that's way out there. They're called DakhaBrakha. I listen to this and just get teary-eyed. The rhythms and sound and harmonies are just so evocative of the undercurrents in Ukrainian culture to me.

Yeah. That's likely correct. The context I've seen it in is Evangelical Christian organizations adopting and fully assimilating the children into Evangelical American culture.

While bad, adoptions of Ukrainian and Russian children by parents in the West has always felt really pernicious to me. I can't put it into words. But it just does.

Good lord, the Russians fucked that dude up. He's lucky.

The Final Cut was all Roger Waters and it is one of the best anti-war albums in history. But something snapped in Waters' brain between then and now, because he has in recent memory denied that Assad has committed war crimes in Syria, that the White Helmets are Jihadists, and that Russia is getting a bad rap in Ukraine. Dude's scum.

Thank god.

I wonder what this will mean for long term health effects. Because I don't think this is going to get the same response that removing lead from the atmosphere got.

My Israeli tanker friend is very vocal about the radical religious conservatives in Israel's government being the worst part of the country. I'll bet he is livid!

Yes. But one can dream.

Ze said fuck em. If we can remove the Republic of China from the Security Council, we can remove Russia.

This Mitt Romney? Nah.

Absolutely. They don't care. They just want to jump back and forth between lies to destroy the truth.

So Aaron Mate and the Gray Zone crew were lying? NO WAY!

I sincerely hope this is right, but I can't say that it'll be very effective

I don't really. And even if WW3 happens, it won't last very long!

Bucha is probably the worst war crime in this invasion so far. Fuck.

My friend send me this video showing life in Kyiv. What struck me was the fact that the local defense forces took anti-tank hedgehogs that had been used in WW2 out of the museums in Kyiv and put them back onto the streets to defend against Russian movements--with the museum placard still attached.

Its self-WHAT???