Politics

[Altitude sickness]

This is an example. Albeit not perfect or linear.
But an example of China always lagging behind the US war fighting capabilities. When your country steals the technology instead of developing it from the ground up. You will always be lagging.

https://defence-blog.com/saudi-military-slams-chinese-laser-weapon/

 

[mdwest]

I agree communist mismanagement…. Point being just because they have F16 and enough fuel to do a fly over doesn’t mean they have the infrastructure to operate them in an effective manner….. their just posturing.

theres plenty of good old fashioned corruption to go along with the mismanagement

Google Walter Flores.. Maduros grandson whose been caught getting kickbacks in exchange for govt contracts..

or Nicolas Guerra.. Maduros son, who has been caught in all sorts of schemes, bribes, etc..

Almost every member of Chavez's family saw a HUGE spike in personal net worth during his presidency..

They literally have a Venezuelan specific term... bolibourgeoisie that Venezuelans use to describe the new bourgeoisie in Venezuela that was created by the Chavez regime that still exists under Maduro..

The Minister of Finance under Chavez went from being a working class stiff to personally owning a Learjet 45 while working in Govt that he paid $10M for..

Chacon bought multi million dollar stables and started raising race horses in Florida..

Barreuco went from being a middle class businessman to being a billionaire in just a few years under Chavez's government..

etc etc etc

 

[WAB]

He gave Putin 50 days at the end Putin will make a call and Trump will give him another 50 days.

In the meantime DOD told Ukraine that it could not hit Russia with weapons that originate from the USA.

Our support of Ukraine has gone from feckless under Biden to laughable under Trump. There is no story you can possibly spin to defend this administration’s policy or lack thereof on the war in Ukraine.

 

[Altitude sickness]

WAB, I keep thinking that it’s got to be intentional. That Trump is following Intelligence agencies advice. Not military leadership advise.

That Obama, Biden and now Trump purposely drag this on and on with little or too late support. To weaken Russia further. Help drain China, N. Korea as well.

But then I Listen to General Jack Keane and they obviously are not following his great advise.

I think Mdwest said it months ago. If Trump doesn’t get a quick cease fire or peace agreement. He will move along to things he is more interested in. He views the Russian war as not being his problem. He telegraphs clearly that his only self interest in the war is him receiving the Nobel prize.

The more it appears peace isn’t coming the more he will withdraw. He’s had two red line dates broached and did nothing.

 

[mdwest]

I think Mdwest said it months ago. If Trump doesn’t get a quick cease fire or peace agreement. He will move along to things he is more interested in. He views the Russian war as not being his problem.

I think as time goes on and the media covers Ukraine less and less.. That he'll become even less interested.. 3 years ago Ukraine was the top story on every news outlet every day, regardless of being left or right bent... 2 years ago they started sharing the headlines with the Israelis.. but you still got a Ukraine story pretty much every day... Today Ukraine is pretty much a byline in the MSM unless something significant happens that particular day..

My guess is we're about to start seeing Trump shift his focus toward anointing candidates for the mid terms..

Im sincerely hopeful he DOES NOT do that, and just lets candidates run on their own merits (or lack thereof), and that he instead puts laser focus on the economy and crime for the next 12 months.. If the economy is booming and streets are safer this time next year, the D's really wont have anything to run on, and the R's should not only retain both the house and senate, they should widen their margins..

Let the economy slip or have another summer of "mostly peaceful protests".. and the mid terms become a toss up..

Ukraine COULD be a point of contention in the mid terms.. but I dont think it will be.. even if Ukraine ceases to exist between now and then.. Ukraine is going to be seen much more as a POTUS issue than a congressman/senator level issue.. no candidate with any sense will put Ukraine at the forefront of his campaign (although I am sure they'll all at least take a position on it)..

 

[Red Leg]

Not sure when they acquired the F-16 JET but I'm sure they have some of what we abandon in Afghanistan , m-60 's night vision goggles, armored vehicles, facial recognition surveillance ,ect. Oh and boat loads of M-4's and train loads of ammo.
They are an oil rich nation and money to spend!

Probably not. They have nothing to spend even if they could access anything still worth having from central Asia.

 

[Red Leg]

I agree communist mismanagement…. Point being just because they have F16 and enough fuel to do a fly over doesn’t mean they have the infrastructure to operate them in an effective manner….. their just posturing.

Open sources estimate that they may have a dozen still operational F-16 A/B models purchased back in the eighties. They have been under a total ban on spares parts since 2006, so I would suspect they are lucky to have six or seven that are actually combat capable. Those eighties era aircraft are little more than targets to modern Super Hornets or Aegis air defense systems.

 

[bowjijohn]

They are putting young men (and women?) in harms way in order to support an appalling regime

I have some feeling for those pilots

 

[mdwest]

Its truly a shame what Venezuela has become...

I had the opportunity to spend time there on three different occasions during the 90's before Chavez became rabidly anti american and pushed his country into deep socialist territory.. once in the mid 90's, and a couple of times again in the late 90's.. I spent a good bit of time in Caracas.. and also in Maracaibo.. and roaming around in the rural areas of the Zulia (a Venezuelan state in the NW part of the country that shares a border with Colombia.. )... and Margarita Island off the eastern part of their coast..

It was absolutely a beautiful country back then.. Caracas was in my opinion on par with Buenos Aries in terms of culture, food, beauty, elegance, etc.. Margarita Island was covered in resorts that outclassed anything you'd find in Cancun, Cozumel, Punta Cana, etc.. and Maracaibo was truly wonderful to visit.. vibrant, full of life, fun people, etc..

And huge sums of money was being made all over the country.. not only was their oil industry booming, but they had large US firms like Washington Group International investing billions in mining and lumber and other industries.. The "poor" were not really noticeable.. while poverty certainly existed, it wasnt rampant, and was isolated to very rural areas and specific parts of the cities (really not much different than the US is today)..

Fast forward to today... 90-95% of the population lives in poverty.. 60-70% live in extreme poverty.. despite being an "oil" country that is full of other very valuable natural resources, having a solid educational system, etc..

If there was ever an example of how socialism can destroy a vibrant economy almost overnight, its Venezuela..

and yet you have clowns like Talib, Omar, Bernie, and AOC still screaming for us to implement the same system.. because you know.. theyre all really smart and can do it better..

 

[PARA45]

Those F-16s were flyable, but I bet you they were not combat ready at all. Those acft if they sit on the runway without being flown, they break, and I doubt they are flown often. They probably cannibalize the others acft for parts to have a few that can fly. I also doubt if any of the acft countermeasures are even operational.

 

[Tanks]

was absolutely a beautiful country back then.. Caracas was in my opinion on par with Buenos Aries in terms of culture, food, beauty, elegance, etc..

We did some pipeline automation projects there in the 80s. Loved Caracas, even brought back some Venezuelan engineers that we trained back to Houston for work.

 

[cwpayton]

Probably not. They have nothing to spend even if they could access anything still worth having from central Asia.

I just saw last evening where they are aguiring Chinese fighter jets, I have no way to verify but Im sure China needs their oil.
This was on India news

 

[Brent in Az]

Those F-16s were flyable, but I bet you they were not combat ready at all. Those acft if they sit on the runway without being flown, they break, and I doubt they are flown often. They probably cannibalize the others acft for parts to have a few that can fly. I also doubt if any of the acft countermeasures are even operational.

And I wonder how good the pilots are with those planes being mostly inactive. Probably wouldn't last long in a dogfight.

 

[Red Leg]

I just saw last evening where they are aguiring Chinese fighter jets, I have no way to verify but Im sure China needs their oil.
This was on India news

They are already operating 24 SU 30MK2 aircraft which they acquired from Russia beginning in 2016. It is a fairly capable multi-role two seat fighter aircraft and likely superior to anything the Chinese could offer them. Then again Russia may be having difficulty supporting these at the moment.

 

[Altitude sickness]

These guys are like a Timex

 

[spike.t]

Russia targets WhatsApp and pushes new 'super-app' as internet blackouts grow

Millions of Russians have faced restrictions on popular apps while a new app called Max is aggressively promoted.

www.bbc.com

 

[Altitude sickness]

Russia targets WhatsApp and pushes new 'super-app' as internet blackouts grow

Millions of Russians have faced restrictions on popular apps while a new app called Max is aggressively promoted.

www.bbc.com

I’m shocked encrypted messaging is still allowed in Russia. Our agencies have the capability to send encrypted messages directly to key peoples email and social media without the Kremlin seeing it.

 

[spike.t]

Not great.....

Analysis: Putin doubles down on Ukraine war stance after Beijing meeting

Moscow's diplomatic success in China, and Trump's lack of action, have emboldened Putin, reports Steve Rosenberg.

www.bbc.com

 

[Brent in Az]

Kelce got bitch slapped last night. Wonder if Taylor was watching?....LOL

 

[spike.t]

China spectacle shows dangers of Trump's trade policy

Beijing's military parade shows how Trump has created new international bedfellows in just months, writes Anthony Zurcher.

www.bbc.com