gunnergoz

I know that a lot more of this "shopkeeper extortion" is going on, than reaches the media. My wife's friends and family, who live mostly in Eastern Ukraine, see it happening daily. Outsiders don't get to hear much about it, since if the people being victimized are heard to be openly complaining, they have bad things happen to them. So there is not much discussion, outside of the family or immediate associates, about what is happening. The usual victims tend to be small businesses that are making do, usually run by women (who are easy prey if they don't have men to protect them.) But men are also victimized, for instance: During one of my early visits to Ukraine, I was riding in a taxi with several family members late at night when the taxi was violently pulled over by a big Mercedes; four thugs wearing badges and carrying guns in shoulder holsters, got out of the Mercedes and proceeded to try to pull the driver of our cab out of his seat, beating on him through the open door. Before I could react, my fiancee (we weren't married yet) got out and started yelling at them in their own language. They stopped the beating and came over to talk to her. This happened so quickly, I was still trying to get out of the back seat, past another passenger, when she got back into the car and we drove off. The taxi driver was thanking her profusely and I was trying to figure out what just happened. She finally explained that these guys were local FSB out having a good time punishing independent cabbies (the city mayor conveniently happened to own the competing cab company) and when she told them there was an American citizen in the car, the FSB guys beat feet. So victimizing independent businesses is something I've seen firsthand, and it just goes on and on, the militia and the FSB together putting the squeeze on whoever is there to be squeezed.

With many Ukrainians I know, Tymoschenko was seen as an alternative in the sense of the lesser of two evils. She is as greedy as most, but has a bit more accessibility and is less prone to violent tactics. She has too many rich friends that she has to keep happy, to really be seen as a populist. Yanukovich is disliked by many because, among other things, as a young man, he had criminal convictions for sexual assault and battery, which have been conveniently buried since. He is a thug and everyone knows it, no matter how expensive his suits, shoes and watch. The real opportunity to change these countries might have been fleeting and perhaps might have been a long shot, but as it was, in the absence of other viable forces at work, the old-timers and economic predators jumped in when the FSU fell, bought up most of the economic infrastructure, and have gloried in the money and power ever since. The security forces in most FSU countries are staffed by canny folks who know how to use their positions to make them fairly wealthy, as well. So between the police and the security services (KGB, FSU or whatever they call themselves) you have a lock on physical power over the population and especially those who would protest or dissent. Democracy? Only if you consider the fact that these countries have become less and less hospitable to dissent and journalistic integrity. The elections are as biased as in the US, where the influence of wealthy, powerful outside forces tends to shape who is put up for office. These are not citizens' democracies: they are showcases for a very vulnerable electoral system to work in, with the real power brokers sitting untouchable above it all. We just like to think our system works and that elections reflect our choices, conveniently forgetting that our choices are shaped by others whom, in many cases, we cannot directly influence.

I know that many of you are very worldly and have traveled and experienced much; so this won't come as a surprise to you. But I thought it would be interesting to most if I were to relay some "news" from a friend living in Ukraine. She is a veterinarian living in one of the large industrial cities of the East, and in addition to her veterinary services at a clinic, also runs her own little pet supply store. It's not uncommon for professional people over there to have storefront businesses on the side. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well there, for now. Anyway, the pro-Russian hack politician Yanukovich has all but won the Ukrainian elections. Representing the Eastern, industrialized side of the country, he has a lot of backing from industrial magnates, wealthy businessmen and of course the security services. He basically wants Ukraine closer to Russia than to the West. So, the who's boss having been sorted out, this morning our friend was in her pet store when several policemen (they call them "militia" over there) appeared and demanded that they supply them with products off her shelves. She could not complain, could not protest, could do nothing other than to hand over what turned out to be 70 per cent of her inventory, purchased out of her own pocket. This was not unexpected, mind you. Our friend knows that the militia are so poorly paid that extortion or robbery is considered a job perk, intended to supplement what little the state pays. That is why traffic stops are so popular with police there. In the old days of President Kuchma, the police would come in and simply open the registers and take what they wanted. Cash and carry, so to speak. In the "enlightened" days post Orange Revolution, the police came in and quietly asked for things they would like; a bit more respectful, but still not backing off until they got what they wanted. Today, our friend told us, the police literally strutted in, one even commenting that "The good times are beginning again." They know that with Yanukovich in charge, they can do whatever they please. Anyone with the gall to confront them or to complain, will likely not be around for long. All sorts of things can happen...you get run over, you get shot in front of your home, you disappear... Such is life in the post-Soviet era of "democracy" and "capitalism." Ordinary people do not see much change except now, every so often, they are asked to vote for someone else to rob them. It is too bad that, back in the post-downfall of the SU days, the US did not take an active role in helping the FSU counties establish a different rule of law and system of governance. My personal opinion is that Washington was too busy celebrating its victory in the Cold War to bother to think about what was going to replace the old order in these countries, assuming that democracy and capitalism would automatically take seed out of nowhere. The sad fact is that most corrupt communist politicians simply changed their purported party affiliation and continued to run the country the old way, skimming the nation's wealth off the top and making sure that their cronies were well cared for, while suppressing those who would attempt to go after corruption, etc. With Yanukovich in power, we can expect that, over time, Ukraine's media will be muzzled as has been the one in Russia. Then there will be crackdowns on dissidents, reprisals against those who would complain or protest, and assassinations of the ones who don't stay in line. Ukrainians won't accept this as readily as have the Russians, however, and the nation of Ukraine may find itself one day soon severely divided as its Eastern (pro-Russian) and Western (Nationalist, semi-pro-Western) sides square off to see who will really run the country. It is not a day I relish to see coming.

The last time I saw photos of the 4, all of them still had the three 16" turrets, although several of the 5" turrets had been removed from each of them. One can only wonder where those turrets ended up, though...A turret and magazine assembly set up as a museum piece would sure be worth seeing, yesseree bob. I've been in the turret of at least two BB's (the Alabama and one of the Iowa's, I forget which) and it is a very worthwhile experience. The only magazine spaces I've been able to visit were on the UK cruiser Belfast, in London on the Thames river on display. A very messy, oily excursion it was, too.

John can give you his own take on the question, but every source I've seen on it indicated that the BB's retirement was simply a matter of cost...Every BB was manned by over 1,500 sailors, which meant lots of money that could be spent to man other more modern vessels. The Navy was downsizing in the post-Desert Storm years; 9/11 was in the future and nothing like the Cold War was seen on the horizon, so the BB's were retired simply to save money. They had their uses, but the Powers that Be simply saw them as expensive anachronisms that could be replaced with with smaller, more efficient vessels. My personal feeling is that, had the 80's not enjoyed such an orgy of military spending under Reagan, the BB's would never had been resuscitated to begin with. Back then, the attitude towards military spending at the end of the Cold War was "Anything Goes." In the end, it drove the Soviet Union into the poorhouse trying to keep up and the US forces ended up the most modern and technically advanced in the world. The BB's came back on that tidal wave of spending, and were re-retired as the money dried up again years later.

"Miracle" being a relative term in this case. :D

I would agree to some extent, except that there were many divisions of the follow up waves (say after the first 8-9 that landed on D-Day) that were exclusively used in the follow up and not in the beach assault. These divisions would have needed little or no amphibious assault training and got little beyond what they learned in the US before deploying to England. They did get some strategic embarkation/debarkation practice but not too much else and many (as was noted earlier) arrived in France extremely green. It is these divisions that some argue could have been better prepared for the bocage and close-quarters fighting, rather than for the grand, mobile sweeps that the US Army prided itself upon.

Damn, what turns up here never fails to amaze me. Eclectic bunch of weirdos, I'll say that...

What is it called? Occam's Razor? The idea that, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the simplest explanation is usually correct? Anyway, I vote for SNAFU. No one on the planning staff spent much time talking to people who had spent any time in the area and who was familiar with the military implications of bocage country. The Brits, practical yet sneaky indirect devils that they are, were happy with their AOR (which did not have as much bocage) and instead spend their time coming up with clever ways to psych out and flummox the Jerries. The Yanks, know-it-all, confident, hard-charging and doctrinally driven, just figured that firepower and maneuver would win the day...terrain be damned. Besides, whoinhell ever visits Normandy on vacation? Only those weird Limeys... So the American planners actually had more expertise on hand with invading Pacific atolls, than they did with traversing the bocage country.

Not sure I even want to go there...

Well, if I'm driving around the battlefield and have my choice of one round to have at the ready, stuck up the old main gun tube, it's sure as heck not going to be smoke.

Why in the sam heck does some newbie go around starting two identical threads, three hours apart? I join the first one and get left out when everyone thunders over to the second for some reason known only to the tooth fairy. I feel like the idiot who was never told the party got moved...sheesh. First thread in a while worth a hoot and it's scattered from hell to breakfast. (Sulks off into the sunset.)

Maybe, maybe not. It sure looks like one of their Gen IV fighters spiffied up with some sharp corners and a few curves. That does not an F-22 Killer make. The Russians have some good designers who can do a lot with limited technology but I'll hold off on calling it the end of the world until I see some performance figures and all those thousands of fighters fielded. As for exports, Russian-designed modern tactical aircraft maintainability world-wide is pretty much a joke. The old Mig-15's could fly held together with baling wire and spit, but not a Gen IV or V fighter.

Never heard of wireless laptops, twitter and internet cafe's have you? The nutters abound on the streets (and roads), let me tell you; the airwaves fairly crackle with their babble. Incidentally, Sergei, we Californians are deeply resentful of the Canadians who pretend to be one of us while in the USA, for they tend to spoil the only effective disguise we Californians can use overseas, as you yourself acknowledge. Fortunately, some clever souls are planning to open a school for foreign accents in Beverly Hills: someday soon, Californians will be able to travel abroad while sounding like Finns or other other mythical races of their choosing.

Thomm, you are right in pointing out that I haven't yet seen the film, be it 3D or No D. My problem is that I tend to watch films from an analytical viewpoint, judging them as they progress. I'll find it difficult to set aside what I already know about the plot, while watching the film. I suspect that I'll love the CG graphics and new ways of expressing emotions "remotely" but as for the lack of inherent drama due to the film's use of an old, hackneyed plot and theme...well, it will definitely be something I'll be trying not to let spoil the experience.

Our Russian friend Ivan has just heard that the President of Russia has drastically cut back on vodka production. Very agitated, he rushes home and guzzles down all the vodka left in the house. He's sitting, teary-eyed at the kitchen table with the old Makarov pistol pointed at his head, when his wife walks in and starts laughing hysterically at the sight. "Go ahead and laugh, woman" says Ivan; "You're next."

One of the best threads in a while, I must say.

The Car Engine of the Future is that which will return the greatest profits to the auto maker and the gas/oil industry. Whether or not it is logical or not, for any other reason...

Not having seen the film myself I'm hardly an authority, but all the reviews and comments I have read so far about the flimsy plot development do make me question the film's selection for the GG for drama...unless the GG is just another industry mechanism of mutual m@sturb@tion...NOH! TELL ME IT CAN'T BE SO!

Still haven't seen the film yet but I did watch a documentary about how they made the film using movement capture techniques that for once captured facial expressions and in turn converted all this real-time into digital. Very impressive and indicative of where cinema tech is headed. It does make me want to see the film when I can make time to do so.

Never heard the term used before and certainly not with respect to WW2 in the Pacific - either side. It's been mercifully a long time since I saw the film, so I don't recall the context. Is it possible they said something that sounded similar, like "frontal attack" and you misheard it? That would sort of make sense, said in that time and place, since the Japanese at the time seemed to love doing them...the so-called "Banzai charges."

Thanks for the comments, guys, you got my drift pretty well. I'm not sure I'm going to see this one if it seems to be as pointless as some describe. I don't find prisoner killing particularly humorous and I value the experience of real WW2 veterans too much to want to trivialize what was for them a life-and-death situation. Sure, historically prisoner killings occurred, many actually, but why depict them in this pseudo-comic artsy-fartsy fashion? It just seems pretty tasteless and irreverent to me, serving neither art, cinema or history.

Haven't seen the film yet, but have seen most of Tarantino's stuff and the comments here make me want to pose the question: "Just because a film CAN be made, is that sufficient justification for MAKING it?" Tarantino may well be making a sophisticated point or two about violence, films, hypocrisy, patriotism or whatever...but do the points made justify the extremes depicted in the film being put out there to begin with? Just a question...

Just read on the web that it passed $1B gross, so they must have done something right. I'm looking forward to seeing it. Because of my particular eye defects, I have never been able to watch 3D films using the polarized glasses, without getting severe headaches. I hope that this time they have gotten the technology right for once. That would be great.

It's nice to be excited about a CM game again...I certainly am! Happy New Year to all of us!