Childress

Weren't radios common in Soviet AFVs by 1943?

Loved the non-smiley icon, AH! Kinda poignant. Tough crowd here.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Frankly, if I were seeking a second residence and had to choose between Russia and the Ukraine I'd take the former in a New York minute. Barring a Marxist revival in the latter, of course.

Novorossiysk is not an ideal location because it does not have the natural deep sea harbor Sevastopol has, and the commercial possibilities are said to be limited. Also the latter possesses historical and cultural significance. Ideally the Russians retain both. Ukraine depends entirely on Russia for natural gas. Turn off the pipeline their citizens freeze. There are kleptocratic elements in both countries, you're right. As the comparative per capita income stats suggest, the Ukrainians are better at it. Ukraine has never had a government in the Western sense of the term after the collapse of the Soviet Union gave it independence, just the equivalent of the family offices for one predatory oligarch after another–including the “Gas Princess,” Yulia Tymoshenko.

Premature? Maybe, maybe not. Russia is currently leasing the Sevastopol port, the home of her Black Sea Fleet fleet. The Crimea belongs to Ukraine, an impoverished*, kleptocratic, unstable and schizophrenic Frankenstein of a country with whom any kind of agreement must appear a slender reed to the Kremlin. Putin made a very simple and accurate calculation…no US President or European leader was going to go to war over Ukraine. Let's hope he's right. *average personal income = $3800/yr. One fourth of that of Russia.(Wiki)

Why shouldn't they? Russia has been fanatical about access to a warm water port since Peter the Great. Do you really think they were going to risk losing access to their outlet to the Black Sea and from there the Mediterranean? I'm sure the Baron agrees.

Not to mention that the structures on this appear to be flimsy things. Their only function is to offer concealment. They deserved to be leveled pronto.

Blame Nikita Khrushchev‎. A native Ukrainian, he handed over the Crimean oblast to the Ukrainian SSR in the 50s, iirc, as a good will gesture. It was then a province of the USSR. Little did he know...

That's a BF design decision. In CM1, iirc, you could park an infantry unit in the rear of a room. Now it automatically expands out to the walls. Which works well 95% of the time. But complicates setting up an Ambush.

With 270 posts and going on 9,000 views? I don't believe so. It struck a chord. But the quality of discourse declined around page 20. Maybe it's time...

Love those long, convoluted movement plots! Bil's bubbling over with confidence at this point. Or he's an optimist.

Not necessary, imo. For the reasons you give plus the extra, onerous graphics labor plus CM's the wrong scale for this magnitude of detail. Cumulative structural degradation- for example, standing facades, smaller entry explosions, greater variety of rubble- is another matter.

I blame a troubled childhood. Ashez's childhood.

Someone (Womble?) posted that the conduct of urban warfare in CM is like a black box. It generates plausible outcomes provided you don't scrutinize the mechanics too closely. It's too late for Arnhem (with some improvements), but by the time they get to Stalingrad there will be a host of refinements. Notably in structural damage, new commands, and, yes, 'fire'*. You can take it to the bank. However we'll never see the interior detailing of your standard FPS shooter. *I suggest the do fire in two installments. First buildings, then terrain.

Take that, Ayn Rand! No wait...

Delete. Never mind....

Don't count on it. As of 2012, Indonesia is the only Muslim-majority nation acknowledged as democratic by both Freedom House and Economist democracy indexes. Turkey had a strong secular democracy thanks to the iron will of one man: Ataturk. He forcibly marginalized Islam. But the Muslims are eroding that tradition through force of numbers. Secular societies don't excel at population replacement. The pious breed faster. Of course all that could be said of Christian Europe 500 years ago. We'll see...

You're clearly referring to these quatrains: The "Aquilon" Wind will cause the siege to be raised, Over the walls to throw ashes, lime and dust: Through rain afterwards, which will do them much worse, Last help against their frontier. Naval battle night will be overcome, Fire in the ships to the West ruin: New trick, the great ship colored, Anger to the vanquished, and victory in a drizzle. The situation in Sevastopol is murky, the strategic port belonging to Ukraine but leased by the Russians. N appears to suggest NATO intervention. Any other requests? Will Rihanna and Chris Brown get back together? Will the Seahawks repeat? I'll pass them along.

That's undeniable. Stalin once said that no regime can survive without its own Intelligensia. As well as nourishing myths. These are now subject to deconstruction in Western schools. Soviet students were exceedingly well educated in the sciences and math. Instruction in history was worthless, literature twisted to conform to the regnant nostrums. My friend's most painful scholastic recollections were having to read and master the works of Lenin, Marx and other communist theorists. He found them stupefyingly boring. They crushed your soul... which was maybe the intent.

Nope. He was thoroughly educated with lies. He once caused a scandal in high school when he pointed out that nearly the entire leadership of the early Soviet Union was Jewish. A thought crime for which he was nearly expelled. His father rescued him.

Ashez, I salute your persistence! My Russian friend, university educated, grew up in Moscow during the 80s. He's 50 years old. His father, a former boxer, worked for Pravda and ran a theater in the city. He knocked out one of Stalin's drunken sons in a bar fight- without repercussions. So.... his family was Nomenklatura. Last week we were watching a PBS colorized documentary on the Second World War. For him it was one revelation after another. He was taught that the advance of the USSR into Poland in '39 was to protect the Poles. Lend-lease? Never heard of it. Russians were taught that the turning point of the war was Kursk, not Stalingrad or the Battle of Moscow. The atrocities in the Katyn Forest were perpetrated by the Germans. And on and on. He was aware of the mass rapes committed by the conquering Red Army, apparently a source of amusement for Russians at the time.

You mean if a vacant jeep can still spot in addition to its alleged near invulnerability as a vehicle? I'm buying that sucker.

Confirmed. Map 136 shows this issue.

A pretty amazing beta preview of an upcoming Golf sim. It includes a powerful and user-friendly terrain generating engine- frankly astonishing. One assumes it's proprietary technology. But if you're a CM scenario designer you can't help but dream. Courtesy of James Allen

Interesting factoids: The charioteers were lavishly paid, fully commensurate with modern sports superstars. Betting was rampant, rules strictly enforced and elaborate statistics recorded, many extant on their tombs. The race in Ben-Hur is farcical from beginning to end. For one thing it depicts the participants driving heavy, processional chariots. In reality they were light, low slung affairs, built for speed. The poet Ovid writes about the Circus crowd in Amores 3.2: You on the right, sir - please be careful. Your elbow's hurting the lady. And you in the row behind-sit up sir. Your knees are digging into her back. But how about a breath of air while we wait? I can fan you with this program. He describes the race thusly: The Praetor is starting the first race. Four horses chariots. Look! They're off! There's your driver. Anyone you back is bound to win. Even the horses seem to know what you want. Look, he's taking the corner too wide. What are you doing dolt? The man behind is catching up. Come on! You are breaking my girl's heart. Pull on the left rein! Oh we've backed a loser! Let's go everyone-flap your togas and let's call for a fresh start. They're off-look at them come out of the stalls. How colorful it is. Now is your chance, come on! Take the lead! Please my lady here! Yea! He did it! You got what you wanted. Now what about me? Do I win too? She's smiling with a promise in her big eyes. Repsol what's the number of your lawyer again?