Sharks with frikken laser beams...

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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Alphabet » Mon Feb 06, 2023 9:13 pm

Payload refers to weight, not size.

Any load masters here correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.

As for the school bus comparison, it's pretty vague.

https://measuringstuff.com/how-heavy-is ... -and-full/

Lots of room for interpretation there. And we are talking about journalists who would likely call a m4 a sniper rifle, and fully semi automatic firearms...
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Kurt » Mon Feb 06, 2023 9:57 pm

Alphabet wrote:Payload refers to weight, not size.

Any load masters here correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.

As for the school bus comparison, it's pretty vague.

https://measuringstuff.com/how-heavy-is ... -and-full/

Lots of room for interpretation there. And we are talking about journalists who would likely call a m4 a sniper rifle, and fully semi automatic firearms...


You are right. I got school bus unit of measurement from somewhere I cannot find now.

I remember when Reagan activated the Missouri and shelled Beirut with shells "The size of Volkswagens" (then meaning VW Beetles) I was picturing literal VWs hitting Beirut, when it was the weight they meant.
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Alphabet » Mon Feb 06, 2023 10:53 pm

Kurt wrote:
Alphabet wrote:Payload refers to weight, not size.

Any load masters here correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.

As for the school bus comparison, it's pretty vague.

https://measuringstuff.com/how-heavy-is ... -and-full/

Lots of room for interpretation there. And we are talking about journalists who would likely call a m4 a sniper rifle, and fully semi automatic firearms...


You are right. I got school bus unit of measurement from somewhere I cannot find now.

I remember when Reagan activated the Missouri and shelled Beirut with shells "The size of Volkswagens" (then meaning VW Beetles) I was picturing literal VWs hitting Beirut, when it was the weight they meant.



It was the USS New Jersey that shelled Beirut. 2 fucking months after the barracks bombing. Ol' Ronnie wasn't as much a rootin' tootin' gunfighter as his fanbois would have you believe.

Mitterand sent the French Air Force on shit hot bombing missions through the Beqaa Valley. After he was first on scene and prayed over the coffins of dead US Marines and French paras, while Ronnie was drooling over himself back home.

But yeah...when I was a kid I remember the Volkswagen thing and thought the same. How the fuck do they shoot shells that big?
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Kurt » Tue Feb 07, 2023 3:02 pm

I was confusing my battleships. Ronnie got the Missouri re-commissioned (I had a Revell model of that Battleship as a kid, so teenaged me kinda liked the recommissioning for that reason I think)

But yah, the "Cowboy" thing and the "Gipper" thing. The Ronnie cult was stupid.

The Ol' Gipper would not put up with that kind of shit! Way to bomb Libya Gipper! Meanwhile in Senate was perhaps the most badass dude to ever walk the planet in the last 2 centuries.. Daniel Innouye (his showdown with "Warrior" Oliver North on TV...I still remember that)

But yah, the French are better at being Americans than many Americans are, and that's why we hate them.
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Tarkan » Tue Feb 07, 2023 3:21 pm

Image

That's a decent sized solar array. It basically looks like a spy satellite they lofted with a weather balloon instead of a rocket.
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Kurt » Tue Feb 07, 2023 4:03 pm

That is the freaky thing:

Apparently that is a common set up for balloons.

And they have rudders and props too, so China's claim of "Whoopsie!" could very well be B.S. But again I really doubt the 1 page I read just this week on balloons makes me anything close to an expert on the matter.

Something went in our airspace. We shot it down over the ocean. Whoopsie or not, that is what should be expected.
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Tarkan » Tue Feb 07, 2023 5:56 pm

Kurt wrote:That is the freaky thing:

Apparently that is a common set up for balloons.

And they have rudders and props too, so China's claim of "Whoopsie!" could very well be B.S. But again I really doubt the 1 page I read just this week on balloons makes me anything close to an expert on the matter.

Something went in our airspace. We shot it down over the ocean. Whoopsie or not, that is what should be expected.


Seems to be a pretty expensive set up for what is ostensibly a disposable academic / research mission (I've always assumed weather balloons are disposable).

I could see using balloons to get finer grain imagery and better EMF / magnetic readings for targeting of nukes, but, that's not really China's force posture strategy. Granted, there is that rumor they are building 3,000 new silos, which would give them a decapitation ability against our silos and bombers if paired up with precision targeting.
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Alphabet » Tue Feb 07, 2023 8:41 pm

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. China isn't nuking anyone. They don't have to. They already own the US, and them simply shutting down exports for 2 weeks would send the US into like fucking Mad Max type scenario. Think of dozens of millions of fucked off rednecks who can't shop at Walmart , and dozens of millions of gamer nerds who won't get Call of Duty 13, or the newest iPhone, or can't cash app their favorite TikTok influencer for nude pics anymore.

I don't know what it was, but I do know that it wasn't anything related to spying. There's literally zero benefit as far as collection goes from that platform, that they don't already have. Zero.

We need to worry about real shit going kinetic like the fucking dumpster fire that is Ukraine, and isn't even a fucking iota our business.
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Tarkan » Tue Feb 07, 2023 9:21 pm

Alphabet wrote:I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. China isn't nuking anyone. They don't have to. They already own the US, and them simply shutting down exports for 2 weeks would send the US into like fucking Mad Max type scenario. Think of dozens of millions of fucked off rednecks who can't shop at Walmart , and dozens of millions of gamer nerds who won't get Call of Duty 13, or the newest iPhone, or can't cash app their favorite TikTok influencer for nude pics anymore.

I don't know what it was, but I do know that it wasn't anything related to spying. There's literally zero benefit as far as collection goes from that platform, that they don't already have. Zero.

We need to worry about real shit going kinetic like the fucking dumpster fire that is Ukraine, and isn't even a fucking iota our business.


China is a lot more import dependent that we are on things a little bit more important than rubber sex toys and iGadgets. Things like food and energy. They import almost all of their energy. The import a big chunk of their food. The US could end China with 2 subs and a few hundred Mk48 torpedoes. The US isn't that dependent on China. Everything we get from there we could get elsewhere, and a lot of production is already moving out of China.

China wants to be a superpower, and so they are investing in shit that superpowers have, like precision global strike capability. If they plan on conquering Taiwan, they need a credible deterrent beyond vaporizing our major cities, because we'll respond in kind at which point invading Taiwan is pointless.

But on the balloon subject, what can a balloon do that a satellite, the hundreds of thousands of spies on the ground (sorry, I meant "students"), and their bought and paid for US politicians can't already give them? Not sure. Only thing I could come up with is magnetic and EMR readings useful for strategic targeting. That's not to say that's what it's doing.

Ukraine won't go kinetic with NATO. Probably. And if it does, it'll be Poland kicking the shit off. They are itching to fuck Russia good and hard, and they have the military to do it. Once they complete their current buying spree, they'll have the most capable land military force in Europe (if they don't already).
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Alphabet » Tue Feb 07, 2023 9:57 pm

Tarkan wrote:
Alphabet wrote:I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. China isn't nuking anyone. They don't have to. They already own the US, and them simply shutting down exports for 2 weeks would send the US into like fucking Mad Max type scenario. Think of dozens of millions of fucked off rednecks who can't shop at Walmart , and dozens of millions of gamer nerds who won't get Call of Duty 13, or the newest iPhone, or can't cash app their favorite TikTok influencer for nude pics anymore.

I don't know what it was, but I do know that it wasn't anything related to spying. There's literally zero benefit as far as collection goes from that platform, that they don't already have. Zero.

We need to worry about real shit going kinetic like the fucking dumpster fire that is Ukraine, and isn't even a fucking iota our business.


China is a lot more import dependent that we are on things a little bit more important than rubber sex toys and iGadgets. Things like food and energy. They import almost all of their energy. The import a big chunk of their food. The US could end China with 2 subs and a few hundred Mk48 torpedoes. The US isn't that dependent on China. Everything we get from there we could get elsewhere, and a lot of production is already moving out of China.

China wants to be a superpower, and so they are investing in shit that superpowers have, like precision global strike capability. If they plan on conquering Taiwan, they need a credible deterrent beyond vaporizing our major cities, because we'll respond in kind at which point invading Taiwan is pointless.

But on the balloon subject, what can a balloon do that a satellite, the hundreds of thousands of spies on the ground (sorry, I meant "students"), and their bought and paid for US politicians can't already give them? Not sure. Only thing I could come up with is magnetic and EMR readings useful for strategic targeting. That's not to say that's what it's doing.

Ukraine won't go kinetic with NATO. Probably. And if it does, it'll be Poland kicking the shit off. They are itching to fuck Russia good and hard, and they have the military to do it. Once they complete their current buying spree, they'll have the most capable land military force in Europe (if they don't already).


You're conflating dependant with giving a fuck. China doesn't give a fuck. Great Leap Forward anyone? They have the capability, and most importantly will, to not give a fuck about bodybags. The US doesn't have either.

As for Poland. Fuck Poland. Fuck Ukraine. Fuck Russia. It isn't our business. Not one ounce of American blood or one penny of American treasure. Poland won't do shit without massive support from the US and Germany. That's a fucking fact. Other than that, they're a speed-bump. Like in every war since forever.
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Tarkan » Wed Feb 08, 2023 2:08 am

Alphabet wrote:
Tarkan wrote:
Alphabet wrote:I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. China isn't nuking anyone. They don't have to. They already own the US, and them simply shutting down exports for 2 weeks would send the US into like fucking Mad Max type scenario. Think of dozens of millions of fucked off rednecks who can't shop at Walmart , and dozens of millions of gamer nerds who won't get Call of Duty 13, or the newest iPhone, or can't cash app their favorite TikTok influencer for nude pics anymore.

I don't know what it was, but I do know that it wasn't anything related to spying. There's literally zero benefit as far as collection goes from that platform, that they don't already have. Zero.

We need to worry about real shit going kinetic like the fucking dumpster fire that is Ukraine, and isn't even a fucking iota our business.


China is a lot more import dependent that we are on things a little bit more important than rubber sex toys and iGadgets. Things like food and energy. They import almost all of their energy. The import a big chunk of their food. The US could end China with 2 subs and a few hundred Mk48 torpedoes. The US isn't that dependent on China. Everything we get from there we could get elsewhere, and a lot of production is already moving out of China.

China wants to be a superpower, and so they are investing in shit that superpowers have, like precision global strike capability. If they plan on conquering Taiwan, they need a credible deterrent beyond vaporizing our major cities, because we'll respond in kind at which point invading Taiwan is pointless.

But on the balloon subject, what can a balloon do that a satellite, the hundreds of thousands of spies on the ground (sorry, I meant "students"), and their bought and paid for US politicians can't already give them? Not sure. Only thing I could come up with is magnetic and EMR readings useful for strategic targeting. That's not to say that's what it's doing.

Ukraine won't go kinetic with NATO. Probably. And if it does, it'll be Poland kicking the shit off. They are itching to fuck Russia good and hard, and they have the military to do it. Once they complete their current buying spree, they'll have the most capable land military force in Europe (if they don't already).


You're conflating dependant with giving a fuck. China doesn't give a fuck. Great Leap Forward anyone? They have the capability, and most importantly will, to not give a fuck about bodybags. The US doesn't have either.

As for Poland. Fuck Poland. Fuck Ukraine. Fuck Russia. It isn't our business. Not one ounce of American blood or one penny of American treasure. Poland won't do shit without massive support from the US and Germany. That's a fucking fact. Other than that, they're a speed-bump. Like in every war since forever.


LOL. Poland a speedbump for who, exactly? The Germany? You mean the same Germany that has fewer Leopard tanks than fucking Greece does? The same Germany that has a smaller army than the Texas National Guard? That fucking Germany? Or maybe you mean Russia - the owner of the 2nd best military in the world that ran out of gas 60 miles from their own border, is getting their shit pushed in by what is effectively a militia force with a hodgepodge of weapons, and makes the Iraqi army look like a model of professionalism? It isn't 1939 anymore. Pretty much all of Europe except France and Turkey ...and Poland have shit militaries these days.

And China isn't nearly as stable nor resilient as you seem to think. They won't be an intact country in 10-15 years.
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Alphabet » Wed Feb 08, 2023 7:38 pm

Tarkan wrote:
Alphabet wrote:
Tarkan wrote:
Alphabet wrote:I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. China isn't nuking anyone. They don't have to. They already own the US, and them simply shutting down exports for 2 weeks would send the US into like fucking Mad Max type scenario. Think of dozens of millions of fucked off rednecks who can't shop at Walmart , and dozens of millions of gamer nerds who won't get Call of Duty 13, or the newest iPhone, or can't cash app their favorite TikTok influencer for nude pics anymore.

I don't know what it was, but I do know that it wasn't anything related to spying. There's literally zero benefit as far as collection goes from that platform, that they don't already have. Zero.

We need to worry about real shit going kinetic like the fucking dumpster fire that is Ukraine, and isn't even a fucking iota our business.


China is a lot more import dependent that we are on things a little bit more important than rubber sex toys and iGadgets. Things like food and energy. They import almost all of their energy. The import a big chunk of their food. The US could end China with 2 subs and a few hundred Mk48 torpedoes. The US isn't that dependent on China. Everything we get from there we could get elsewhere, and a lot of production is already moving out of China.

China wants to be a superpower, and so they are investing in shit that superpowers have, like precision global strike capability. If they plan on conquering Taiwan, they need a credible deterrent beyond vaporizing our major cities, because we'll respond in kind at which point invading Taiwan is pointless.

But on the balloon subject, what can a balloon do that a satellite, the hundreds of thousands of spies on the ground (sorry, I meant "students"), and their bought and paid for US politicians can't already give them? Not sure. Only thing I could come up with is magnetic and EMR readings useful for strategic targeting. That's not to say that's what it's doing.

Ukraine won't go kinetic with NATO. Probably. And if it does, it'll be Poland kicking the shit off. They are itching to fuck Russia good and hard, and they have the military to do it. Once they complete their current buying spree, they'll have the most capable land military force in Europe (if they don't already).


You're conflating dependant with giving a fuck. China doesn't give a fuck. Great Leap Forward anyone? They have the capability, and most importantly will, to not give a fuck about bodybags. The US doesn't have either.

As for Poland. Fuck Poland. Fuck Ukraine. Fuck Russia. It isn't our business. Not one ounce of American blood or one penny of American treasure. Poland won't do shit without massive support from the US and Germany. That's a fucking fact. Other than that, they're a speed-bump. Like in every war since forever.


LOL. Poland a speedbump for who, exactly? The Germany? You mean the same Germany that has fewer Leopard tanks than fucking Greece does? The same Germany that has a smaller army than the Texas National Guard? That fucking Germany? Or maybe you mean Russia - the owner of the 2nd best military in the world that ran out of gas 60 miles from their own border, is getting their shit pushed in by what is effectively a militia force with a hodgepodge of weapons, and makes the Iraqi army look like a model of professionalism? It isn't 1939 anymore. Pretty much all of Europe except France and Turkey ...and Poland have shit militaries these days.

And China isn't nearly as stable nor resilient as you seem to think. They won't be an intact country in 10-15 years.



You're like literally every talk radio talking point.

1)What's your direct experience with the capability of European militaries? Not what Mark Levin or Sean Hannity tell you. You're direct and professional informed experience

2)You're bringing up Iraq? 1st world military vs barely 3rd world, and we bled out there for nearly 15 years. Even worse? Took us 20 years of bleeding out in Afghanistan against dudes in nightshirts. Russia is fighting a near peer, if not peer, war. Talk to us about that in 20 years.

3) Poland...back to the usual suspects talking points. You guys have had a hard on for Poland since baby Bush told us all we forgot about them. It's a shithole.

4) China. Yeah, I've heard the same dude doing the podcast rounds saying that. He's wrong. So are you. Fucking people still believing in Stratfor. Lol.
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Tarkan » Wed Feb 08, 2023 7:50 pm

Alphabet wrote:You're like literally every talk radio talking point.


don't give a fuck since I don't listen to the radio.

1)What's your direct experience with the capability of European militaries? Not what Mark Levin or Sean Hannity tell you. You're direct and professional informed experience


Zero, but a friend of mine served with the 49th during his NG rotation coming off of armor active duty. He said the Poles were hard mother fuckers and squared away. I also spent a couple of weeks in Poland for work, and they aren't pussy effete faggots like the Germans appear to be based on me transiting Munich on my way to Wroclaw. Certainly the guys at the MMA gym I dropped in weren't.

2)You're bringing up Iraq? 1st world military vs barely 3rd world, and we bled out there for nearly 15 years. Even worse? Took us 20 years of bleeding out in Afghanistan against dudes in nightshirts. Russia is fighting a near peer, if not peer, war. Talk to us about that in 20 years.


Because the Russians show less operational skill than the Iraqis did. Which is my fucking point, dumbfuck. The Poles are actually a 1st world military now, with first world gear. The Russians are barely 3rd world with the logistics to match. Ukraine didn't have a fucking military 8 years ago, and as you say, the Russians are fighting a "near peer".

3) Poland...back to the usual suspects talking points. You guys have had a hard on for Poland since baby Bush told us all we forgot about them. It's a shithole.


Let me guess, you're one of those idiots that think Putin is fighting the good fight against globohomo. BTW, my opinion of Poland shaped up while Baby Bush was still governor of Texas, so, fuck you and your assumptions, you fucking cunt.

4) China. Yeah, I've heard the same dude doing the podcast rounds saying that. He's wrong. So are you.


We'll, I've been here for 22 years, if BFC is around for another 20 and I'm around, we'll see whose right.
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Alphabet » Wed Feb 08, 2023 8:09 pm

Lol...Your national guard buddy and you doing MMA. Lol..ok. You two should team up and go show us how it's done.

You're Iraq comparison is wrong, you know that, and can't back out of it without losing face. Iraq didn't have NATO behind it fighting an economic war against the US, and supplying it with peer weapons, advisors and intelligence.

I literally said fuck Russia as well in my initial post on this, but Ukebrahs gonna Ukebrah and consistently ignore that.
Last edited by Alphabet on Wed Feb 08, 2023 8:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Sharks with frikken laser beams...

Postby Tarkan » Wed Feb 08, 2023 8:12 pm

Alphabet wrote:Lol...Your national guard buddy and you doing MMA. Lol..ok. You two should team up and go show us how it's done.

I literally said fuck Russia as well in my initial post on this, but Ukebrahs gonna Ukebrah and consistently ignore that.


Well, my national guard buddy was an active army armor captain in Germany before he went into the guard on deployment, so take it for what it's worth. I know it doesn't hold up a candle to you're vast operational experience at the O7 level playing merc in the desert.

As far as being a Ukebrah goes, I'm willing to fight to the last drop of Ukrainian blood. Not my circus, not my clowns, but I hope they win.
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