International Politics

[killamajig]

Oops.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-28_Sarmat#Design

The Sarmat is a three-stage, liquid-fueled missile with a range of 18,000 km and a launch weight of 208.1 metric tons. The missile is 35.3 meters long and 3 meters in diameter. Designated a “heavy” ICBM, the Sarmat can load a wide variety of warhead options.

[benji]

They obviously were testing to see what kind of crater it'd leave at ground level.

[Nintex]

The nuclear threat from Russia is not the big missiles because those probably don't work (they're more likely to nuke themselves) and Ukraine has destroyed a lot of their radar capability both on the ground and in the air. The threat is rather their tactical nuclear weapons. Basically any missile design they have can be equipped with a small nuclear warhead. 

Sadly the Russians are slowly achieving results with their Plan B war of attrition after Plan A failed. Capturing Ukrainian strongholds that held since the 2014 Donbass war.

[wsippel]

So, funny story: The German state of Brandenburg elected a new parliament a couple days ago. The ruling center-left SPD barely managed to win, with 31% of the votes. The (supposedly*) far-right AfD got 30% of the votes, making them the second strongest party. The other established parties got dismantled. What's actually funny about this election, however, is that the Greens, who got completely destroyed this election cycle, from major player in the ruling coalition to zero, managed to get the voting age lowered to 16 just prior to the previous elections. Why? Because that was during the height of Fridays for Future - Greta and stuff. Their argument was that the young generation has to live with climate change, so the voting age should be lowered. In reality, Greens simply took for granted that young people would vote for them. And it worked out at the time, they got close to 30% of the votes from the 16 to 24 demographic, and solidified their position in the then ruling coalition. Four years later, kids realized that the Greens destroyed the economy, and saving the climate isn't really worth all that much if you can't get a fucking job - now they're voting AfD. The gamble worked once, then backfired spectacularly four years later. 

*) I say "supposedly", because I'm old enough to remember a pre-Merkel CDU. Prior to Merkel, and even during Merkels first election cycle, the CDU was arguably further to the right than the AfD is now. I still vividly remember Merkel's first "town hall", where she argued against immigration and especially against gay marriage. Once elected however, she slowly shifted the entire party further and further to the left, until Germany no longer had a conservative mainstream party. The AfD just filled that void. The big surprise is that it's now mostly young people voting for them. Well, it's not really a surprise if you think about it, but still...

[Nintex]

[Nintex]

A return of the what? 

[Nintex]

The Frenchies anti-tech policies in action. No advanced voice AI for the EU  

Pretty soon we'll be back to region locks, PAL release delays and potato resolutions for streaming.
"Who needs 4k, you can't see the difference with 480p on your grayscale eco tablet without backlight anyway"

[Nintex]

The empire is falling apart no one fears them anymore.

[Nintex]

Syrian terrorist in Essen with a Machete, 30 injured, 2 houses set on fire, 2 children in mortal danger

Someone get this man an internship 

[Nintex]

Bibi calls the coward Macron

[Nintex]

damn

[benji]

[Nintex]

*checks in on Ukraine*

Apparently 18 North Korean soldiers have fled their positions in Kursk and the Russian military is looking for them. 

[killamajig]

https://theaviationist.com/2024/10/17/b-2-yemen/
First operational use of the B-2 Spirit bomber in Yemen.

U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers were deployed for the first time in airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, a U.S. Department of Defense press release announced. On the orders of President Joe Biden, the U.S. military launched precision airstrikes targeting five underground weapons storage facilities in Houthi-controlled areas. These facilities housed various weapons components that the Houthis have previously used to carry out unlawful attacks on civilian and military vessels in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden.

This marked the first operational use of the B-2 Spirit bomber in the ongoing conflict in Yemen. Known for its long-range stealth capabilities, the B-2 is capable of penetrating deeply fortified underground targets, a necessary advantage in targeting the Houthis’ hardened weapons storage locations. These facilities, designed to be impervious to conventional strikes, were specifically selected to showcase the U.S. military’s ability to eliminate even the most deeply buried assets.

[Nintex]

[Nintex]

North Korean soldiers when they see drones and smartphones

[Nintex]

We have a mole

[benji]

can't embed this  
https://twitter.com/6NewsAU/status/1850056094724624759

[Nintex]

[Nintex]

[DavidCroquet]

https://truthout.org/articles/rebuilding-gazas-economy-after-genocide-would-take-350-years-un-finds/

Shamelessly stolen from Era but I thought it was too funny not to share.

"studies indicate that it will take eleventy-billion years to recover from the damage!"

Big "NYC underwater by 2015" energy.

EDIT: The more I think about this, the funnier it is. Sure, woof, the genocide, big yikes...but have you seen what they've done to the GDP!? Also the GDP of the Gaza strip is apparently less than half of the lowest GDP US state (Vermont, for those curious).

[Polident]

This is a very naive hypothetical scenario where hamas and groups stealing aid are gone, israel doesn’t try to resettle the land, and like, some of the nations giving aid don’t close the valve when learning it won’t be fueling a religious/ethnic battle. There’s generally an overwhelming amount of aid and funds that rebuilding could be within a generation or two.

Realistically, though…

[Nintex]

Weren't Jared and the Saudis already planning to build valuable waterfront properties there?

[Nintex]

The left: 
*crickets*

[Nintex]

Damn, they're just tossing Zelensky under the bus like that.

[TylenolJones]

Are British people okay?

[Potato]

Were they ever?

[who is ted danson?]

will iran do something on election day?

[Nintex]

will iran do something on election day?

They're afraid of Trump winning so likely not.

[Nintex]

Are British people okay?