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Ukraine War

Analysis.


In Ukraine, “There’s Something Happening There”​

By Larry Johnson
Published January 12, 2023 at 7:00am

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The sixties band, Buffalo Springfield, had a hit song that I think captures the dramatic developments in Ukraine and Russia over the last 36 hours — “There’s Something Happening Here:”
The collapse of Ukrainian resistance in Soledar was confirmed even by some of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine, which means that Bakhmut is expected to fall under Russian control in the next few days. Russian forces are moving from the South, the North and the East and are creating a potential cauldron that will leave Ukrainian soldiers in Bakhmut surrounded.
Remember my last article? I credited CNN with getting something right. Well, you can relax, CNN is back to pushing propaganda and failing to understand what is going on:
TRENDING: HISTORY IN THE MAKING: The State of New California Holds Its 10th Constitutional Convention
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced yet another realignment of the commanders leading the war in Ukraine on Wednesday, as criticism mounts over its handling of the stalled campaign.
It said that General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, would become the overall commander of the campaign, with the current commander, Sergey Surovikin, becoming one of his three deputies. . . .
Mark Galeotti, senior associate fellow with the Royal United Services Institute, said “it is a kind of demotion [for Gerasimov] or at least the most poisoned of chalices. It’s now on him, and I suspect Putin has unrealistic expectations again.”
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Yes, Chief of General Staff General of the Army Valery Gerasimov was named the commander of the Joint Group of Forces and Sergei Surovikin named Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces General of the Army. This was not a command shake up because of unhappiness with Surovikin’s performance over the last three months. Just the opposite — I believe it signals that Russia is setting the table for a major escalation in its operations to eliminate the Ukrainian military threat.
Letting Surovikin focus on the “Aerospace Forces” means that Russian air and space operations are likely to kick into overdrive. Until now, the Russian Air Force has played a minimal role in the battles during the last 11 months. Putting Gerasimov in charge of the Joint Group of Forces is a clear signal that the command task going forward is going to be more complex and comprehensive. Cue Bachman Turner Overdrive, You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet:

Let me give you a couple more relevant pieces of intel. Let us start with a large movement by the Russian Navy in the Black Sea:
This morning Russian Navy ships and submarines left their base at Novorossiysk, in the Black Sea, en-masse. This is highly unusual and may indicate ongoing operations.
Sources seen by Naval News confirm the exodus. The group included the Project 11711 Ivan Gren class landing ship, Pyotr Morgunov, the largest amphibious ship in the Black Sea.
It also contained all three Project 636.3 Improved-Kilo class submarines which were present at the base. Analysis suggests that other warships were also sailing, leaving only a few warships and support vessels in the port. It is likely the most empty that Novorossiysk has been in many months.
At the same time, Russia is continuing to build up its military forces in Belarus:
Personnel, weapons, military and special equipment of the Russian armed forces will continue to arrive in Belarus.
Over the weekend, the Belarussian Ministry of Defense announced that a significant tactical flight exercise between Belarussian and Russian forces would take place from late January to early February. The Russian military has deployed more than a dozen helicopters in Belarus, including Mi-8 transport and Mi-24 and Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters. According to the British Military Intelligence, some of the helicopters sport the “Z” war marking that Russian forces are using on the ground in Ukraine.
“The new deployment of Russian aircraft to Belarus is likely a genuine exercise, rather than a preparation for any additional offensive operations against Ukraine,” the British Military Intelligence assessed in its latest estimate of the war.
One more thing –Where are the Chechens? If you followed the battle of Mariupol in May the social media channels were filled with video of the bearded Russian muslims shouting Allahu Akbar as they crushed the Ukrainian Azov battalion. Now, nothing. They are out there somewhere in substantial numbers but have not yet been operationally deployed in force. Are they gearing up for a new offensive?
Put yourself in the shoes of the Ukrainian General Staff. On the eastern front your soldiers are being slaughtered and losing critical territory to Russia. The Bakhmut/Soledar line of defense has been breached. You need to reinforce the Kramatorsk/Slovyanksa line but there are limited numbers of trained troops.
At the same time, you have to wonder if the Russians are going to launch an amphibious/aerial assault on Odessa. Do you have enough forces or available reinforcements to fortify and defend Odessa. Then there is the build up in Belarus. Belarus and Russia have assembled enough ground and air forces to pose a credible threat to Kiev.
Where will Russia strike? That is why Gerasimov has assumed overall command of these Joint Forces. He could use feints by forces in the North and South to pin down Ukrainian troops and launch a major attack from the East. Or he could order full attacks from the North, South and East. He has other options as well.
The West and Ukraine claim that Russia cannot mount a credible offensive operation until Spring. I don’t know if the West is putting that message out as part of a propaganda campaign to convince Russia that Ukraine is not prepared for a Winter offensive or if they genuinely believe that. The only thing I know for certain is that Russia, like a World Champion Poker Player, is hiding its cards and only showing Ukraine what it wants them to see. Is Russia going to go all in or will it continue grinding?
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Clemson Athletics Records 96 Percent Graduation Success Rate

Release from Clemson:

Clemson Athletics Records 96 Percent Graduation Success Rate

The Clemson Athletic Department is again tied for best in the NCAA among public Power Five institutions in Graduation Success Rate (GSR) with a 96 percent mark for the 2014-17 cohort in data released by the NCAA. Clemson’s overall mark trails only private institutions Notre Dame (99), Northwestern (98), Boston College (98), Duke (97) and Stanford (97). Clemson is tied with Alabama, Louisville, Michigan and Virginia among public Power Fives.

Nine Clemson programs earned perfect 100 percent scores for the cohort, one shy of the school record - baseball, men’s basketball, men’s golf, men’s tennis, women’s golf, women’s soccer, women’s cross country/track, softball, and volleyball.

It’s the 11th consecutive cohort in which Clemson’s department-wide GSR was at 91 percent or higher, and fourth in a row at 95 percent or higher, one of three public Power Five schools nationally to make that claim. Nine Clemson programs set or tied program records for GSR.

Additional Notables on Clemson’s GSR:

  • Clemson’s department rate of 96 percent leads the nation among public Power Five institutions and is sixth in the nation among all Power Five programs.
  • Football reached a 99 percent mark for the second year in a row, again tying the highest GSR score for any Power Five football program, and tying the highest ever recorded among public Power Five football programs in the 20 years the NCAA has tracked the metric. Football trailed only Air Force and LIU (100 percent) in this release, and tied Columbia, Harvard and Northwestern.
  • Volleyball maintained its streak of 20 consecutive cohorts at 100 percent
  • The softball program hit 100 percent in each of its first two counting cohorts since beginning play in 2020.
  • The men’s soccer program’s 96 percent mark tied its second-best on record, trailing a 100 in the 2014 release.
  • Men’s Basketball reached 100 percent for the seventh consecutive cohort. Clemson is one of five ACC programs in this cohort to reach 100 percent and the only ACC program with a streak of five years or more.
  • Baseball reached 100 percent for the eighth consecutive cohort.


Overall Department Rate:
96

*tie/set program record



Women’s Sports


  • Basketball: 95
  • Cross Country/Track: 100*
  • Rowing: 95
  • Golf: 100*
  • Soccer: 100*
  • Softball: 100
  • Tennis: 88
  • Volleyball : 100*


Men’s Sports


  • Baseball: 100*
  • Basketball: 100*
  • Cross Country/Track: 84
  • Football: 99*
  • Golf: 100*
  • Soccer: 96
  • Tennis: 100*


A note on GSR:

The student-athlete graduation rate calculated directly based on IPEDS-GRS (which is the methodology the U.S. Department of Education requires) is the proportion of first-year, full-time student-athletes who entered a school on athletics aid and graduated from that institution within six years. The federal rate does not account for students who transfer from their original institution and graduate elsewhere. The NCAA GSR differs from the federal calculation in two important ways. First, the GSR holds colleges accountable for those student-athletes who transfer into their school. Second, the GSR does not penalize colleges whose student-athletes transfer in good academic standing.

*****Sheetz happens

Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, gasoline prices are trending down, but prices are really plummeting at Sheetz.

Sheetz, which has more than 750 locations in the Mid-Atlantic region is reducing the price of its Unleaded 88 gas by 40 cents per gallon. This gas discount is available beginning Tuesday, Nov. 19 and lasts through the end of the month, Nov. 30.

The discount will only be available at the 505 Sheetz stores that offer Unleaded 88, which is a blend of 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline. The offer may vary at Sheetz locations in Maryland due to local pricing laws, the company said. You can check the the Sheetz mobile app or website to find the closest location with Unleaded 88.


Full article

OT - Golf Simulator

Ard is probably close to shutting me down for a bit with another OT thread. But it's the offseason and our basketball program is faltering again... Hopefully he will allow it as I appreciate feedback from the board on these type of things.

I'm looking for any and all advice related to purchasing and installing an in-home golf simulator. I've crammed quite a bit of research in the last week or so, but I'm still not sold on what is the right fit for me. I'd love to hear from those that have simulators their thoughts on anything from room layouts, to equipment pros and cons, to budget. I'm prepared to spend some coin to get something nice, but I don't want to spend on some fancy equipment that far exceeds what I really need/want. I'm struggling to find that line. I've talked to a few reputable dealers and they all have recommended different setups, so now I am just spinning.

One specific question - Are there dealers for these things where you can go demo several options and really get a feel for the differences? Otherwise, I'm at the mercy of online reviews or just bouncing around to test out whatever I can find at different venues (Golf Galaxy, bars that have them, etc.)

Does anyone still do this anymore?

Last night I got gas in my wife's rig and realized that I never pay attention anymore to what the amount is after it clicks off. I used to painstakingly try to get it to a round number, whole dollar, end in zero or some other sort of OCD behavior.

Does anyone still do this, or did I finally mature out of one of my thousands of idiosyncrasies?

Vaccines for children

Food for thought.

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The Vast Majority of Newborns DO NOT Need to get the Hepatitis B Vaccine, which has Formaldehyde and Aluminum in it…

• Hepatitis B is spread by two routes
— sexually transmitted
— intravenous needles

• If you push your doctors about Hepatitis B and why your child should get it, they say… Americans are too stupid to get it later, and the child at daycare could trip over a needle at daycare that has hepatitis B on it..
—— “Has there ever been in history a human case where that happens?” NO

• The Hepatitis B vaccine is formaldehyde and aluminum in it, which is a neuro-toxin…
—— when a baby is getting several shots at once, their bodies are overloaded with toxic inputs.

• Once you follow the money, it paints a pretty sinister picture..
—— the American Academy of Pediatrics main funders are Meade Johnson that makes formula, the company that makes influenza vaccines
—— Abbot Nutrition which makes formula
—— Cadbury Chocolate, which pays millions of dollars to the American Diabetes Association

“These people are funding the organizations that cherry picks the research to make our pediatric guidelines…”

rumble.com/v5bqgss-newbor…
Full Interview

The Vast Majority of Newborns DO NOT Need to get the Hepatitis B Vaccine, which has Formaldehyde and Aluminum in it…

• Hepatitis B is spread by two routes
— sexually transmitted
— intravenous needles

• If you push your doctors about Hepatitis B and why your child should get it, they say… Americans are too stupid to get it later, and the child at daycare could trip over a needle at daycare that has hepatitis B on it..
—— “Has there ever been in history a human case where that happens?” NO

• The Hepatitis B vaccine is formaldehyde and aluminum in it, which is a neuro-toxin…
—— when a baby is getting several shots at once, their bodies are overloaded with toxic inputs.

• Once you follow the money, it paints a pretty sinister picture..
—— the American Academy of Pediatrics main funders are Meade Johnson that makes formula, the company that makes influenza vaccines
—— Abbot Nutrition which makes formula
—— Cadbury Chocolate, which pays millions of dollars to the American Diabetes Association

“These people are funding the organizations that cherry picks the research to make our pediatric guidelines…”

Clip
rumble.com/v5bqgss-newbor…
Full Interview
x.com/tuckercarlson/…
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