https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xqdzvl/north_korea_fires_third_ballistic_missile_ahead/

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xqcbcd/us_embassy_warns_americans_to_leave_russia/

Why ‘Woke’ Armies Beat Hypermasculine Ones

On the modern battlefield, brains and adaptability yield far better results than ruthless brutality does.

By Phillips Payson O’Brien

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his generals aren’t the only people who think that the more ruthless, hypermasculine, and reflexively brutal an army is, the better it performs on the battlefield. That view also has fans in the United States.

Last year, Senator Ted Cruz recirculated a TikTok video that contrasted a Russian military-recruitment ad, which showed a male soldier getting ready to kill people, with an American recruitment video that told the story of a female soldier—the daughter of two mothers—who enlisted partly to challenge stereotypes. “Perhaps a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea,” Cruz tweeted sarcastically. The Texas Republican is not alone in trumpeting a Putinesque ideal. Several months earlier, the Fox News host Tucker Carlson had similarly complained about a supposedly “woke” Pentagon, which he likened to the Wesleyan University anthropology department. By promoting diversity and inclusion, he insisted, military leaders were destroying American armed forces, supposedly the last great bastion of merit in the country. More recently, Carlson has complained that America’s armed forces are becoming “more feminine, whatever feminine means anymore,” just as China’s are “more masculine.”

Arguments like these were much easier to make before Putin unleashed his muscle-bound and decidedly unwoke fighting machine on the ostensibly weak Ukrainians, only to see it perform catastrophically. More than seven months into the war, the Ukrainian army continues to grow in strength, confidence, and operational competence, while the Russian army is flailing. Its recent failures raise many questions about the nature of military power. Before Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine, many analysts described his military as fast and powerful and predicted that it would “shock and awe” the overmatched defenders. The Ukrainian armed forces were widely assumed to be incapable of fighting the mighty Russians out in the open; their only option, the story went, would be to retreat into their cities and wage a form of guerrilla war against the invaders.

Phillips Payson O’Brien: Ukraine is waging a new kind of war

The success of the Ukrainian military over the past few months, along with the evolution of the Ukrainian state itself toward a more tolerant, more liberal norm, reveals what makes a better army in the modern world. Brains mean more than brawn, and adaptability means more than mindless aggression. Openness to new ideas and new equipment, along with the ability to learn quickly, is far more important than a simple desire to kill.

From the moment the Russian military crossed the border, the Ukrainians have outfought it, revealing it to be inflexible and intellectually vapid. Indeed when confronted with a Ukrainian military that was everything it was not—smart, adaptable, and willing to learn—the Russian army could only fall back on slow, massed firepower. The Battle of the Donbas, the war’s longest engagement, which started in late April and is still under way, exposed the Russian army at its worst. For months, it directed the bulk of personnel and equipment toward the center of a battle line running approximately from Izyum to Donetsk. Instead of breaking through Ukrainian lines and sending armored forces streaking forward rapidly, as many analysts had predicted, the Russian army opted to make painfully slow, incremental advances, by simply blasting the area directly in front of it. The plan seemed to be to render the area uninhabitable by Ukrainians, which would allow the Russians to advance intermittently into the vacuum. This was heavy-firepower, low-intelligence warfare on a grand scale, which resulted in strategically meaningless advances secured at the cost of unsustainably high Russian casualties. And in recent weeks, the Ukrainians have retaken much of the territory that Russia managed to seize at the start of the battle—and more.

I struggle to think of another case in the past 100 years when a major military power has performed as poorly against an adversary it was heavily favored to defeat. The supposedly second-strongest army in the world, with its martial spirit, brilliant doctrines, and advanced equipment, was thwarted and is now being pushed back by a Ukrainian military whose prospects most outsiders had dismissed before the war.

The persistence of the Putin-Cruz-Carlson vision of war is surprising, because we have decades, even centuries, of evidence to the contrary. Since the Industrial Revolution, and in many ways before, the ability to run a complex system has been the cornerstone of strategic success. Though much military popular literature likes to stress the human drama of combat—the bravery and sacrifice, the cowardice and atrocity—it is not nearly as important in victory or defeat as many people assume. In state-to-state wars—a category that includes the current Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as broader conflicts such as the two world wars—the side that can most efficiently deploy more effective equipment operated by better-trained personnel has typically emerged victorious.

The combination of education and technology overcame brute force during World War II, when the most militarily skillful and adaptable countries—the United States and the United Kingdom—were able to fight their enemies at a relatively small cost in casualties. The U.K., even though it fought around the world from 1939 to 1945, lost only 384,000 soldiers in combat. The U.S. lost even fewer, suffering approximately 290,000 battle deaths. The German armed forces, by contrast, lost more than 4 million soldiers.

That the British and American armed forces kept their casualties comparatively low is especially notable because they were confronted with an overwhelming majority of German arms, planes, and ammunition. Because of the sickening number of human casualties, the fighting on the Eastern Front between the Nazis and Soviets is widely deemed World War II’s largest engagement, but Germany had to send far more of its war production to fight the British and Americans than it did to fight the U.S.S.R.

The Ukrainians are trying, albeit with far fewer advantages, to do to Russia what the U.S. and the U.K. did to Germany. Ukrainian forces have learned to skillfully use advanced weaponry—in this case NATO-standard systems such as HIMARS and HARM missiles—to neutralize the brute strength of the Russian army. They have accomplished this because Ukrainian society is more flexible, technologically conversant, and willing to learn than the Russian invaders are. They have shown more cleverness and wisdom, and over time that advantage has allowed them to start taking the initiative.

Just as the ability to absorb information is better than lunkhead hypermasculinity in a modern army, diversity and societal integration also bring major advantages. As Ukraine has become more diverse and tolerant, its army has benefited. In contrast with Putin’s homophobic military, the Ukrainian armed forces include LGBTQ soldiers who have incorporated “unicorn” insignia into their uniforms. The valor of these soldiers, and the rallying of the Ukrainian people around a vision of a tolerant and diverse society, has led to an overall increase in Ukrainian support for gay rights—and it underscores the belief that everyone has a role to play in the country’s defense.

The Russian experience could not be more different. Putin has made suppressing gay rights one of the hallmarks of his rule. Determined to capitalize on culture-war tropes of the American right, he has portrayed Russia as a victim of cancel culture. He has retained rigid control over Russian society. While the Ukrainians are opening up, he is clamping down—with what we are now seeing as rather extreme results.

Last week, Putin called for a partial mobilization, which appears to be much broader than was originally announced. Now faced with the prospect of being forced into his army, large numbers of Russian men are desperately trying to get out of the country, and protests and even sabotage have occurred against government authorities. Whether Russian citizens generally view service in Putin’s army as a worthy national endeavor is in doubt. The Ukrainians, conversely, undertook a far more successful conscription at the start of the invasion.

Recent events should banish the idea that the more aggressive killing machine wins the war. Intelligence, technological savvy, and social integration are the assets that matter most on the modern battlefield.

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpycii/china_told_the_united_nations_security_council_on/

Generated from TLDR This:

C "Our position and proposition on how to view and handle the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear: That is, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected," said ambassador Zhang Jun, whose government in Beijing is sometimes seen by the West as being too accommodating with Russia.

The nation's little sister is all grown up now, but she is still so elegant. Remember that MNN is the only hole with a dedicated Senior Correspondent for Figure Skating.

https://old.reddit.com/r/news/comments/xpja7w/virginia_students_walk_out_over_youngkins_school/

https://www.undelete.pullpush.io/r/news/comments/xpja7w/virginia_students_walk_out_over_youngkins_school/

https://nitter.net/search?f=tweets&q=Virginia+Students+Walk+Out+Over+Youngkin%E2%80%99s+School+Transgender+Policy&since=&until=&near=

Generated from TLDR This:

Crowds of students walked out of Northern Virginia schools on Tuesday in protest of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed restrictions on transgender students’ rights.

Sanghvi said the existing, more permissive state policies, which were adopted under former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's administration, had been powerful in helping students feel affirmed in their identities at school.

Get the NBC4 Washington app for iOS or Android and pick your alerts.

The new policies say school divisions may not encourage teachers to conceal information about a student’s gender from his or her parents.

Get updates on what's happening in Washington, D.C., to your inbox.

The group is still conducting a detailed legal analysis of the model policies but has several areas of concern, Heilman said, including whether the way the policy addresses bathroom use by transgender students could result in practices that violate previous federal court decisions.

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpsrhx/hes_back_italys_berlusconi_wins_senate_seat_after/

Generated by TLDR This:

Silvio Berlusconi, leader of center-right, populist Forza Italia is flanked by his partner Marta Fascina, after casting his ballot at a polling station in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022, in Milan, Italy.

AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File) ROME (AP) — Just in time to celebrate his 86th birthday, former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi is making his return to Italy’s parliament, winning a seat in the Senate nearly a decade after being banned from holding public office over a tax fraud conviction.

His third and last premiership had ended abruptly in 2011, when financial markets lost confidence that the billionaire media magnate could manage Italy’s finances during Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.

“Forza Italia proved decisive for the success of the center-right and the formation of the next government,” Berlusconi enthused in a tweet. “

“The troops were supposed to enter, reach Kyiv within a week, replace Zelensky’s government with decent people and then leave,” Berlusconi told his favorite late-night talk show host.

“As long as Silvio Berlusconi lives, Forza Italia lives.

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpow89/russia_signs_export_deal_with_taliban/

https://old.reddit.com/r/neoliberal/comments/xppwjx/taliban_sign_deal_for_russian_oil_products_gas/

Generated from TLDR This:

REUTERS/Ali Khara KABUL, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The Taliban have signed a provisional deal with Russia to supply gasoline, diesel, gas and wheat to Afghanistan, Acting Afghan Commerce and Industry Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters.

Russia's energy and agriculture ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the agreement.

Azizi said the agreement would run for an unspecified trial period, after which both sides were expected to sign a longer term deal if they were content with the arrangement.

The trade deal is likely to be watched closely in the United States, whose officials have held regular talks with the Taliban on plans for the country's banking system.

Whatever we do, we do it based on national interest and the people's benefit."

There, now I posted a unironic leftoid source instead of globohomo news.

Generated by TLDR This:

Palmer Report articles are all 100% free to read, with no forced subscriptions and nothing hidden behind paywalls.

If you value our content, you're welcome to pay for it:to Palmer Report:to Palmer Report:to Palmer Report:Sign up for the Palmer Report Mailing List The investigation of Matt Gaetz is ongoing as far as I’m concerned.

And Gaetz apparently wanted to be the newest member of the service.

That the FBI was responsible for the January 6 insurrection.

And this was just simply not a good idea.

Maybe Gaetz will think twice next time, but knowing him, that is very doubtful.

It's Breitbart, but I'm posting this to prevent accusations of bias.

Generated from TLDR This:

Florida is preparing for the “catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said during a Tuesday morning update ahead of Hurricane Ian’s landfall.

The storm, now a major hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, is expected to hit Florida’s west coast within the next 48 hours.

“There’s still uncertainty with where that exact landfall will be, but just understand the impacts are gonna be far, far broader than just where the eye of the storm happens to make landfall,” he said, warning of “catastrophic flooding and life threatening storm surge.”

I urge those residents to heed directions from officials!

Your safety is at the heart of these tough decisions.

pic.twitter.com/vu74GcuabT — NWS Director (@NWSDirector) September 26, 2022 Hurricane intensity & wind speed can snag headlines, but let's not forget that WATER is responsible for the most hurricane fatalities!#Ian projected to bring significant storm surge & inland flooding to FL's West Coast.

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpn2t1/russia_issues_new_nuclear_warning_as_contested/

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpk7wx/russia_issues_new_nuclear_warning_as_contested/

https://old.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/xpha83/russia_issues_new_nuclear_warning_as_it_wraps_up/

https://old.reddit.com/r/UkrainianConflict/comments/xpk8ad/russia_issues_new_nuclear_warning_as_contested/

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xp8t49/ukrainians_involved_in_russianbacked_referendums/

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpfpso/russia_issues_new_nuclear_warning_as_it_wraps_up/

Generated from TLDR This:

Summary Putin ally issues stark new nuclear warning Says NATO would not enter war after nuclear strike Ukraine annexation votes finish up Undersea Russian gas pipelines mysteriously damaged LONDON/ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine, Sept 27 (Reuters) - An ally of President Vladimir Putin issued a stark new nuclear warning to Ukraine and the West on Tuesday as Russia began releasing results of referendums it bills as a prelude to it annexing four Ukrainian regions.

REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko Read More Russian government officials have repeatedly warned they might use nuclear weapons if Kyiv's forces, who control some of the areas Moscow claims, try to take what Russia will soon regard as sovereign territory.

"...Where exactly should we evacuate people in the event of a Russian nuclear strike against Ukraine?"

Podolyak said Ukrainians who had helped Russia organise the annexation referendums would face treason charges and at least five years in jail.

Fighting raged in various parts of Ukraine on Tuesday.

Ukrainian forces in the south continued trying to keep bridges and other river crossings out of action to disrupt supply lines to Russian forces.

or ?

Generated from TLDR This:

People from Ukraine, most of them refugees fleeing the war, wait in front of the consular department of the Ukrainian embassy in Berlin, Germany, on April 1, 2022.

The influx of Ukrainian refugees to Germany has pushed the country's population to a new all-time high of more than 84 million people, the country's Federal Statistical Office reported Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. (

By the end of June, the country’s population increased by 843,000 people, or 1%, compared to the end of 2021.

Germany experienced population increases of this magnitude before — both immigration-related — in 1992 and 2015.

In 2015, almost 1 million migrants came from war-torn countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

GOP:

Generated from TLDR This:

Among a wider pool of all registered voters, the survey indicates Fetterman with a 10-point 51%-41% lead, with 7% of those questioned undecided.

THESE 11 SENATE RACES WILL DETERMINE WHICH PARTY HOLDS THE SENATE MAJORITY According to the Marist Poll, Fetterman leads Oz by 22 points among independent votes, with just over one in 10 Independents undecided.

"Fetterman is ahead of Oz among most demographic groups.

Most Republicans (56%) said inflation was their most pressing issue.

Orange Site:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32994922

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpc5kw/nord_stream_operator_says_three_offshore_gas/

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpg869/gas_leak_in_the_baltic_sea_video_from_the_danish/

https://old.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/xpg4iu/gas_leak_in_the_baltic_sea_after_the_three_gas/

https://old.reddit.com/r/anime_titties/comments/xpgbsi/gas_leak_in_the_baltic_sea/

https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/xplhql/gas_leak_in_the_baltic_sea/

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpkyvs/presidents_office_considers_leak_on_gas_pipeline/

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xplmvm/nord_stream_ukraine_accuses_russia_of_pipeline/

https://old.reddit.com/r/anime_titties/comments/xpjoqj/nord_stream_ukraine_accuses_russia_of_pipeline/

https://old.reddit.com/r/UkraineRussiaReport/comments/xpklzp/ua_pov_nord_stream_ukraine_accuses_russia_of/

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpfj9k/nord_stream_mystery_leaks_in_russia_gas_pipelines/

https://old.reddit.com/r/news/comments/xpg21q/europe_suspects_sabotage_as_mystery_gas_leaks_hit/

https://old.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/xpgrxi/swedish_and_danish_seismological_stations_confirm/

https://old.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/xp90b9/nord_stream_2_leak_a_danger_to_ships_as_denmark/

https://old.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/xpj50r/seismologist_two_explosions_next_to_nord_stream/

https://old.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/xpdvu7/zeit_authorities_suspect_act_of_sabotage_behind/

https://x.com/Reuters/status/1574778395359166464

https://x.com/visegrad24/status/1574743941597073412

https://nitter.net/disclosetv/status/1574684197846908929#m

https://x.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1574784357063364608

https://x.com/search?q=%22Nord%20Stream%22&src=trend_click&vertical=trends

https://nitter.42l.fr/JackPosobiec/status/1574785592856018945

https://rdrama.net/post/108135/nordstreams-probably-borked

https://rdrama.net/post/108063/rworldnews-nord-stream-operator-says-three

https://rdrama.net/post/108007/someone-marseyglancing-marseyburger-marseyglancing-attacked-both

https://rdrama.net/post/108007/someone-marseyglancing-marseyburger-marseyglancing-attacked-both

https://rdrama.org/h/slackernews/post/108071/gas-leaks-in-russian-pipelines-to

Disclosure: /h/slackernews is our parent hole.

https://archived.moe/pol/thread/397206628

https://archived.moe/pol/catalog#s=Nord

Generated from TLDR This:

MOSCOW, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Three offshore lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system on the bed of the Baltic Sea sustained "unprecedented" damage in one day, Nord Stream AG, the operator of the network, said on Tuesday.

read more Nord Stream AG said it was impossible to estimate when the gas network system's working capability would be restored.

Russia blames faulty equipment at a key compressor station and Western sanctions over Ukraine for its idling.

The project was halted altogether just days before Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Louise Heavens and Jan Harvey Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpktdk/slovak_parliament_approves_nato_membership_for/

https://old.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/xpli0n/slovakia_is_now_the_28th_nation_to_ratify/

https://old.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/xpli3z/slovak_parliament_approves_nato_membership_for/

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpltdu/the_accession_of_sweden_and_finland_to_nato/

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpkmcb/slovak_parliament_passes_nato_accession_protocols/

https://nitter.net/search?f=tweets&q=Slovak+parliament+approves+NATO+membership+for+Finland%2C+Sweden&since=&until=&near=

Generated from TLDR This:

Slovakia's parliament on Tuesday ratified the entry of Finland and Sweden to NATO, becoming one of the last countries to back the military alliance's expansion.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Turkey had been opposed, accusing the Nordic countries of imposing arms embargoes on Ankara and supporting groups it deems terrorists.

But the three signed an accord to lift Ankara's veto in exchange for counter-terrorism promises.

Turkey has said it will block the membership bids if pledges are not kept.

Support among the public in Slovakia is shakier, with a poll in September showing a slight majority backing Russia over Ukraine in the war.

JUST IN - Two nuclear power plants in southern Germany must run beyond the end of the year, Economy Minister Habeck (Green Party) suddenly says.

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 27, 2022

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-27/german-nuclear-power-extension-more-likely-minister-says

Generated from TLDR This:

Germany is more likely to have to keep using two of its remaining three nuclear power plants due to the ongoing energy crisis and a potential shortfall in power generation, according to Economy Minister Robert Habeck.

“We are already in a situation now where the stress test says it could become necessary to use nuclear power for the security of the grid,” Habeck said Tuesday at a Der Spiegel climate conference in Berlin.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition agreed this month to keep two of the three nuclear plants on reserve beyond the end of this year, reversing a long-planned shutdown of the facilities.

The government has come under intense pressure to delay the final step in the nuclear phaseout after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a dramatic surge in energy prices.

Rigged

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xpkhb2/russia_declares_98_secession_support_rate_in_sham/

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xphyov/initial_votes_show_over_96_in_occupied_ukraine/

Generated from TLDR This:

People cast their votes in sham referendums in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast on Sept. 24, 2022. (

The so-called vote at gunpoint has been declared null and void by all countries that commented on the issue.

During the "referendums," the Russian troops were checking residents' houses and writing down the names of locals who voted against the annexation, according to Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai.

They point weapons at people, give them these 'ballots' and tell exactly which box to check."

Russian state-controlled news outlet RIA Novosti wrote that Russia might formally annex the occupied regions on Oct. 4.

Kyiv warned that the illegal annexation votes would not change Ukraine's counteroffensive plans and that there would be no peace talks in case these "referendums" take place.