One thing that keeps bugging me is, whenever the rebels do something that requires a little bit of organization or skill there's HOLY FUCK RUSSIA MUST HAVE TRAINED THE REBEL SCUM!!!!eleventyone!!!! Didn't it ever occur to anyone that many of them might have served in the ukrainian/russian/soviet military?
Yes, there is a bit of that and I agree that in general such training would have come from experiences in both Russia and Ukraine. However there are thought to be Russian advisors helping the rebel ranks. Training in use of the rockets would be specialist and we will have to wait to find out, if we ever do, who was trained where. So far there are intelligence reports that the missiles themselves were from Russia.
How about them? Do you have information showing that Putin is popular there as an individual? I'd not seen that. I know there are agreements in place, but that's not the same thing. I like watching football but that does not mean I am a fan of Blatter.
At the moment Putin the Magnificent seems to find great favour in his Russia; he is autocratic, an admired trait, he can and does stick up for Russia and he is visibly resuscitating, bit by bit, the good old days of the Soviet Empire. Annexing The Crimea makes him a hero. Annexing The eastern shores of Ukraine would make him a super hero.
But he's not that bright, he's put his future in the hands of wild men excited by dreams of a past that no longer exists.
Some may call Putin "The Magnificent", to others he's just Mad Vlad. If only that could get through Russia's muzzled Press to it's people, Putin would be finished. No nation likes their leader to cast their country as a villain, let alone the village idiot. Someone should tell him.
@Krake - The plane was shot down on the territory "of" the pro Russian Separatists. Ukraine does not control that territory, so your "logic" falls flat. It is a direct result of the insurrection fostered, supported and armed by Putin. He has dirty fingers in this whether his covert troops are directly involved on the day or not.
As for the remarks on whether the airline should be flying there I thoroughly agree that was daft, but one solid not let that deflect from the fact that all those people were murdered by the missile that hit the plane.
I saw a video clip on the BBC TV News of Putin where he gave his reaction and in which he stated that the Ukraine was responsible for the downing of the plane because it happened on their territory. see a video clip here
It struck me that Putin was not even able to look the camera "in the eye" when he made his remarks.
Would you trust a man that did not look you in the eye?
It's not clear to me who the customers would be for this Spaceport - at the moment it seems to be aimed at the Virgin Galactic, the "Spaceplane" that will be sent to a height of around 110km. As for real space missions things are clearly still decided unless the "power that be" know a lot more than they're letting on.
As a commercial venture it may or may not work, it depends really on who the actual customers might be; the cosy kudos of having something as grand as ones very own "Spaceport" does not do it for me - there have to be paying customers.
Clearly Virgin Galactic are likely to attract some people with more money than most and there could be a significant tourist spin-off.
Well OK - I'm not yet convinced but willing to become so. Whatever brings in the dosh I guess.
But at any rate the political message re Scotland is clear - vote "No" and look what you might get, vote "Yes" and it will be south of the border.
There are one or two interesting videos linked into the sites you'll visit when looking at the drones, probably some of them worth threads in their own "right"..
Hope you aren't miscalling me there string as I am a lowlander ...
I don't understand you rjh, the video in that link was taken from the "Any Questions" Programme on the BBC. The "Highlander" declared himself as such. He made two little speeches, both somewhat similar.
I was not referring to you (unless it was you of course! )
Of course someone I can think of would simply make use of his quick-draw skills and withdraw his 24 inch bore handgun from it's holster and shoot at the ground. The recoil would keep him aloft.
Come to think of it, that idea suggests a completely new forum of personal aerial transport. Mind you, the anti-aircraft handgun (needed to defend against marauding flying intruders) would add more weight.
In principle the idea would work, but one of many buts is that you would have to be able to jump to the top of the building to have the strength in your legs to do it.
The problem here it's the usage of military technology on the population by their own security forces. The problem here is, like the Romans have already asked, and who guards the guardians?
The problem here is why people are being increasingly treated as being the enemy, as being a menace. A menace for who???
Drone technology increases all these problems by a thousand times, at a never saw before scale. Nothing to be minimized.
Therein lies the problem, but it's based on paranoia on what "might happen" and assumes not only a hostile Government (a creation beloved of a certain group who shall be nameless) but also a lack of awareness of the checks and balances that exist and which are still needed.
The fallacy in paranoia thinking is simply this:
If you had a government that was prepared to act as aggressively as you fear against "its" citizens, then no amount of moaning would prevent it from acquiring the tools to do so. The solution is not in the moaning, it's in the need to make sure you don't vote in that sort of government in the first place.
mjm - yes the military have had a hand in much of the drone technology, although the man in the park with his remote controlled model steam ship (or indeed in his attic with his model train) may have something to say about that.
One prime example is the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) used in the maritime industries. See here in Wikki for a run-down on ROVs..
A: It depends on the height: At the Edge of Space it is boiling already At Ground Level it takes just less than the time it takes to make a cup of tea Below Ground Level, it will never boil.
B: When you charge a battery, does it really increase in weight?
Russia's lower house of parliament has passed a law requiring internet companies to store Russian citizens' personal data inside the country. The Kremlin says the move is for data protection but critics fear it is aimed at muzzling social networks like Twitter and Facebook. The Russian government is thought to be seeking greater access to user data. Social networks were widely used by protesters opposing President Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin in 2012. Analysts say there are fears that Russia may be seeking to create a closed and censored version of the internet within its borders. The new bill must still be approved by the upper chamber and President Putin before it becomes law.
You really are a miserable o*d f**t sometimes rjh Try to imagine someone building a steam locomotive on Mars - that should get you dribbling! (never mind the science on that one!).
Let your mind stray beyond weapons. Take in the drone possibilities for crop spraying, search and rescue, cattle husbandry, forest fire monitoring, police track and trace, and rounding up hordes of Scottish rioting model railway fans.
A Mars mission is not my favourite mission either but this example of Drone technology is interesting for its own sake at a number of levels, not only the context of it. For example as mjm points out we see there a symbiotic relationship between two drones, a feature we will see more of in the future.
)
