Alaskaball

https://archive.is/HG3JV

Article summary

• Some observers have argued surprise attacks are nearly impossible due to wide surveillance.

• Ukraine's Kursk invasion caught Russia by surprise and followed time-honored tactics.

• The question for Ukraine is whether Kursk will fare better than Germany's Battle of the Bulge.

When Ukraine unleashed its Kursk offensive in August, it wasn't just the Russians who were surprised.

That's right, pretty much anyone with an Orthodox understanding of Military Strategy would've been surprised because it's essentially an operation that leaves your actively besieged defensive line with a skeleton crew while throwing a hail mary offensive and hoping for the best.

Much like the initial kick-off to the war, everyone saw the build-up but was more or less thinking "no way they'd actually do that right?

Some experts had argued that large-scale attacks were no longer possible in modern warfare. Any attempt to mass forces for a penetration would be quickly detected by drones, spyplanes or satellites, the thinking went, enabling the defender to reinforce his defenses.

I wouldn't say impossible, just really fucking costly that - barring special circumstances - its use would yield insignificant gains in contrast to the enormous resources exhausted to conduct such offensive.

"The proliferation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in the Ukraine-Russia war has created a transparent battlefield marked by near-persistent surveillance, making operational surprise difficult to achieve," according to a blog by the US Army's Training and Doctrine Command.

One could draw the allusion that we're seeing a rhythm of history to that of the widespread usage of aircraft in ww1 changing the dynamics of war.

But despite hordes of Russian drones keeping an eagle eye for Ukrainian movements, Ukraine managed to concentrate its best brigades for an attack that stunned the Kremlin and seized 500 square miles at the height of the offensive.

Other than "muh ruzzian hooiorrds", everyone knew there was a build-up, everyone literally thought "no way they'd actually do that right? That'd be like letting the tiger bite your ass so you can yank a handful of hair off its paw."

How did Ukraine do it? By using the same time-honored techniques that Germany employed in its surprise attack at the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.

Nazi Germany*. And how did that go for them? I dunno, if I remember correctly G.I Joe kicked their asses.

First came careful preparation by identifying weak spots in Russian defenses. By massing forces for offensives in eastern Ukraine, this thinned out the rest of the 600-mile front line, including the Kursk region. Open-source intelligence "indicates that up to 75 percent of Russia's ground forces, airborne units, and naval infantry are deployed in or near eastern Ukraine," TRADOC noted. And because Russian drones and other ISR — intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance — systems were concentrated in areas where Russia was on the attack, this meant lighter coverage of Kursk.

I want to read this document TRADOC put out, because I get a feeling all the allegories to nazi Germany's actually the author of this articles inclusions and the actual u.s army TRADOC is more objective in its observations of the maneuvers seen in the kursk offensive. Because there's no fucking way the war mongers looked at this and thought "yeah that's a good operational plan"

Similarly, in late 1944 — even as Germany was reeling from massive defeats in Normandy and by an advancing Russia on the Eastern Front— Hitler and his top advisers identified the Ardennes region of Belgium as a weak spot in the center of the Allied lines. While American and British forces were concentrated to the north and south for a final offensive into Germany, the Allies considered the hilly, wooded terrain of the Ardennes a quiet sector safe to defend with a few depleted or inexperienced divisions. The heavy forests could serve as cover for the German infantry and Panzer armored forces as they advanced.

Seriously does the author not see the irony of comparing fascist Ukraine to nazi Germany in its last dying days?

Before its August assault, the Ukrainian high command also took care to keep words of the operation to as few people as possible. "Once intelligence was collected and analyzed, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, led the planning with only a few senior officers in attendance," TRADOC said. "The planning sessions were likely conducted face-to-face to prevent the risk of Russian cyber actors or signals intelligence from discovering the plan. Press interviews with Ukrainian soldiers indicate that the incursion forces were not notified until hours before the operation."

Seriously I hate all this bullshit glossing that ignores the fact that even if they did everything they could to keep it all hush-hush, it doesn't stop the fact that surveillance had already detected the build-up on the kursk borders and the relocation of forces on the defensive lines from the Lugansk-Donetsk front. The fact that we're seeing that front is changing as the Russians are conducting their own offensive operations there allows us to extrapolate that they knew the kursk bullshit may or may not occur.

To conceal its preparations, Ukraine also resorted to disinformation, such as spreading the word that the Ukrainian army wouldn't be capable of launching an offensive before spring 2025. Ukrainian troops were unwitting parts of the deception. For example, "Ukraine's military announced the 61st Mechanized Brigade would be moving to Vovchansk, a city in the northern sector of the fighting in eastern Ukraine," said TRADOC. "Even after the 61st was told they would go into Russia, senior officers in the unit thought it was a bluff."

What do you mean "resorted to disinformation"? Motherfucker they've been doing disinformation since 2014. If you want to be technical and specify this conflict only, motherfucker they've been doing disinformation the very moment the Russian Army kicked the fucking door in.

Also their own officers thought this was a stupid fucking idea. Good for them.

Likewise, knowledge of the Ardennes offensive — codenamed Operation Wacht am Rhein — was confined to a small circle of officers sworn to secrecy upon pain of death. Allied cryptographers had broken high-level German radio codes (the "Ultra" program), but German forces employed radio silence, and orders were conveyed by courier and telephone. Even the name Wacht am Rhein ("Watch on the Rhine") was meant to convince Allied intelligence that it was a defensive plan to stop an Allied crossing of the Rhine River into Germany.

You wonder what ww2 would've been like if they had today's modern equipment, minus the nukes of course.

Ukraine prepped its offensive by blinding Russian ISR with strikes on Russian airfields, as well as using Ukrainian drones to destroy Russian UAVs. To delay a Russian response, Ukraine used rockets, drones and artillery-delivered mines against airbases and command and control centers, as well as interdicting Russian reinforcements.

That's just general war shit. There's nothing extraordinary here, just fluff.

This too echoed Nazi Germany's final offensive. It had timed the Ardennes operation to coincide with a long spell of bad weather, which grounded Allied reconnaissance planes. On the misty dawn of Dec. 16, 1944, a massive German artillery barrage disrupted American communications, while German commandos — dressed in American uniforms — infiltrated US lines to spread confusion and panic.

I guess it is a comparable case of "no way they'd actually fucking do that right?"

The question for Ukraine is whether its Kursk operation will fare better than the Bulge. Instead of a breakthrough that changed the tide of World War II, the German offensive eventually bogged down because of poor terrain, lack of fuel and fierce American resistance.

In recent news, the Ukrainian offensive has bogged down because of poor terrain, lack of fuel and fierce Russian resistance and is being pushed back while the Russian Army is pushing them from the East.

While seizing some Russian territory and creating dismay in Moscow, Ukraine's offensive has failed to divert Russian forces from eastern Ukraine, and Russian counterattacks are shrinking the Ukrainian salient.

WHO WOULDA FUCKING GUESSED. Also lol they're Russian disinformation bots for spreading the truth.

Nonetheless, Ukraine has shown that surprise attacks are possible even in the Drone Age. "The Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region demonstrated that operational surprise is still possible in the Ukraine conflict by avoiding and degrading ISR — a lesson that could broadly be applied to future large-scale combat operations in other theaters as well," TRADOC concluded.

No shit it's possible. If you're looking to flail around and hope to cause extra damage while getting your ass beat, anything is possible.

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ.

Michael peck is a jackass whose work has appeared in the garbage pit known as Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and any other publications looking to drag their legitimacy through a shitpit. He holds a MA in the field of American exceptionalist brainwashing known as political "science" from Rutgers University.

Specifically the assholes of Seattle.

Every TSA fascist belongs in a forced labor camp where they can do actual honest work for an actual honest wage for as many years as they've volunteered to terrorize the people of the world, plus 5 more because fuck them extra.

Not even five hours back stateside and I already wish I wasn't back because of those goddamn terrorists

Oh I'm being rude because you're being a fucking rules nazi enforcing esoteric arbitrary bullshit that literally no other fucking airport gives a shit about because it's already following fucking internationally agreed regulations fuck you fuck you fuck you Seattle TSA

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2024/10/29/who-is-luce-the-anime-mascot-of-the-catholic-church-explained/

The Catholic Church has unveiled a new cartoon mascot known as “Luce,” and the raincoat-clad anime girl has already made a splash online.

Luce has been embraced and denounced by the extremely online masses, and, inevitably, inspired a ridiculous amount of fan art, and memes.

Who Is Luce, The Vatican’s New Mascot?

Luce was designed as a kid-friendly mascot for the Catholic Church’s upcoming 2025 Jubliee Year, which is all about hope, forgiveness and holy pilgrimages.

Catholic and kid-friendly do not belong in the same sentence.

Luce means “light” in Italian; the anime girl is designed to appeal to the youth of today, who have grown up watching One Piece and Demon Slayer. The character is rendered in the “chibi” art style, meaning short, cutesy characters with big heads and stubby limbs.

Luce was designed by Simone Legno, the Italian pop artist behind the tokidoki brand, who takes inspiration from street graffiti and Japanese art.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the organizer for the jubilee, says the mascot was inspired by the Catholic Church's desire "to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth."

Luce also appears to be a pilgrim, which is why she wears a raincoat, muddy boots and walking staff, symbolizing her perseverance through a storm-ridden landscape.

Luce’s whole outfit is loaded with Catholic iconography and symbolism; she wears rosary beads around her neck, and her bright blue hair might be a reference to the Virgin Mary’s blue hair covering.

Luce also has scallop shells in her eyes, which are an iconic symbol of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, with the shell representing the way to the Cathedral.

Luce proved a pleasant surprise for anime-loving Catholics, instantly inspiring a deluge of fan art and positive commentary.

Many made comparisons to Rei, a blue-haired character from the legendary anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Others pointed out that Luce bears a striking resemblance to the “Morton Salt Girl,” the official mascot of Morton Salt.

It didn’t take long for artists to reimagine Luce in multiple different styles, and a variety of poses; the mascot even inspired Halloween costumes.

However, not everyone was impressed with the Church’s new anime girl; more traditional commentators saw the chibi mascot as an embarrassment, too modern and silly to represent their faith.

Some even compared the name of the anime character to the devil himself, Lucifer, but the supposed link was quickly debunked.

Okay this sounds like some shit my crank protestant theocratic fascist coworker would try to say smear the Catholics, like the fact that it's an anime isn't cringe enough as is.

Many commentators urged the traditionalists to lighten up, and made jokes about the cultural divide between Luce fans and haters.

Brightly colored cartoon characters are a fun, inoffensive way to appeal to the youth, and the Catholic Church could stand to shed its image as a dusty, archaic institution.

While Luce has been introduced online, the character is due to make her official debut at the Lucca Comics & Games convention in Lucca, Italy, in the first week of November.

Luce will also appear as the Vatican’s mascot at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, where she will be used to promote the theme of “Beauty Brings Hope.”

He's referencing the storming of the Winter Palace and the dissolution of the widely loathed provisional government during the Great October Socialist Revolution. Is Gabe Newell a modern Alexander Kerensky? Will he be defended to the last by a Women's Battalion of Death when the games worker red guards storm Bellevue? The answer, of course, is yes

Legit awesome vid.

ARTICLE BY Isabella O'Malley and The Associated Press. All of whom should be literally converted into carbon and turned into diamonds for writing this article.

The muted sounds of hammering and sanding drift down to the first floor of Bario Neal, a jewelry store in Philadelphia, where rustic artwork that mimics nature hangs on warmly-lit walls.

Blah blah

Waiting for one of those rings is Haley Farlow, a 28-year-old second grade teacher who has been designing her three-stone engagement ring with her boyfriend. They care about price and also don’t want jewelry that takes a toll on the Earth, or exploits people in mining. So they’re planning on buying diamonds grown in a laboratory.

THE KIDS WANT TO HAVE THEIR SILLY TRADITIONS BUT WITHOUT BLOOD DRIPPING FROM THE SHINY ROCKS THEY WEAR! BUT AT WHAT COST!

“Most of my friends all have lab-grown. And I think it just fits our lifestyle and, you know, the economy and what we’re living through,” said Farlow.

Honestly good for them. I hope they have a nice wedding.

In the U.S., lab-grown diamond sales jumped 16% in 2023 from 2022, according to Edahn Golan, an industry analyst. They cost a fraction of the stones formed naturally underground.

Social media posts show millennials and Generation Zs proudly explaining the purchase of their lab-grown diamonds for sustainability and ethical reasons. But how sustainable they are is questionable, since making a diamond requires an enormous amount of energy and many major manufacturers are not transparent about their operations.

WHICH IS WHY WE SHOULD STICK WITH THE TRANSPARENT PRACTICE OF USING CHILD SLAVES PRYING THE GEMS FROM THE EARTH BY HAND.

Do not stop at go, straight to the wall.

Farlow said the choice of lab-grown makes her ring “more special and fulfilling” because the materials are sourced from reputable companies. All of the lab diamonds at Bario Neal are either made with renewable energy or have the emissions that go into making them countered with carbon credits, which pay for activities like planting trees, which capture carbon.

techbro bullshit but whatever.

But that’s not the norm for lab-grown diamonds.

BUT AT WHAT COSTS

The disadvantages of lab-grown diamonds

Many companies are based in India, where about 75% of electricity comes from burning coal. They use words like “sustainable” and “environmentally-friendly” on their websites, but don’t post their environmental impact reports and aren’t certified by third parties. Cupid Diamonds, for example, says on its website that it produces diamonds in “an environmentally friendly manner,” but did not respond to questions about what makes its diamonds sustainable. Solar energy is rapidly expanding in India and there are some companies, such as Greenlab Diamonds, that utilize renewables in their manufacturing processes.

You know where we can get cheap and generally neutrally extracted diamonds? FROM FUCKING RUSSIA WHERE THEY GOT A MINE SO FULL OF THE FUCKING ROCKS IT WOULD CRASH THE MARKET VALUE OF THE DAMN THINGS!

But no. Blood for the blood God and all that.

China is the other major diamond manufacturing country. Henan Huanghe Whirlwind, Zhuhai Zhong Na Diamond, HeNan LiLiang Diamond, Starsgem Co. and Ningbo Crysdiam are among the largest producers. None returned requests for comment nor post details about where it gets its electricity. More than half of China’s electricity came from coal in 2023. In the United States, one company, VRAI, whose parent company is Diamond Foundry, operates what it says is a zero-emissions foundry in Wenatchee, Washington, running on hydropower from the Columbia River. Martin Roscheisen, CEO and founder of Diamond Foundry, said via email the power VRAI uses to grow a diamond is “about one tenth of the energy required for mining.”

Also the leading country on track to completely convert their electric grid to carbon neutral ahead of every major western power that holds their head in their ass to get high off their supply of hypocrisy over being the adjudicators of climate justice.

But Paul Zimnisky, a diamond industry expert, said companies that are transparent about their supply chain and use renewable energy like this “represent a very small portion of production.”

“It seems like there are a lot of companies that are riding on this coattail that it’s an environmentally-friendly product when they aren’t really doing anything that’s environmentally friendly,” said Zimnisky.

WELCOME TO CAPITALISM, JACKASS.

How are lab-grown diamonds made?

Lab diamonds are often made over several weeks, subjecting carbon to high pressure and high temperature that mimic natural conditions that form diamonds beneath the Earth’s surface.

Something that should happen to the writer, editors, and staff that produced this article.

The technology has been around since the 1950’s, but the diamonds produced were mostly used in industries like stone cutting, mining and dentistry tools.

Over time the laboratories, or foundries, have gotten better at growing stones with minimal flaws. Production costs have dropped as technology improves.

That means diamond growers can manufacture as many stones as they want and choose their size and quality, which is causing prices to fall rapidly. Natural diamonds take billions of years to form and are difficult to find, making their price more stable.

Unless you're Russia and have the largest diamond mine in the world that can crash the market price.

Side note, the Mir mine, where a lot of the former Soviet Union current Russia's diamons are excavated from, was opened in 1957. Meaning it was under Khrushchev that the Soviets could've crashed the bourgeoisie' diamond monopoly by making such luxuries common household items as they did with Soviet champagne and Caviar.

Obviously they chose not to and the decision was upheld to this day. I'm blaming corn boy for not robbing the rich of another one of their treats.

Lab-created vs natural diamonds

Diamonds, whether lab-grown or natural, are chemically identical and entirely made out of carbon. But experts can distinguish between the two, using lasers to pinpoint telltale signs in atomic structure. The Gemological Institute of America grades millions of diamonds annually.

Something functionally meaningless to the working class. Let them have gems!

With lower prices for lab-grown and young people increasingly preferring them, the new diamonds have cut into the market share for natural stones. Globally, lab-grown diamonds are now 5-6% of the market and the traditional industry is not taking it sitting down. The marketing battle is on.

An example of such marketing battle is this article, shitpot.

The mined diamond industry and some analysts warn lab-grown diamonds won’t hold value over time.

They can blow it out their ass.

“Five to ten years into the future, I think there’s going to be very few customers that are willing to spend thousands of dollars for a lab diamond. I think almost all of it’s going to sell in the $100 price point or even below,” said Zimnisky. He predicts that natural diamonds will continue to sell in the thousands and tens of thousands of dollars for engagement rings.

Isn't that the fucking point? CHEAP AFFORDABLE FUCKING ROCKS FOR THE PEOPLE TO DO THEIR SILLY TRADITIONAL RITUALS?

Are lab-grown diamonds worth it?

If you're doing the silly ritual, then yeah probably.

Some cultures view engagement rings as investments and choose natural diamonds for their value over the long term. That’s particularly true in China and India, Zimnisky said. It’s also still true in more rural areas of the United States, while lab-grown diamonds have taken off more in the cities.

Aka a form of financial security in times of scarcity and a form of dowry/brideprice or whatever marriage traditions people have in their regions. Stuff that comes from backwards thinking being preyed upon by capitalist malice.

Paying thousands of dollars for something that drops most of its value in just a few years can leave the buyer feeling cheated, which Golan said is an element that is currently working against the lab-grown sector.

Sounds like folks should just wait for the rocks to get cheaper and maybe chose to be quirky and get some other kind of shiny rock on their ring.

“When you buy a natural diamond, there’s a story that it is three billion years in the making by Mother Earth. This wondrous creation of nature … you cannot tell that story with a lab-grown,” said Golan. “You very quickly make the connection between forever and the longevity of the love.”

THE FUCKING ROCK RATTLING AROUND IN MY SHOE HAS A STORY THAT IS THREE BILLION YEARS IN THE MAKING BY MOTHER EARTH BUT NOBODYS RANTING ABOUT HOW MY FOOTSWEAT DRENCHED PEBBLE IS A SYMBOL OF THE ETERNITY OF LOVE

“If we really want to get technical here, the greenest diamond is a repurposed or recycled diamond because that uses no energy,” Zimnisky said.

DIMONDS DONT FALL OUT OF FUCKING COCONUT TREES EVERY NATURAL DIAMOND DRIPS WITH THE BLOOD OF THE OPPRESSED NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES IT CHANGES HANDS

Page Neal said she co-founded Bario Neal in 2008 to “create jewelry of lasting value that would have a positive impact on people and the planet.” All of the materials in her jewelry can be traced throughout their supply chain. The store offers both lab-grown and natural diamonds.

Nice of them to give a shout out to the store that was selling synthe gems after spending a whole article foaming at the mouth at their evil and worthlessness.

“Jewelry is a powerful symbol … it’s a keeper of memories,” she said. “But when we’re using materials that have caused harm to other people and the environment to create a symbol of love and commitment or identity, to me it feels at odds. We want to only work with materials that we feel like our clients would be proud to own.”

Good for her.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The association of the repressed' climate and environmental coverage is funded by bourgeoise bandits and looters from across the capitalist world. AP says its soley responsible for all content but can't deny the reality that it acts as the mouthpiece of the masquerade mask that is bourgeoisie pseudo-philanthropies.

I got free wifi and I can say hi for a few minutes.

Hi. It's a bit muggy here compared to back home.

Edit: just in case ya don't get it, I'm in Korea.

Fun fact: the fucking loser that made this got bullied so hard he deleted everything related to this off his social media accounts.

Also I agree with the fella that says we need to being back tarring and feathering, exclusively for techbros

Article source: https://www.thewrap.com/ai-princess-mononoke-remake-trailer-slammed-online/

“I strongly feel that [artificial intelligence] is an insult to life itself,” the original’s legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki has previously said

A “Princess Mononoke” film created using so-called generative AI was slammed by fans on social media after its release earlier this week.

“One day we’ll wake up, and there won’t be any more Princess Mononoke, Gravity Falls, Avatar or animated films like Wolf Children or Arcane… just AI-generated soulless garbage,” wrote @goroweko on X, formerly Twitter. “I don’t want that so bad.”

The AI-generated remake goes up against the original “shot-for-shot” and was created by AI entrepreneur PJ Acetturo, combining AI-generated CGI shots that match the fim. The result is a “crime” that turns “a 15-year-old Japanese girl into a white woman with a smoky eye and bikini tan lines” and “‘is enough for me to think we should bring back tarring and feathering,” literary agent Roma Panganiban wrote on X.

Acetturo has made it clear he’s proud of his production, no matter what reaction it’s received. “I’ve wanted to make a live action version of Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke for 20+ years now. I spent $745 in Kling credits to show you a glimpse of the future of filmmaking,” he wrote on X.

The AI filmmaker added that he was “being interviewed on the BBC today about my films” and “Clients are reaching out like crazy.”

He was challenged in the BBC segment, with one of the British network’s contributors noting that it seemed that there was something lacking in AI-created content.

“I’m sure there will be some criticism of this. I’ve heard Miyazaki is anti-AI. That’s okay,” the filmmaker wrote online. “I made this adaptation mostly for myself, because his work makes me want to create new worlds. We should look for ethical ways to explore AI tools to help empower artists to create.”

He posted a side-by-side comparison of his trailer with the beautifully crafted original:

The Mononoke trailer is a shot-for-shot remake of the trailer. This film has been in my head for two decades. I love this world so much.

I hope this meager adaptation inspires others to further explore their favorite worlds. Here's the side by side comparison: pic.twitter.com/eDu8ASOBU6

— PJ Ace (@PJaccetturo) October 3, 2024 His statements were called out as problematic by actor Swann Grey, who tweeted in response, “‘I’ve heard Miyazaki is anti-AI. That’s okay.’ … Excuse you? To say that in the same breath as the word ‘ethical’? And to call a shot-for-shot remake ‘creating a new world’? Zero creativity, zero respect, and zero concept of what art is. You’re not an artist — you’re a fraud.”

Miyazaki himself has stated, when presented with an example of the use of AI in animation, that “I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.”