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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#256351: Oct 2nd 2018 at 1:46:57 PM

There’s the recent chemical weapons attack and before that there was a nuclear attack several years back, both incidents results in civilians being injured, though I belive the nuclear one ‘just’ resulted in raidiation exposure as opposed to any deaths.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#256352: Oct 2nd 2018 at 1:47:23 PM

See the post above yours. He was the target, but his daughter was also poisoned, and when disposing of the rest of the nerve agent it was stuffed in a fake jewellery bottle and tossed in a park. One woman died and a man was hospitalised. IIRC there might've been a police officer hospitalised two.

So this is a ratio of 1 target to 4 other casualties, and the only fatality was a random civilian.

Edited by RainehDaze on Oct 2nd 2018 at 9:50:21 AM

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#256353: Oct 2nd 2018 at 1:48:24 PM

Now the incident in the article I haven't actually heard about. That changes things quite a bit.

I'm still hesitant to call it any form of terrorism as his daughter was with Skripal at the time and the fact that the other two affected basically found the wrong piece of garbage.

Idiocy yes but terrorism no.

That doesn't make an assassination attempt on British soil any less severe though.

Edited by LeGarcon on Oct 2nd 2018 at 4:51:53 AM

Oh really when?
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#256354: Oct 2nd 2018 at 1:50:06 PM

Tensions rise as US threatens to 'take out' Russian missiles

Essentially is saying they're going to take out missiles Russia has,though it's a threat and given how Trump is buddy buddies with Putin it's a meaningless hollow threat

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#256355: Oct 2nd 2018 at 1:53:25 PM

Likewise for the 2006 nuclear poisoning case you had the target who died, the guy he met who suffered exposure, his widow suffered from exposure, two police officers were exposed and so were the staff at the cafe where the poisoning happened.

Sure it’s an assassination, the same throwing a grenade into a bus would be an assassination, it’s also an act of war utilising weapons of mass destruction.

Edited by Silasw on Oct 2nd 2018 at 8:55:31 AM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#256356: Oct 2nd 2018 at 1:54:10 PM

I’d support more aggressive measures against Russia for violating the INF Treaty. That’s one of our most important nuclear agreements, intermediate-range nuclear weapons are incredibly dangerous and have a massive destabilizing potential. Nobody should have them, especially not Russia. An intermediate-range rearmament would all but bring us back to the brink.

Cyberattacks would be a good start. A kinetic strike shouldn’t be the first option, obviously.

Edited by archonspeaks on Oct 2nd 2018 at 1:54:44 AM

They should have sent a poet.
Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#256357: Oct 2nd 2018 at 1:54:14 PM

I mean, my issue is going "they never did anything like this during the Cold War."

... oh hell yes they did.

Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#256358: Oct 2nd 2018 at 1:55:00 PM

About the Skripal poisoning: His daughter came close to dying, and a scavenger couple (dumpster divers, basically) who had the misfortune of finding the perfume bottle the stuff was delivered from got hit, as well. She died, and he's still in a bad way.

This Novichik stuff seems to hit women harder than it does men, for whatever reason.

Also, a Zizzi's restaurant has had to get properly decontaminated because of the risks posed by the amount of residue found there.

A. Restaurant.

Edited by Euodiachloris on Oct 2nd 2018 at 10:01:42 AM

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#256359: Oct 2nd 2018 at 1:55:21 PM

The Russians have changed, they've gotten stupider.

Whatever happened to the good old days when you shot someone with an ricin filled BB from an umbrella gun?

Oh really when?
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#256360: Oct 2nd 2018 at 1:58:01 PM

They haven’t gotten stupider, they’ve gotten more open and brazen because they know they won’t face consequences for their actions.

Once upon a time they wouldn’t dare do this shit, because they knew that if they did their embassy staff would have been expelled and a grenade would have been thrown in the letterbox of KGB HQ.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#256361: Oct 2nd 2018 at 2:00:31 PM

[up] They’ve definitely gotten dumber over the past few decades. Hence why their attacks seem so much more brazen and obvious.

They should have sent a poet.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#256362: Oct 2nd 2018 at 2:05:25 PM

Again that’s not because they’d can’t do subtle, it’s because they don’t need to, subtle doesn't send a loud and clear message that they’re able to do what they want.

The assassinations aren’t just about killing the targets they’re also about sending a message, during the Cold War the message was that they will find any defectors, now the message is that and that Russia is powerful and important enough that they can dow hat they like in broad daylight and nobody will stop them.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#256363: Oct 2nd 2018 at 2:08:43 PM

[up] They can’t do subtle. Their intelligence apparatus was gutted at the end of the Cold War, the GRU/FSB/SVR are a shadow of what the KGB was and it’s well known they’ve lost a lot of their tradecraft.

Basically, both. Though I’d argue the increase in overt aggression is caused by the stupidity.

Edited by archonspeaks on Oct 2nd 2018 at 2:14:43 AM

They should have sent a poet.
TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#256364: Oct 2nd 2018 at 2:17:54 PM

Straight from an hour ago: the Times published a rather big investigation piece. Trump has engaged in suspect tax schemes from his dad, so he ain't a self-made billionaire after all. And it seems Fred Trump was the man behind Trump's wealth.

TL;DR Donald J. Trump was happily tax dodging in the past.

Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Oct 2nd 2018 at 2:18:53 AM

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#256365: Oct 2nd 2018 at 2:19:34 PM

[up]x8 Yeah, the whole Skripal attack was almost lifted straight out of the KGB playbook. It was sloppy, but the methods were there.

[up] Shocking

Edited by megaeliz on Oct 2nd 2018 at 5:47:06 AM

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#256366: Oct 2nd 2018 at 2:27:52 PM

Didn't we always know Trump's dad was the financial genius?

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Kaiseror Since: Jul, 2016
#256367: Oct 2nd 2018 at 2:41:01 PM

Didn't the trump family first get it's fortune when his Donald's grandfather cashed in his father's life insurance during the Spanish flu outbreak?

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#256368: Oct 2nd 2018 at 2:42:15 PM

I don't know if I'd say all of their pedigree is gone. They've done incredible damage in America and to the West as a whole with their agitprop program and have done a pretty scary job of influencing social media and internal political discourse.

Really it's just whoever is in charge of assassinations seems to be doing a poor job. Maybe his predecessor from the Cold War days retired.

Edited by LeGarcon on Oct 2nd 2018 at 5:43:23 AM

Oh really when?
TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#256369: Oct 2nd 2018 at 2:45:32 PM

The NYT article is probably more of them trying to seriously confirm it than presenting it as a never-before-seen type of thing.

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#256370: Oct 2nd 2018 at 2:50:38 PM

[up][up] That’s sort of a “more with less” type thing. They’ve been using information campaigns because they’re fairly cheap and simple to run, all things considered, but still have a big effect.

Their fieldcraft and tradecraft are nothing compared to what they used to be though.

They should have sent a poet.
TheWildWestPyro from Seattle, WA Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Healthy, deeply-felt respect for this here Shotgun
#256371: Oct 2nd 2018 at 3:10:44 PM

Turns out the NYT did publish what was essentially a TL;DR to their big Trump tax article, too.

It's a good summary, especially if you don't want to read the entire big article.

Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Oct 2nd 2018 at 3:13:37 AM

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#256372: Oct 2nd 2018 at 3:36:05 PM

When I read "nuclear attack from a few years back", I almost did a Spit Take in a mix of shock and confusion, wondering WTF did I miss, before eventually the back of my mind figured out that "nuclear" was actually referring to the polonium-poisoning assassination... which is properly classified as use of a radiological weapon rather than a straight-up nuclear one.

Please refrain from such conflation of specific terminology.

Edited by MarqFJA on Oct 2nd 2018 at 1:37:59 PM

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#256373: Oct 2nd 2018 at 3:42:24 PM

Yes, pedantry is going to help. tongue

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#256374: Oct 2nd 2018 at 4:01:11 PM

That’s not pedantry; that’s asking for basic usage of proper terms to convey meaning. Sheesh.

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#256375: Oct 2nd 2018 at 4:01:36 PM

Yes, pedantry is going to help. tongue

It absolutely does help in that it lessens miscommunications, when I heard people using the term "nuclear attack" I too immediately jumped to the obvious before deciding that I would've heard of such thing if it actually happened. If people had used the proper terminology it would've been much clearer.

That’s not pedantry; that’s asking for basic usage of proper terms to convey meaning. Sheesh.

This too, technical accuracy is important and useful 99% of the time. And this is not the 1% of the time it doesn't matter.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Oct 2nd 2018 at 7:02:52 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang

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