Africa, Middle East, South Asia, Ukraine, international politics, media, conflict, defence, security, music, art, history, travel, aviation, motorbikes...
The World
Joined November 2017
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RA retweeted
The French Mirage F1 became closely associated with this kind of low-level flying, with French crews gaining operational experience during missions across the Sahel, including operations in Mali.
At low altitude, pilots must constantly manage terrain clearance, speed and changing flight conditions while maintaining control of the aircraft. Flying close to the ground can also complicate detection by ground-based radar when terrain obstructs the radar's line of sight, although it does not make an aircraft invisible.
The cockpit footage makes the challenge particularly clear: the ground rushes past while the pilot has to maintain precise control and situational awareness.
It is a striking demonstration of the combination of pilot skill, operational experience and aircraft performance required for low-level combat aviation.
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Half the Jews on Earth now live in one country the size of New Jersey.
That is not colonialism.
That is what a hunted people does when the last door that opens is their own.
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10 years ago I met an Irish anti-nuclear activist who got her start in the 70s and 80s protesting Nuclear Power projects all over Europe.
Nice lady, when I met her she was delivering medical aid to disabled kids in Belarus.
But proud of her protests from 30 years earlier.
She didn't even want to considered that all those movements were infiltrated and pushed by the KGB to weaken western energy independence so European governments buy more Soviet, later russian oil and gas.
A lot of western pro-Palestine supporters today are falling into the same trap. Their good intentions are being used by russian intelligence to distract from the fact that russia itself ic committing a genocide in Ukraine.
Sometimes, it's even the same people.
RA retweeted
Taps the sign.
You're describing the outcome that Soviet defectors warned about decades ago. Lunev/Golitsyn /Bezmenov stated that Moscow’s long-term objective was to blur ideological lines inside the West, infiltrate elite institutions, and push Western governments and NGOs toward positions that would undermine NATO from within. The end goal was to make the US question its alliances and drift toward isolation, which would benefit Russia (and China)
Golitsyn warned that the Soviets intended to manipulate Western political and cultural institutions through front organizations, foundations, peace movements, and left-aligned NGOs (Think Open society foundations). His point was that if the ideological posture of Western governments could be shifted far enough, NATO would fracture on its own "without Moscow firing a shot".
Stanislav Lunev described this in operational terms. He testified (in front of Congress in 1998) that Moscow focused heavily on influencing Western media, academia, political parties, and civil society groups. The aim was to weaken transatlantic unity, encourage anti-NATO narratives, and make the US see its allies as unreliable or hostile.
Bezmenov explained the same pattern at the cultural and ideological level. The strategy was to redefine Western institutions and values to the point where they would no longer defend themselves, making the West vulnerable to "realignment"
Lunev said it more bluntly than the others. He said the plan was to fragment the Western alliance until the US was standing by itself, alone, at which point Russia could apply “one clenched fist” (Russia +China+Cuba+Iran v's the US) rather than facing a coalition of western democracies. In his testimony, he said the Kremlin believed the US could only be defeated if it were isolated geopolitically, culturally, and psychologically.
This is why it's so important for people to read the defector testimonies and published materials. What they described is happening right now.
You should have a conversation with @JRNyquist or @TrevorLoudon1 or @ng874 they can explain all of this better than I can
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Going through archive for my forthcoming exhibition came across this forgotten pic taken during bitter factional fighting in 90's Kabul. Surrounded in an old bus station that had become the frontline, we all knew what being overrun might mean. It still gives me the fear.
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I can't reply to your post because @hallaboutafrica has had me blocked for years, probably because I called out the half-truths and inaccuracies that he constantly posts about Africa.
You were right to flag this, the jacarandas in Africa (including Pretoria) ultimately come from South America, specifically the region covering southern Brazil, northern Argentina, Paraguay, and nearby areas. Jacaranda mimosifolia is not native to Australia or anywhere outside the Americas.
They were first introduced to South Africa around 1829–1830 by Baron Carl von Ludwig, who brought seeds from Rio de Janeiro to his botanical garden in Cape Town. From there they gradually spread. The first two recorded trees in Pretoria were planted in 1888 in Sunnyside (still standing, with a commemorative plaque). The large-scale street plantings that turned Pretoria into “Jacaranda City” began in 1906, when nurseryman James D. Clark donated 200 trees.
The X post’s mention of Australia is only partly accurate. Some historical accounts note that Clark received jacaranda seeds mixed into a consignment of eucalyptus seeds he ordered from Australia in 1898, which he then grew and used for the 1906 donation. Australia was an intermediate commercial source for some stock, not the origin of the species.
I read somewhere else that those trees came from Brazil. Unless it's a different part of Africa. It could be Nairobi. Hello @IanECox can you clarify that?
RA retweeted
So raise your hand🙌
We have almost no visibility,
Don't let Ukrainian voices disappear.🫂🇺🇦❤️
Show your voice🙌
RA retweeted
Within an hour of making a post yesterday about how desperately I wanted a hot shower, I found myself standing in an ice-cold room, searching for a pulse on the lifeless body of a woman around my age.
Her skin was cold to the touch. Rigor mortis had already set in. And I had to look the men around me in the eyes and tell them there was nothing we could do. She was not coming back.
That is the reality of my life.
Today, I saw a rather passionate post about the sacred duty of chopping wood in response to my comment about it being our soldiers duty.
It also suggested that rank doesn't matter in the military.
Let me explain something.
I am a Junior Sergeant in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And one of the things I've learned is that rank absolutely matters. Not because it makes you better than the person standing beside you, but because rank comes with responsibility. It comes with duties, accountability, decisions, and the obligation to put the lives and welfare of others ahead of your own comfort.
I am not above chopping wood. I chopped three cords of wood every winter for more than a decade. I've done enough physical labour in my life to know what hard work looks like.
But chopping wood is not sacred.
Life is sacred. The responsibility of keeping people alive is sacred. The trust placed in you by the people who depend on you is sacred.
And when you're standing over the body of a dead woman, knowing that you have to tell the people around you that there is no hope left, you develop a very different understanding of what actually matters.
I've been quieter lately, and there's a reason for that.
I'm living and working on th front lines of this war. People are dying around me. My responsibilities are changing, the demands are growing, and there are never enough hours in the day.
I am one woman doing work that should be divided among an entire team.
I know that because I was offered a position in the National Guard where the responsibilities I currently carry alone would be distributed among four or more people.
Logistics. Procurement. Fundraising. Coordinating foreign volunteers. Managing relationships with organizations and donors. Merchandise. Website development. Equipment distribution. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, I am still a Senior Combat Medic with soldiers whose lives and medical needs are my responsibility.
This is the reality of what it takes to keep people supplied, equipped, and alive when the systems around us are stretched beyond their limits.
I am exhausted.
Every hour I spend doing one thing is an hour I cannot spend doing something else that may have consequences for the people depending on me.
That is what responsibility looks like. It's not about believing you're too important to chop wood. It's about understanding that sometimes your responsibilities are too important to abandon.
So when I see someone sitting comfortably behind a screen, finding the time to write a petty little lecture about the sanctity of chopping wood and how rank supposedly means nothing, I cannot help but wonder how little responsibility that person must actually be carrying.
Because when you're genuinely overwhelmed by the realities of frontline service, when people are dying and others are depending on you, you don't have the luxury of obsessing over whether somebody else picked up an axe.
You have work to do.
#Canadian in #Ukraine
RA retweeted
Už žádná turistická víza Rusům. Dokud neskončí válku, nemají tu co pohledávat.
Souhlasíte?
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These vans are very much needed in Ukraine as quickly as possible. If you can afford to donate a few dollars or like and retweet the post it will be very appreciated.
Earlier this year, we ran a fundraiser to buy vans for R.U.G. and KORD. We raised over $91,000 and purchased four vans. The vans were so well received that they have been asking us for more, especially KORD, which fell in love with the van we provided.
KORD Kyiv needs another van, identical to the one provided already.
KORD Khmelnytsky needs vans as well.
Omega Liberty requires transport vans.
The 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade needs vans.
We aim to provide four more vans as soon as possible, and we hope to provide vans regularly going forward. The budget currently allows us to pay for nearly one van, and we aim to raise funds for 3 more in this round.
Why Vans? Cargo In → Casualties Out
Inbound: Vans protect sensitive cargo, such as electronics, from dust, mud, and rain.
Outbound: Once goods are delivered, these vehicles provide a protected, enclosed space to evacuate the wounded for treatment.
As with our last fundraiser, we are working with the Liberty Ukraine Foundation, which handles the donations and financial administration, while our team coordinates vehicle procurement and delivery.
Donate here: givebutter.com/From-Screens-…
Below is a video summary of our first trip delivering vans to Ukraine.
RA retweeted
DSS Intercept Weapons Shipment from Niger Republic, Recover 21 AK-47 Rifles, Four PKT Machine Guns in Sokoto
By: Zagazola Makama
The Department Of State Security Service (DSS) have intercepted a large consignment of weapons and ammunition allegedly being smuggled from the Niger Republic to armed bandits operating in north-western Nigeria.
The interception, which took place on Tuesday, November 10, at Dawakawa in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, followed a security operation targeting suspected weapons trafficking networks across the Nigeria-Niger border.
Security sources said the suspected smugglers were allegedly attempting to transport the weapons into Nigeria using camels, apparently exploiting remote routes and difficult terrain to evade security surveillance.
The operation led to the recovery of 21 AK-47 rifles, four PKT machine guns and 825 magazines.
The interception represents a significant disruption of an alleged cross-border weapons supply network suspected of facilitating the operations of armed bandit groups in the North-West.
The use of camels to transport the weapons highlights the increasingly unconventional methods employed by criminal networks to move arms and ammunition across porous border corridors.
The development also underscores the importance of sustained intelligence surveillance coordinated border security operations in preventing the movement of illicit weapons from neighbouring countries into Nigeria.
The recovered weapons are expected to provide security agencies with valuable leads towards identifying the suppliers, transporters and intended recipients of the consignment.
Zagazola report that several border communities along the Nigeria–Niger Republic frontier have emerged as vulnerable corridors for cross-border arms trafficking, bandit movements and other criminal activities, raising concerns over the security of Nigeria's North-West.
The affected areas include Illela, Sabon Birni, Isa, Gudu and Tangaza in Sokoto State; Jibia, Kaita, Mai'Adua and Kongolam in Katsina; Zurmi and Shinkafi in Zamfara; as well as Kamba and Arewa Dandi in Kebbi State.
Security concerns around these border regions are linked to porous boundaries, informal trading networks and difficult-to-monitor rural terrain, which criminal networks like Bandits, Lakurawa and Boko Haram exploit for illicit activities.
The development reinforces the need for enhanced border surveillance, intelligence-sharing and coordinated operations to dismantle cross-border weapons supply networks.
Security agencies must also target the financiers and suppliers behind the trafficking networks rather than focusing solely on couriers.
RA retweeted
It's important to note that the raid on this guy's house was not made by NABU but by the SBU and police. I'm not a lawyer but everything does not look good for him and Ukrainians are angry as hell. And they should be.
However, at the same time, NABU is investigating high ranking officials allegedly connected to russian sponsored drug lords.
This includes police officials, SBU officers, former ministers, members of Zelensky's party and current Zelensky allies.
Ukraine's general prosecutor, also a Zelensky ally, has yet to present a case against these people, a week after NABU provided the evidence.
Beyond his obvious bad taste and ostentatious lifestyle in a time of war that definitely warrants an investigation, this guy is starting to look more like a small fish, bait to distract Ukrainians from much more horrible crimes.
And if the crime that authorities are willing to expose as a sacrifice is stealing funds meant to protect power plants, I shudder to think what they are actually trying to distract from.
And before you western Zelensky cult members from jump in, this is all information you can look up for yourself in the Ukrainian press or you could learn if you actually had Ukrainian friends, living in Ukraine.
Most importantly, Zelensky has addressed none of this in the last week. Guess he was too busy enjoying the applause from foreign leaders to notice.
If you are here for Ukraine and to fight russia, you should care about what Ukrainians have to say, not their president.
And the president's friends seem to be making Ukraine's fight harder.
No, this is not the winner of an Andrew Tate lookalike contest, it's Vladyslav Sokolov, the man officials appointed by president Zelensky decided is best suited to build up defenses for Ukraine's power plants.
While most Ukrainians can go for 22 hours without electricity at a time because these defenses were not properly built, he used the money meant to protect Ukraine's energy infrastructure to get himself a Rolls Royce, build an indoor pool, make house renovations worthy of a gypsy emperor and buy himself a fucking live crocodile.
Corruption is present in any war but this comes at the expense of Ukrainian lives.
Imagine being a new parent and taking care of your baby without power, heating and water for 22 hours in a day.
Zelensky is not accused in this case but the people who awarded this scumbag contracts are appointed by Zelensky.
His silence on the matter is deafening.
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Communism's creed is always to destroy and start again from Year Zero. The old is swept away, rather than respected.
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Comme chaque année pour le #11novembre, je remets cette excellente animation du front de l’ouest pendant la Première Guerre mondiale par carto1418.fr/ :
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The fact that pro-Ukrainian accounts on X are being restricted or silenced is a problem I am experiencing firsthand.
I find it alarming that a platform of this scale could increasingly contribute to the manipulation of public opinion.
It was a historic mistake for the United States to allow one of the world’s most significant media outlets to fall into the hands of an oligarch with a highly questionable political stance. The consequences are grave.
Democracy requires the free formation of opinion—not algorithmic manipulation or the one-sided suppression of voices.
Questa piattaforma sta silenziando gli account pro-Ucraina. È un fatto, ed anche io sto avendo questo problema.
Credo che su X sia in atto una gravissima manipolazione dell'opinione pubblica, e questa è una cosa che non si può tollerare.
@pinapic @gualminielisa
1/3
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Godfrey Mavhembu Nhundu, has been shot and killed in Ukraine fighting for Russia. Most likely, these people are retired soldiers. It's very difficult to convince an untrained civilian over a beer in the pub. There are over 60-70 countries with their nationals fighting in Ukraine. A war they call 'meat-grinding'. Europe has always had these savage, bloody wars. How do you communicate with tactical radios or military transceivers on the front line with people whose language you don't understand? Therein lies the danger!
