Varsevan / Valra
@varsevan.bsky.social
Scattered interests, often naval
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
Another great piece (how well he does this sort of evidence crunching).
Maybe Trump’s 2nd victory should’ve been a warning that the proven failings of, & harm done by, populism don’t necessarily put voters off.
bsky.app/profile/samf...
Maybe Trump’s 2nd victory should’ve been a warning that the proven failings of, & harm done by, populism don’t necessarily put voters off.
bsky.app/profile/samf...
New post just out:
"The Liberal Saviour?"
How important was the "Trump Effect" in Canada and Australia?
Is there any evidence of it elsewhere?
What does it mean for UK politics?
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
"The Liberal Saviour?"
How important was the "Trump Effect" in Canada and Australia?
Is there any evidence of it elsewhere?
What does it mean for UK politics?
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
The Liberal Saviour?
On the "Trump Effect", its reach, and its limitations
open.substack.com
May 11, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Another great piece (how well he does this sort of evidence crunching).
Maybe Trump’s 2nd victory should’ve been a warning that the proven failings of, & harm done by, populism don’t necessarily put voters off.
bsky.app/profile/samf...
Maybe Trump’s 2nd victory should’ve been a warning that the proven failings of, & harm done by, populism don’t necessarily put voters off.
bsky.app/profile/samf...
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
Dragon H73 MAZRK (with “M” indicating mobile) is designed to engage tactical aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles and is capable of operating both day and night.
militarnyi.com/en/news/chap...
militarnyi.com/en/news/chap...
May 5, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Dragon H73 MAZRK (with “M” indicating mobile) is designed to engage tactical aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles and is capable of operating both day and night.
militarnyi.com/en/news/chap...
militarnyi.com/en/news/chap...
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
In a memo dated Monday, Hegseth said the cuts will remove “redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership.”
Hegseth directs 20% cut to top military leadership positions
In a memo dated Monday, Hegseth said the cuts will remove “redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership.”
www.defensenews.com
May 5, 2025 at 9:47 PM
In a memo dated Monday, Hegseth said the cuts will remove “redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership.”
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
So all these cuts are happening and the Army has yet to even commit to:
- Expand IAMD units
- Expand AD/BMD buys
- Expand SHORAD/MRAD
- Upgrade AD
or really invest in anything relevant to the Pacific beyond pre-Biden numbers. Guess we at least know where Hegseth's 8% internal savings are from.
- Expand IAMD units
- Expand AD/BMD buys
- Expand SHORAD/MRAD
- Upgrade AD
or really invest in anything relevant to the Pacific beyond pre-Biden numbers. Guess we at least know where Hegseth's 8% internal savings are from.
This is the stupidest shit I have ever seen. For me the problem is that the Army could have all these things because they are funded for it. Cutting JLTV and AMPV buys make no sense. breakingdefense.com/2025/05/hegs...
May 2, 2025 at 10:12 PM
So all these cuts are happening and the Army has yet to even commit to:
- Expand IAMD units
- Expand AD/BMD buys
- Expand SHORAD/MRAD
- Upgrade AD
or really invest in anything relevant to the Pacific beyond pre-Biden numbers. Guess we at least know where Hegseth's 8% internal savings are from.
- Expand IAMD units
- Expand AD/BMD buys
- Expand SHORAD/MRAD
- Upgrade AD
or really invest in anything relevant to the Pacific beyond pre-Biden numbers. Guess we at least know where Hegseth's 8% internal savings are from.
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
Today we are going learn about Light Exo-Atmospheric Projectile's first flight test. So what is LEAP? LEAP was a program aimed at developing extremely lightweight and small KKVs. The program first spawned from an SDI effort develop a light kill vehicle for ground or space based hyper-velocity guns.
May 5, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Today we are going learn about Light Exo-Atmospheric Projectile's first flight test. So what is LEAP? LEAP was a program aimed at developing extremely lightweight and small KKVs. The program first spawned from an SDI effort develop a light kill vehicle for ground or space based hyper-velocity guns.
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
The politicians know this, they've heard it repeatedly over the past decade. The noise has grown louder this past year or 2, but so too has SA's economic situation deteriorated. The only way to meaningfully increase the Def budget is to increase SA's GDP, but I fear this will not be anytime soon.
/7
/7
April 30, 2025 at 12:00 PM
The politicians know this, they've heard it repeatedly over the past decade. The noise has grown louder this past year or 2, but so too has SA's economic situation deteriorated. The only way to meaningfully increase the Def budget is to increase SA's GDP, but I fear this will not be anytime soon.
/7
/7
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
Hey I wonder why these guys can’t get a peace deal in Ukraine!
This paragraph is gonna be my nightmare fuel for the next three years and eight months (2/2). www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
May 3, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Hey I wonder why these guys can’t get a peace deal in Ukraine!
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
24/ Project 1164 Atlant-class ships like Moskva have continous corridors along the entire lengths of their upper and lower (residential) decks. This contributed to the rapid spread of the fire and smoke. The bulkheads could not be sealed due to buckling caused by the explosions.
May 2, 2025 at 6:30 AM
24/ Project 1164 Atlant-class ships like Moskva have continous corridors along the entire lengths of their upper and lower (residential) decks. This contributed to the rapid spread of the fire and smoke. The bulkheads could not be sealed due to buckling caused by the explosions.
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
A pair of Convair Lobber ballistic resupply missiles with their launcher in the background.
The Lobber was a surface-to-surface cargo missile intended to deliver 50 pounds of cargo over a distance of approximately 8 miles.
🔗 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobber
📷 www.flickr.com/photos/sdasm...
The Lobber was a surface-to-surface cargo missile intended to deliver 50 pounds of cargo over a distance of approximately 8 miles.
🔗 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobber
📷 www.flickr.com/photos/sdasm...
May 2, 2025 at 9:33 AM
A pair of Convair Lobber ballistic resupply missiles with their launcher in the background.
The Lobber was a surface-to-surface cargo missile intended to deliver 50 pounds of cargo over a distance of approximately 8 miles.
🔗 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobber
📷 www.flickr.com/photos/sdasm...
The Lobber was a surface-to-surface cargo missile intended to deliver 50 pounds of cargo over a distance of approximately 8 miles.
🔗 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobber
📷 www.flickr.com/photos/sdasm...
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
Trump got bored with the effort needed to achieve peace in our time and has now moved on to chase the next shiny ball
The United States will no longer “fly around the world” to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine as part of a shift in Washington’s approach to peace negotiations, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
meduza.io/en/news/2025...
meduza.io/en/news/2025...
State Department says U.S. will no longer ‘fly around the world’ to mediate Russia–Ukraine talks — Meduza
The United States will no longer “fly around the world” to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine as part of a shift in Washington’s approach to peace negotiations, State Department…
meduza.io
May 2, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Trump got bored with the effort needed to achieve peace in our time and has now moved on to chase the next shiny ball
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
The Dutch 🇳🇱 Public Prosecution Service has launched two criminal cases against shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group :
▶️ one for alleged corruption and money laundering in foreign ship sales (2006–2016)
▶️ another for violating Russia sanctions by exporting potentially military-useful goods.
▶️ one for alleged corruption and money laundering in foreign ship sales (2006–2016)
▶️ another for violating Russia sanctions by exporting potentially military-useful goods.
May 2, 2025 at 6:28 AM
The Dutch 🇳🇱 Public Prosecution Service has launched two criminal cases against shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group :
▶️ one for alleged corruption and money laundering in foreign ship sales (2006–2016)
▶️ another for violating Russia sanctions by exporting potentially military-useful goods.
▶️ one for alleged corruption and money laundering in foreign ship sales (2006–2016)
▶️ another for violating Russia sanctions by exporting potentially military-useful goods.
A very interesting Russian account of the Moskvas sinking
We have had several Ukrainian accounts, but this is from the ‘targets’ perspective
We have had several Ukrainian accounts, but this is from the ‘targets’ perspective
1/ A detailed inside account of the sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva has been published. It describes how the ship was overwhelmed with fire and smoke, safety systems failed, interior structures collapsed and crewmen jumped out through portholes to save themselves.⬇️
May 2, 2025 at 9:52 AM
A very interesting Russian account of the Moskvas sinking
We have had several Ukrainian accounts, but this is from the ‘targets’ perspective
We have had several Ukrainian accounts, but this is from the ‘targets’ perspective
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
Coming over to your house, asking if I can build some ships in the backyard. It’s critical for contesting the littoral
May 2, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Coming over to your house, asking if I can build some ships in the backyard. It’s critical for contesting the littoral
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
One reason I worry about LLMs is that research doesn't just give you the answer – it can't know that – it introduces you to worlds of context you have to parse through and decipher and explore, and through that build up a huge collection of incidental random competency. This just takes time. A life.
April 15, 2025 at 11:40 PM
One reason I worry about LLMs is that research doesn't just give you the answer – it can't know that – it introduces you to worlds of context you have to parse through and decipher and explore, and through that build up a huge collection of incidental random competency. This just takes time. A life.
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
Just in the same way Google didn't make people smarter because you have to know how to research, AI won't either. In fact, AI will likely make people significantly dumber because it gives anyone the ability to boil all the complexity and nuance out of a topic and feel like they understand it.
April 15, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Just in the same way Google didn't make people smarter because you have to know how to research, AI won't either. In fact, AI will likely make people significantly dumber because it gives anyone the ability to boil all the complexity and nuance out of a topic and feel like they understand it.
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
If you think the Lockmart pride socks or Raytheon girls coding camps are a disgusting way to market the defense industry to women and minorities, I need you to understand that Palantir and the Thielites are the alternative to that
April 15, 2025 at 6:29 AM
If you think the Lockmart pride socks or Raytheon girls coding camps are a disgusting way to market the defense industry to women and minorities, I need you to understand that Palantir and the Thielites are the alternative to that
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
Some of the CSIS stuff is direct and to the point about what this means, and theres links to longer reporting about the whole supply chain and end uses
The Consequences of China’s New Rare Earths Export Restrictions
China has imposed export restrictions on seven rare earth elements and magnets in retaliation for new U.S. tariffs. These materials are vital to defense technologies, but the United States is entirely...
www.csis.org
April 15, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Some of the CSIS stuff is direct and to the point about what this means, and theres links to longer reporting about the whole supply chain and end uses
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
great essay from @quinnae.com that shows how silicon valley utopianism has, once again, been perverted onto a dark course--from a dream of doing the most good into a fever dream of billionaire rule in which "no one will ever say no to them again"
“The idea that humans could create God has been so synonymous with hubris that it barely deserves mentioning—and yet, in true torment nexus fashion, it is something that many lords of the Valley have come to believe, implicitly or explicitly.” www.liberalcurrents.com/elon-musks-a...
Elon Musk's Artificial God
In the vision of Musk and other lords of Silicon Valley, the purpose of AI technology is to insulate them, and only them, from any hint that they might live in a society.
www.liberalcurrents.com
April 14, 2025 at 1:11 PM
great essay from @quinnae.com that shows how silicon valley utopianism has, once again, been perverted onto a dark course--from a dream of doing the most good into a fever dream of billionaire rule in which "no one will ever say no to them again"
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
I (and others) have said it elsewhere, but a big problem right now is that today's right-wing elites' beliefs and desires are so deranged that trying to properly explain them to the average offline person makes *you* sound like the deranged conspiracy theorist.
April 14, 2025 at 2:14 PM
I (and others) have said it elsewhere, but a big problem right now is that today's right-wing elites' beliefs and desires are so deranged that trying to properly explain them to the average offline person makes *you* sound like the deranged conspiracy theorist.
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
I genuinely can't believe the amount of people who rely on chatgpt and grok to process the world for them.
April 15, 2025 at 12:52 PM
I genuinely can't believe the amount of people who rely on chatgpt and grok to process the world for them.
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
It's just this nonstop.
Hercules > bought by ATK
Thoikol > bought by ATK > Becomes ATK Launch Systems.
Orbital Sciences > bought by ATK > becomes Orbital ATK > Northrop Grumman.
Rocketdyne > P&W. Rocketdyne > Aerojet Rocketdyne
Hercules > bought by ATK
Thoikol > bought by ATK > Becomes ATK Launch Systems.
Orbital Sciences > bought by ATK > becomes Orbital ATK > Northrop Grumman.
Rocketdyne > P&W. Rocketdyne > Aerojet Rocketdyne
April 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
It's just this nonstop.
Hercules > bought by ATK
Thoikol > bought by ATK > Becomes ATK Launch Systems.
Orbital Sciences > bought by ATK > becomes Orbital ATK > Northrop Grumman.
Rocketdyne > P&W. Rocketdyne > Aerojet Rocketdyne
Hercules > bought by ATK
Thoikol > bought by ATK > Becomes ATK Launch Systems.
Orbital Sciences > bought by ATK > becomes Orbital ATK > Northrop Grumman.
Rocketdyne > P&W. Rocketdyne > Aerojet Rocketdyne
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
GD NASSCO's San Diego shipyard is so cool because you got this shipyard churning out 50-90k ton vessels that are almost the size of nuclear aircraft carriers a few clicks away from downtown San Diego.
April 6, 2025 at 1:41 AM
GD NASSCO's San Diego shipyard is so cool because you got this shipyard churning out 50-90k ton vessels that are almost the size of nuclear aircraft carriers a few clicks away from downtown San Diego.
Reposted by Varsevan / Valra
@virtualbayonet.bsky.social is over at Sea Air Space 2025 and you guys should go follow his account for some pretty neat photos from the event. Given the lack of people from Bsky at these kinds of events (as opposed to Twitter) go give them some extra love for this.
April 8, 2025 at 5:27 PM
@virtualbayonet.bsky.social is over at Sea Air Space 2025 and you guys should go follow his account for some pretty neat photos from the event. Given the lack of people from Bsky at these kinds of events (as opposed to Twitter) go give them some extra love for this.
Can we bookmark stuff yet because that is one of twitter most useful features still
April 15, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Can we bookmark stuff yet because that is one of twitter most useful features still
I genuinely have no idea how I will keep active on here and twitter. But here goes another try
April 15, 2025 at 11:50 PM
I genuinely have no idea how I will keep active on here and twitter. But here goes another try