Bad Piloting or Preposterous Preemptive Strike?
Russia does some saber-rattling by relieving itself on a possibly wayward US Drone.
Patrick Rafferty kicked off the AM Grind on March 15th with plenty of news; today had some headscratchers.
Imagine, if you will, that a bad case of direction could trigger WWIII.
Hyperbolic? Maybe.
US drone crashes after encounter with Russian jets
US says, “the drone was on a routine mission in international airspace when two Russian jets tried to intercept it.”
‘Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9. Su-27 fighter jets dumped fuel on the drone in a reckless, environmentally unsound, and unprofessional manner.’
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine the US and the UK have stepped up reconnaissance and surveillance flights, though always operating in international airspace.
Russia says, “the drone crashed after a "sharp maneuver” denying that the two aircraft made direct contact.” [editors note: relieving themselves on the drone doesn’t count?]
The US summoned the Russian ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov, to protest against the move. Following the meeting, Russian state media quoted Antonov as saying that Moscow saw the drone incident as "a provocation".
The key question is whether Tuesday's encounter was an attempt by Russia to disrupt the US drone and its work, or whether it was a deliberate attempt to bring it down.
Ironically, earlier this year “General Atomics, a leading US drone manufacturer, offered to sell the Ukrainian government two MQ-9 Reaper drones for a dollar.”
Yes, there was more to the ‘agreement.’
. . .calls for Kyiv to pay around $10 million to prepare and deploy the aircraft to Ukraine, as well as $8 million annually to maintain and sustain the older model drones. The proposed plan would include a ground control station allowing the drones to be operated almost anywhere.
Does that come out of the billions of dollars the United States has already paid Ukraine? So far, there has not been reasonable accountability for how the Ukraine government is allocating it. But that story is for another day.
WAIT! If that deal has not gone through, what’s this?
Amuse on Twitter further points out:
Since the aforementioned crash, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “called on Russia to operate military aircraft safely.” Seriously.
Defense press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder then let Russia know that the “U.S. will keep flying drones, undeterred by your [Russia’s] ‘reckless’ jets”.
What about the downed Drone? Yeah, about that, the U.S. is not allowed in the area where it crashed. So, “Moscow will try to retrieve U.S. drone wreckage in Black Sea after Pentagon blames Russian jet for crash.”
"That's U.S. property," Milley said during a press conference at the Pentagon. "... There's probably not a lot to recover, frankly."
According to a U.S. official, the Russians reached the site of the debris in the past 24 hours, CBS News' Eleanor Watson reports. The Russians will probably be able to collect some pieces of the debris, like metal chunks, the official said.
No worries - going forward:
Epic #Facepalm News
New Custom and Border Protection pursuit policy restricts the ability of CBP agents to pursue reckless drivers.
It essentially absolves smugglers of all responsibility for the terrible things they do on the road and places it squarely on the shoulders of the LEOs trying to do their job to protect America.
Let’s add this gem on top of it:
You’ve heard the term “Go Woke, Go Broke.” Bad enough to lose a popular business to the Woke Cult, but when it comes to a bank….
Now bailed out Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank with Signature winning the most woke award. Equity is an excuse for mediocrity; the CEO of Signature was paid 1.8M.Signature did not have a Chief Risk Officer for 9 of the last 12 months.
Signature had on its board only one director with financial industry experience, everyone else was a DEI commissar or unskilled former Congressman.
FoxNation got the Nigerian white supremacists who "assaulted" Jussie Smollett to walk them through the whole "crime.”
It is so silly you’d think these guys were trolling.
But what Smollet was absolutely ridiculous so, yeah, it’s believable.
Enjoy a reaction video!
We wish them all the luck in the world.
But inclusive doesn’t always mean really inclusive:
A former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose has advised the president-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to use his position to unite all Yoruba politicians and stakeholders irrespective of their affiliations and run an all-inclusive government that will accommodate the opposition.
On a Serious Note: “Behind Enemy Lions”
Hat-tip to Carol Anonymous for bringing this to the space’s attention.
Warriors of Wildlife is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the rescue of caged and abused wildlife from "4 wall concrete cells" to open spaced sanctuaries in South Africa. Warriors of Wildlife (WOW) is a grassroots organization that relies on the support and donations of our local communities to put an end to animals suffering. WOW currently has headquarters in South Africa and Ukraine with dedicated teams who work together to rescue wildlife and relocate them from a life of suffering to the best possible living conditions.
YouTube: Lionel de Lange and Warriors of Wildlife
Update on their ongoing efforts to help animals in Ukraine.
Facebook: WOW Ukraine - Warriors of Wildlife
Twitter:
Turkish Cargo also provides help via transportation of these victims of war. Here they support the journey of four depressed circus lions to freedom from Kiev to the South Africa.
Turkish Cargo is the global air cargo brand of Turkey. . . we act with our responsibility to make the world a more livable place in mind, and build our vision of a sustainable future. In line with this vision, we articulate what is happening on the background of our air cargo services, touch different lives and write new stories with #MissionRescue.
Based on this vision, we have contributed to the home-coming stories of depressed circus lions and a griffon vulture over past years. We hope that these stories will create awareness, reinforcing the faith in the power of kindness.
For your inquiries and potential cooperation on #MissionRescue, please contact us at missionrescue@thy.com.