waterfall_maker
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User ID: 3616
waterfall_maker
16d ago
Sadly, I have read it already. Not entirely sure is it actually fitting this specific request but I reccomend it anyway!
waterfall_maker
16d ago
I really liked Dresden Files though I have not read latest ones. I guess it would make sense to finish it it got completed and look into Codex Alera.
I tried reading Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn) but I got deeply annoyed - supposedly smart plans were fairly dumb, and what worse they actually worked. Overall I had impression of standard extruded fiction product. Really nice if you like it, given insane amount of stuff Brandon wrote. Sadly, I disliked it :(
Unfamiliar with Japanese Lightnovels (so not opposed to them) so I will try Ascendance of a Bookworm - maybe as lower priority as I have no idea how to obtain it, hopefully googling will be sufficient.
waterfall_maker
16d ago
Spirited Away
I watched it, and I recommend it. I am not anime watcher or even movie watcher and I liked it.
waterfall_maker
16d ago
OK, I missed successful recruitment parts (have not read this one in full) and I remember repeated mentions of enemy being quite genocidal.
waterfall_maker
16d ago
Part of nuclear weapon infrastructure is engineered to move, specifically to not be easily located (boomers, road-mobile launchers)
Part of nuclear weapon infrastructure is engineered to be obnoxiously hard to destroy (nuclear silos), see term "nuclear sponge".
Second strike capability exists specifically to avoid need for launch on warning.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alarm_incident and other why it is a good thing.
waterfall_maker
16d ago
AFAIK yes, but it it is neither fully automatic nor impossible to switch off.
For reasons that should be fairly obvious, see Dr. Strangelove.
waterfall_maker
16d ago
And that is why Russia sinking enormous resources into Ukrainian war, rather into strategic rocketry forces proves that they are not really worried about USA first strike.
waterfall_maker
16d ago
Fully automated second strike command system probably based on detecting nuclear explosions on Russian soil from orbit.
"fully automated" part is AFAIK quite dubious. But it would release control to much much lower ranked personnel.
waterfall_maker
16d ago
Who gives that order?
Whoever survives. I have no first-hand knowledge here and there is a lot of dubious/confused claims (fully autonomous system that would launch full scale nuclear strike etc) but Dead Hand / Perimeter/ Система «Периметр» is as far as I know a real system.
It would release control over nuclear arsenal to lower ranking officers in case of successful decapitation strike.
In a nuclear exchange, MAD deterrence depends on both sides being able and wiling to destroy the other if they detect a first strike.
no, retaliatory strike may also use weapons that survived initial strike (or second strike)
MAD is not limited to launch on warning
for example all kinds of real or theoretical systems are possible. See Perimeter AKA Dead Hand, fail-deadly system that would release ability to launch missiles to low-ranking personnel in a case of decapitation strike*
*sometimes described as being able to launch nuclear weapons completely autonomously, without any human oversight at all, but that is fairly dubious. And even more exotic systems are possible.
Though in practice, boomer launching missiles hours or months after first strike is perfectly sufficient.
In the case of NATO vs Russia, MAD is not even! If Russia decides to first strike NATO, it's possible they could wipe out Europe before it has time to respond, in perhaps 10 minutes. But the US part of NATO is another story, and could take up to 30 minutes to wipe out. That's considerably more time for the US to order and launch a counterstrike that wipes out Russia.
this is mostly irrelevant due to second strike capabilities, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_strike
For start USA, UK and France have boomers. One of main roles of ballistic missile submarine is to be not destroyed in first strike and to retaliate. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_missile_submarine
Which is why Russia putting nukes on hypersonic missiles is not changing much here.
What further alarms Russia is that this 10 minute window drops considerably if Ukraine is added to NATO. A decapitation strike against major cities in Russia launched from Ukraine could take as little as 5 minutes.
Also irrelevant as you can launch nuclear strike from ballistic missile submarines (they are also useful for attack!) or Finland. Or planes. Adding ability to launch nuclear strike from Ukrainian soil adds little to nothing here.
If you take Russia at face value
why I would do so? this is mistake in general in politics, but in case of Russia this is especially stupid
Am I misreading anything with the MAD situation? I understand there exist planes and subs that can deliver nuclear warheads but I don't see Russia's force projection capabilities being able to fulfill the retaliatory threat.
Maybe for Russia these are not helping. But potential attackers have them so ability to launch nukes from Ukrainian soil does not meaningfully increases risk. And for Russia their war eaten enormous resources, including ones that would fund nuclear deterrent. What they did is in fact indicator that they are not scared by NATO or China invading Russia.
actively tracks them and can pre-emptively obliterate them the moment things get hot.
even assuming this: what about road mobile launchers and hardened siloses?
probably also avoiding scaring the shit out of failing and desperate nuclear armed powers is key.
being infinitely scared by Russian nuclear arsenal is (in addition to Libya vs North Korea) something that will greatly encourage nuclear proliferation. South Korea is serious enough to get official USA reaction ( https://www.reuters.com/world/us-designated-south-korea-sensitive-country-amid-talk-nuclear-weapons-2025-03-15/ ) but there is potential for more.
waterfall_maker
16d ago
For people who dislike both homeless having halberds and Moscow-style oppression, I want to note that middle ground exists.
For example in Eastern Europe homeless exists and resemble in level of problem Moscow ones described in this post.
waterfall_maker
17d ago
the protagonist defending empire, even though empire is of course fundamentally unjust, even to the protagonist personally.
well, he is defending it against enemy who is even worse
waterfall_maker
17d ago
Thanks for all recommendations! I plan on trying them, starting from the most promising ones. Though it will take some time to go even part of it (I am not complaining, just want to express that comments are appreciated even if I have replied only to some)
waterfall_maker
17d ago
Agree, I actually liked A Deepness in the Sky even better than A Fire Upon the Deep, which was damn good in its own right.
+1 to both
In fact, although I've only read several of his books, I've thoroughly enjoyed every single one of them.
Sadly, for example sequels to "A Fire Upon the Deep" were extremely terrible and disappointing
waterfall_maker
17d ago
I recall being very disturbed by the villains (good, villains should be villainous)
and ending was really really satisfying
waterfall_maker
17d ago
I watched series! And I actually really liked it, and yes - it matches this request!
I may try reading books again - for some reason so far I tried reading only "Cibola Burn" and at least in this one show seemed a strict improvement.
waterfall_maker
20d ago
I was thinking about books. But actually other media are also fine.
interesting, it is also what LLM recommended me when I feed this question into them (they actually recommended more but this one was one of few that seemed worth reading).
I guess I will count it as a double recommendation :)
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