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I believe the term you’re looking for is racist

those pussies, the A-Team flew a tank by firing it at appropriate times

It’s so fundamentally insulting to assume people with similar skin color think alike. People who say that are just idiots.

Unfortunately Putin is banking on that kind of thinking. I agree with not intervening directly as well, but the US is in a viscous circle of short term thinking. The idea of not wanting to punish the Russian regime for this economically just because we will all feel some pain in our wallets and may have to wait an extra year before we buy that new car, reflects our weak resolve as a nation, and that we really have lost what being American is really about. It isn't about baseball, F150s and BBQs. What would the WW2 generation say about total inaction? I think they'd be disappointed and ashamed. A generation of people, a lot of which whose lives were ruined in the defense of the free world, and this is how we act? By saying who cares/not my problem? I think there is a large argument to be made that this is a tipping point. If NATO has been expanding eastward, well than that is it's destiny. Why should we let him reverse that course potentiality without paying a hefty consequence? Agree. To bad we failed them when they asked for help. No modern air defenses from US, and Israel wouldn't sell them theirs either. The Russians have them so outgunned, which was their plan all along. Agree Putin has been impressive. It is our job to make sure at the end he looks like a fumbling fool.

So, what should our strategy be here? You say you are against direct military action (as am I), but without the threat of direct NATO involvement, Putin is going to do what Putin does. Not sure there are many good options here. Sanctions & continued material support to Ukraine are about all that’s on the table short of full scale war. Let’s be clear here; this is taking place because Putin has an extreme hard on for Ukraine & the former Soviet empire. The blame rests solely with him. Also, I’m curious who you think is a “war hawk” here? I don’t recall a single poster advocating for direct military action against Russia. What many of us DO want is for the autocratic regime in Moscow to be held to account for its actions and not simply be given a pass.

My youngest did an engineering ethics class getting his EE degree and did a paper on Boeing for the class. Building the 737 MAX to "save money" had cost Boeing @ $34 billion up to that point.

Naw, more like this!

Not yet. I’ll have to look for it, but I did watch this one:

I actually support Biden not intervening militarily…and I’m not a huge proponent of aggressive sanctions as that will also hurt us economically. What I suggest is that if the European nations feel threatened by this action, then they should do something about it…but they won’t. Germany doesn’t want the energy turned off, and a legitimate European response can’t happen/won’t be nearly as effective without Germany. Putin knows all this. This is what happens when you (ie Europe) become weak militarily and culturally. They value expensive social programs vs security. Just getting upset about something doesn’t mean much. China is watching as well. If Ukraine wants to make a stand militarily then they should do so. I think their best chance at receiving any legitimate support from the west is to fight. There’s something to be said with seeing your (supposed) ally taking heavy military/civilian losses defending their borders. That all being said, I’m not so confident Europe would provide that legitimate support, so Ukraine won’t do much…and it will be somewhat of a similar replay of 2014 in the Crimea. So once again…what Putin is done is impressive. He’s taking what he wants and without much conflict (so far). Not saying it’s good, right, or just, but impressive all the same.

Best way I’ve heard it put is that MD bought Boeing with Boeing’s money. Somehow it was a majority of MD execs that wound up running the company after the merger. I’ve also heard it said that McDonnell kills everything they touch. Did it when they merged with Douglas & doing it again with Boeing.

The merger with MD was the worst thing that happened to Boeing which has caused a negative cascading effect. With MCAS, they already had it in the KC-46, which is dual source input from both AOAs and allows the pilots to disengage it with yoke input. Since the technology already existed, why put a poorly designed version of it in the the 737 MAX?

I’ve heard good things about AMVETS (father-in-law/Vietnam vet recommended them). I know they’re a VSO, but I’d hope better than what you experienced with DAV.

But did the cable get fixed?

Not a big one, but a lot of smaller ones. We use 8-10(ish) G-11s for something that size if memory serves me right. Simple math. Airdropping tanks is the most inefficient way deploying that kind of combat power though. More initial shock-troop value than anything else. Especially when you're dropping something that a simple RPG can take out after it lands. It also really messes up the tank when you drop it, especially the way the Russians do it with their airbag system. ...that'll be irrelevant after the the Patriot or the Stinger impacts though...

JFC… Surely he will be removing himself since he too is a middle aged white male.

I am so over them. A fricking Nav hit my car months ago and the claim still hasn’t been fully closed out. What other companies can ya’ll suggest? Geico quoted me a little cheaper, but didn’t offer the higher liability coverages that USAA does. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Overall, their product has gone downhill considerably over the last 6-9 years. Used to be great and way ahead of the competition. Now it is mediocre at best. All the disadvantages of a virtual bank with almost no advantages over the standard commercial big bank. I'd move everything now, but that's a pain. Once I retire, I'm probably done with them. I also noticed my dividend basically disappeared and everything started the downhill slide about the time they started putting ads on TV. Strange coincidence....

Of course this happened in Florida... https://cbs12.com/news/local/video-police-chase-woman-on-motorized-suitcase-at-orlando-airport In all seriousness, major props to the skycop. He showed remarkable restraint & patience with this individual.

The pilot flying the first flight of the X-59 is a friend and former U-2 pilot. I plan to go down there for that first flight. "First flights" are pretty rare these days, compared to 70 years ago. From what he can tell me about the aircraft and the research leading up to it, it's very interesting. NASA also used a YO-3A and TG-14 for a lot of the data gathering. It's neat stuff.

As I’ve been saying all along…Putin is playing Biden and Europe like a fiddle. It’s actually pretty impressive. And to the progressives and war-hawks on here, this isn’t a pro-Russia statement, rather just looking at the situation objectively and without emotion.