ClearedHot

I was flying my plane home from a trip today, at 1203 Guard came alive "We have been unburdened by what has been"...then EVERYONE jumped in...not a single negative comment.

No wonder a few of our stalwart lefts rage quit the forum.

Just like you...

A lot of folks on this forum have been saying this for a long time, but the apologists hated Trump so much they spent the last four years in the notch with Biden. It was obvious....beyond obvious but you attacked anyone who mentioned it and pivoted back to your hate of the Orange Man. Some in the press tried to report it and they were quickly given the body check and put in the corner. Biden is a demented old man, he didn't even know he signed an executive order freezing liquid natural gas exports, he denied it just weeks after signing it. SHAME on his wife and SHAME on the Ivy league inner circle that wanted to retain power. For at least the last year, likely longer, a group of people who were not elected have been running this country. Biden will retire to Delaware and I predict we will quietly hear of his rapid decline which actually started years ago. In one final act of lunacy Biden just pardoned Fauci, Milley and the Jan 6 Committee show members.

Very disturbing report about events leading up to the fire and the actions of leadership, I am shocked they still have their jobs. If the reports are correct (and leadership is responding trying to defend their actions so it appears to be true), the experts warned them and urged them to activate standby and reserve capabilities. The main fire department had a total of 40 trucks available if they kept a shift over and activated their contingency plan. The plan also called for them to pre-position trucks in the pacific-palasades neighborhoods, the fire chief declined to call up the additional resources and they had just FIVE trucks to deal with the initial outbreak. Some of those neighborhoods did not get engine support for 48 hours. No way of telling how that would have impacted the outcome, but talk about an epic leadership failure.

Ukraine giving Russian's no quarter...hit a dude with an RPV while he was in the outhouse! Snapinst.app_video_AQODvRYPH8ur_x52Qc1hh3RDSKvhtzOTS9Y-qmNrznxgC1Y97RdmXbzzGuuVCUJS4p6gXWEkctQbkdBDJOOYO_92rg3n7-9nlTSkNBQ.mp4

Point of order, in recent times the first clown to recycle the open ranks inspection, nitpicking of uniforms and banning of items that made life easier for folks on the flightline was the ACC Commander Wilsbach, an Eagle Pilot to the core. Again, point of order, the first clown to start the airlinepilot looking uniform changes, V-neck t-shirts and gigline gazing was McNutgobbler when he was CSAF. Again another scrotum hugging, Eagle driving, fighter guy.

Send it forward as a Form 1000, think of all the money we would save on flight suits, boots and leather jackets. They best part if the RPA pilots are O's so they will have to pay for their own blues...Winning!

Books have been written brother...to very poorly summarize it, Putin wants to restore a vision of what the USSR used to be. Remember, he started as a KGB guy and most of those dudes are still pissed at how it all turned out. While many of the old school are nostalgic for a Russia that looks like the old days, I think Putin is a bit more pragmatic and that matches with his actions. He wants buffer states against NATO, not that he thinks they will invade but the close borders enable nationalism within those former proxies and nothing scares a good communist dictator more than nationalistic hopes for freedom. Putin wants to maintain control AND expand his influence and he knows a key component it the economy. Russia, despite its 23,000 miles of coastline, has no warm water, ice free ports, with direct access to an ocean. Not only is Russia landlocked, but they lack land where they can grow crops. Russia can be divided into three main areas. The tundra which is 32% of Riussia's land mass, is found north of the Arctic Circle which is WAY too cold for trees and crops. The subsoil is permanently frozen, sometimes to a depth of several hundred feet. Then there is the Taiga which represents 1/4 of the worlds forest. The soil is boggy and is again a huge area of Russia unusable for agriculture. Finally, the Steppe which is basically a large plain and the only area Russia and grow crops but unlike much of the rest of the world, in that the regions that receive the most rainfall, are the regions with soil least suited to agriculture. Its growing season of 5 – 6 months is also significantly shorter than the 9-month window western Europe has. The access to deep warm water ports and thus the world's oceans presents SEVERE challenges to Putin. In the event of war, Russia wouldn’t be able to get out of the Baltic Sea. To get into the North Sea and on into the Atlantic Ocean from St Petersburg, a ship must pass through the Skagerrak, a narrow body of water controlled by NATO members Denmark and Norway. Then there’s the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, also home of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.The port however is simply too shallow and too small to facilitate large scale cargo operations. The port is also poorly connected to the Russian heartland, reducing the profit margin of exports, and increasing the cost of imports that come through the port. Even without conflict Putin's ability to get his goods, energy and resources to market. When you take these factors into consideration and his belief that Ukraine IS Russia his moves make sense. Taking the Crimea was ALL about access to open water...even with the limitations of getting through the The Turkish Straits, to include the Bosphorus and Dardanelles. Invading Ukraine proper gives him the bread basket of Europe. When you look at the calculus of what he has to gain combined with a feckless U.S. administration it makes sense. His mistake was not realizing 30+ years of Ukraine freedom and nationalism gave Ukrainians a resolve, combined with U.S. weapons and his military leadership being complete stooges he is struggling. I am not normally in favor of giant sums of money going to other countries, but in my knuckle-dragger opinion it is money WELL spent to take Russia off the stage for a generation as a hegemonic near-peer. But hey what do I know, I flew in circles for a living.

This (Finland had 12 minutes left to stop a Russia-linked oil tanker from dealing 'much worse' damage to its undersea cables, president says), is yet another reason I am in favor of continued support to Ukraine and efforts that will weaken Russia. Putin is happy to openly wreck the infrastructure of our allies, his hegemonic goals are not deterred by our words and sanctions.

The first Helo...wow! Firefighters.mp4

Except for the Eagle guys, they clear out all the crew chiefs.

I wish I could give more context...soon as my work situation is about to change. I've had to bite my lip in the past and not stab this Black Shoe Navy turd in the throat with my butter knife. He went on and on at a dinner one night trying to tell me how Hellfire Missiles work. In short - he questions why the F-18 as the tanker had to cross the beach. And if they did cross the beach why no modes and codes. He says their system will not physically will not fire if the target had the right modes and codes.

I work with a retired Navy SWO who worked on said cruisers. He places the blame ENTIRELY on the F-18 Drivers.