Prozac

You do know about that whole ‘Cold War’ thing that we won right? You know, the one where we convinced our former enemies that it was in their interests to become strong democratic allies to the west. The one where we rebuilt a devastated continent that enjoyed relative peace and prosperity for the following seventy years. The one where we avoided nuclear Armageddon when it seemed all but assured. The one where we vanquished a totalitarian dictatorship without firing a shot and brought freedom to millions who hadn’t dared dream about it for decades. You know, the Cold War, four decades of American leadership (that has continued since) that made the world a better place to live for most of the people on it. Of course I suppose it’s possible that you and Putin and Xi are right. All of those things could have taken place without American leadership. Maybe there would be greater peace and prosperity if only the US hadn’t stood in the way of the great people’s communist revolutions of the world. In fact, every American action since the end of WWII has been interventionalist and destabilizing. Who are we to spread ideas like liberal democracy and freedom when there are competent, peace loving leaders like Xi who know that the best thing for their people is maintaining and expanding their own grip on power. Yes, we pesky Americans keep trying to fuck that up for them. We’re like authoritarianism cock blockers and it’s high time we and the free world realize the error of our ways and get out of the way while Putin and Xi date rape their neighbors.

A lot of risk there on Putin’s part. Maybe a nuclear retaliation by the west is unlikely but there are still ways to further clamp down on the Russian economy. But his biggest problem would be the likely loss of support from the Chinese, who would have a hard time continuing their relationship with Russia in the face of a nuclear strike. Then again, I would’ve thought the same thing in the face of a full blown Russian invasion so who knows?

Cogent, solid argument. So how do you address editorial content without hauling Aunt Karen off to jail?

BTW, absolutely agree this is absurd.

As far as I’m aware, Hunter Biden has not been convicted of anything regarding the laptop story yet, nor was his name on any ballot in 2020. Not sure what you mean when you say it turns out to be “true”. If you mean there is in fact an ongoing investigation, sure, ok. If you mean that he did something wrong, well that remains to be seen. If he did, I hope he is convicted and appropriately punished. As far as the apparent outsized influence social media companies like Twitter have on elections, couldn’t the same be said about newspapers or television networks in the past? In fact, I think you could make a very good argument that we live in a much richer media environment today, with many more viewpoints represented than at any time in the past (yes, I’m old enough to remember when there were three major networks). Why should the rules be different for Twitter than say The Wall Street Journal, NYT, or Fox News? Should the first amendment also be constrained or suppressed for those outlets in the name of fairness? Should outlets like MSNBC or Newsmax be shuttered or censured because they are so one sided? I do share some of your concern that corporate interests may have some undue influence in elections. But we should be very careful in how we choose to deal with that. The First Amendment is first for a reason. You brought up the Oath of Office in your last post. An argument that the government should actively suppresses the constitution or its amendments is certainly not in line with that oath (not saying that’s the argument you’re making….just that we should be weary about taking steps in that direction).

The title says employee donations. Most employers/large corporations donate vigorously to both parties. While the tech companies you listed do tend to favor Democrats in their contributions, I would suggest a site like opensecrets could paint a clearer picture. Personally, I don’t think it’s healthy for large corporations to donate to political parties & that Citizens United was one of the worst rulings in the history of the Supreme Court. But I am curious as to why you think Twitter should be required to be “fair” and/or why they should be constrained by the concept of free speech? The Nike store will probably kick you out if you enter the property wearing a sign protesting child labor. Why would/should an online venue act any differently regarding speech they consider damaging to their business?

I really liked the 135 but I just couldn’t swing it when it came out. Being such a small production run, I imagine they’ve all long since been spoken for.

Thread Revival: I've given up on my Apple Watch after two years. I mostly liked it (with the exception of having to charge it EVERY night) but in typical Apple fashion it's gone on the fritz & is constantly resetting itself and/or freezing despite being fully charged and current on all updates. Time to escape the shackles of the Cupertino overlords. So I'm looking for a decent automatic, swiss made piece with a GMT or second time zone complication. Prices seem to have gone up significantly recently (like everything else) so value is a major consideration. Looking to keep it under a ~$2K cap. Really like some of Hamilton's offerings but a lot of the models I like seem to be quartz only. Any other watch snobs have some recommendations?

I’ve always instinctively used this technique. Feels far more natural/less awkward than the reach-around method (giggidy), & has the added benefit of reminding you that the throttles are supposed to be at idle when the boards are out.

Showing people that they’re valued takes a lot more than talk. It’s also far easier and faster to destroy peoples’ faith that they’re valued than it is to restore & rebuild that faith. The AF should keep this in mind when airline hiring falls off (and it will….someday) and it is again tempted to treat people like garbage because it can.

I’ve heard the same thing from several sources. I was hesitant to bring that up because I’ve not seen it substantiated, but it certainly adds another element if true. I’m generally for airlines increasing diversity. I understand the means to that end are controversial & I don’t intend to start that particular argument. The one thing we should all agree on though is that there must be a minimum level of acceptable performance for everyone. Maybe this accident will move the needle a bit in convincing airlines, judges, and maybe even lawyers that, regardless of minority status, airlines need the ability to weed out people who can’t meet the standards.

I think if your complete lack of skill and aptitude kills a couple of people who depend on you to operate with an assumed level of competence (with the potential for many, many more deaths.....imagine if the aircraft had gone down in a neighborhood or crowded city), you deserve a good chunk of the blame. Multiple failures at several operators should be a clue that maybe this isn't the job for you. At the end he seemed only too content to place his fate in the hands of his god. I wonder if the other two people on the airplane shared his sentiments? Sure, the FAA and Atlas are also complicit, but this dude deserves the criticism IMO.

From what I remember from the initial investigation, the shear pin connecting the yokes was broken when the Captain attempted to take control of the aircraft. To answer your question, yes, either seat can fly the aircraft & reach pretty much everything required to get yourself safely on the ground. But the designers didn’t account for fighting a large, adrenaline fueled adult male for control of the aircraft. Shitty situation for all involved & despite the conclusions of the well written article that was posted earlier, I believe the Atlas HR and training departments are being let off easy here.

Appears airlines are running with this ruling. Will be very difficult for the Biden admin to put the genie back in the bottle at this point.

They’ll pick and choose the footage & stills they decide to show. Probably won’t fool many in the west, but the domestic audience is an important one for Putin and a good portion of them seem to be willing to choke down whatever story the state serves them. Hopefully things will change as Russian soldiers fail to return home, store shelves continue to get barer, and upper middle class & rich Russian citizens continue to have their travel privileges curtailed. Even domestic travel will eventually become difficult as Russian airlines struggle to maintain the hundreds of aircraft they have essentially stolen from western leasing companies.

Aircrew’ll be fine. There’s gonna be some backlash from a good chunk of the FAs though (if this sticks). I never minded them enforcing the mandate (decision was made above their paygrade) but holy shit some of them got pretty over-zealous about it. Won’t miss some of the preflight spiels about masking between sips, bites, etc.

Looks like a possible setup/PR trap by the Russians. Standing by for Russian state media headline: ‘Ukrainian Nazi Regiment Slaughters Civilians in Mariupol’ with associated photos/video of burning civilian vehicles.

That’s one of the strangest, most misleading, worst written “articles” I’ve ever seen. Leaves open small loopholes like whether the dude is alive or dead or whether he is in custody or out on bail.

Nice try linking today’s left to the Nazis. The far left and the far right don’t come close to meeting. They are polar opposites. At the far left end you have socialism (you know, real actual socialism where the government owns and runs everything…usually poorly, vs. calling anyone who ever voted for a democrat a socialist) and communism. On the far right is fascism/nationalism (like the Nazis….I won’t go into their history or why they were never really Socialist here. There are plenty of places to read all about it). Agree that both extremes lead to absolutism & eventual collapse which is why most aspiring normal folk should strive to stay far, far away from the fringes.

Uhhh no. Only a broken education system and a public with a complete lack of historical curiosity would believe that the Nazi party was actually socialist. Despite the name, they were very much fascist by the time they gained power, which is in fact, about as right wing as you can get. I dunno, maybe open a history book or two once in a while? 🤷‍♂️ BTW: completely agree the MSNBC story is ludicrous.

You realize there is a difference between a major passenger station and a marshaling yard where war related material and equipment are being prepared for movement to the front, right? While I agree the latter is a legitimate military target, it’s kind of hard to argue that a station full of fleeing civilians is a legitimate target or one that has any military value other than attempting to terrorize a population into submission.

Point taken & agree that one’s chosen airline is highly situationally dependent. Hope I didn’t come across as insinuating anyone who stays at 5Y is making bad life choices. I have several good friends still there & it is the best place for them personally. But for the average joe, under 40, all other variables being equal, I think a move to a major is a no brainer in most cases.

PROPORTIONALITY is key here. While civilian casualties are an unfortunate reality of war, it is still not ok to commit murder. Have a look at the multitude of evidence of Russians executing civilians with their hands tied behind their backs & tell me they’re not guilty of war crimes. How about deliberately targeting hospitals and clearly marked shelters? How about raining down artillery on residential areas with no military targets in sight? Not exactly proportional now is it? Have the Ukrainians been operating 100% in accordance with LOAC? Probably not. But it’s their neighborhoods, their cities, their farms that have been invaded here. They can’t possibly be guilty on the same scale as the Russians because they aren’t ransacking Russian neighborhoods, raping their women and killing their children. Putin and his enablers are absolutely responsible for all of this reprehensible activity & frankly a hanging at The Hague is far to easy on them. Once again I’ll remind you that there is no gray area here. Only one side is guilty of a violent invasion & subsequent atrocities. There is NOTHING that justifies that. Not an expanding NATO, not an actor turned president who Putin doesn’t like, not Ukraine defending its own claims to Donbas. NOTHING JUSTIFIES RUSSIA’S ACTIONS. NOTHING. Fuck Putin and all of the Russians (and anyone else) supporting him by covering their eyes and ears to everything but the absolute garbage the Russian state is spreading. One final note here: It’s sickening and offensive to those of us who have served and still believe in our country that we have American military members making a moral equivalency between our own targeting processes which, while less than perfect, are NOTHING like what the Russians have done in Ukraine. It literally turns my stomach.

I did an ~18 month stint there. I enjoyed the hell out of it….the place has a lot of potential if they’d just implement a few easy fixes. Best advice I ever got was from a former Sq mate who convinced me that any future at any ACMI is sketchy at best. North American and Evergreen were great places to work until they weren’t. My advice to anyone at Atlas or Kalitta who can bail: bail.