Prozac

Absolutely! The only ones who regret it are management. Unfortunately they won’t/can’t admit they screwed the pooch and will blame “greedy” and “lazy” pilots for their airlines’ woes.

I think a lot of carriers prematurely thinned their pilot ranks when they thought the sky was falling & it would be years before demand returned. Well, here we are two years later and demand is stronger than ever. Pax carriers are only too happy to accept all the bookings & drop a shit ton of pain on pilots and schedulers, who are not equipped to handle the rapid ramp up in demand. Good on the Delta bros & now the Alaska guys for picketing. It’s gonna be an interesting new contract season as just about every airline is coming up on negotiations over the next couple years. Pilots have never been in a stronger position. Hopefully we can collectively capitalize on that.

Another such moment: a Russian APC intentionally targeting & needlessly destroying an obviously civilian vehicle & killing the elderly couple inside. Warning: video is disturbing.

Admiral Kazansky reference was a nice touch too. As cheesy and rehashed as I expect this movie to be, I’m not ashamed to say I’m really, really looking forward to it.

Agree Checo got hosed, but he’s not the first or the last to get screwed by a safety car. Unfortunately for him, the virtual safety car right after his pit happened at the worst possible time. His luck just couldn’t have been worse. But he’s a great driver in arguably the best car on the grid. He should have some more chances at the W this season.

The One China policy is an American product, borne from a time when we thought the natural order of things was the liberalization of mainland China. Since they are going backwards, why should we force ourselves to continue this policy? What’s to stop us from recognizing Taiwan as an independent country (should they decide that’s the direction they want to pursue) & establishing normal relations while encouraging other enlightened countries to do the same? Up to this point in history I would’ve said that scenario was just about impossible, as too many nations had major economic interests in China and would balk at the idea before it ever got any traction. But given recent events, my hope is that more of the world is willing to recognize and challenge the bad actors on the geopolitical stage. China is committing genocide on its Western frontier, has quashed democracy in Hong Kong (and ruined a once great world city), has been irresponsible (at best) with pathogens and unleashed a deadly plague on the entire world, routinely intimidates its neighbors and ignores their legitimate territorial claims, constantly commits industrial espionage/steals intellectual property, and overtly threatens Taiwan with war. They’ve also refused to denounce the Russian invasion and appear to have taken the Russian side in its conflict with Ukraine. If there were ever a time that the world could get behind Taiwanese independence, now is it. I would go so far as advocating for cementing our defense agreement with Taiwan in no uncertain terms and permanently placing US military assets in Taiwan & the straight. The American people have signaled they’re willing to make sacrifices in order to support freedom around the globe (another thing that makes this place uniquely special). I wonder if the CCP can equally afford to sacrifice its own economic interests in the name of Taiwanese reunification? My guess is absolutely not.

Yeah. Absolutely. Taiwan is for all intents and purposes an independent country & one of the most successful and thriving democracies in Asia at that. The One China policy & Chinese claims to the island are demonstrably absurd to any informed observer & it’s long past time to call a spade a spade. But your point is taken. I get that nuance and sensitivity are often required when it comes to international politics. Sometimes though, directness and strength are the correct approach. The current situation in Ukraine is one of those times. And if we’re honest, it’s probably just about time for the same tack when it comes to Taiwan.

Absolutely. Any nation that truly wants to join the free world deserves our support. The more countries that want to participate in the civilized world, the better off we all are. They did. I think Boris Yeltsin honestly wanted to liberalize and modernize Russia. If the West made a mistake, it was by not engaging further with Russia when there was an actual window of good will open. That lack of engagement probably helped open the window for someone like Putin to ascend to power. But as stated above, once Putin took power, the geopolitical picture absolutely changed & all bets were off.

I wonder if some of you guys have ever been to places like Poland or Latvia or Georgia, or ever spoken with people from those places? I spent a fair amount of time in former Warsaw Pact countries as they were in the process of joining NATO. For them, NATO’s purpose has always been very clear. A decade or two free of the Soviets was not nearly enough time to convince them that the Russians had changed their ways. In fact, the former client states knew very well (vs much of “old” NATO) that the Russians would be a threat for generations to come. For them, NATO “expansion” was far from needless. It was absolutely necessary if they were to survive as independent and free nations. I always respected this position but admit that I just didn’t share quite the same anti-Russian zeal for a long time. Then Putin invaded and occupied parts of Georgia. Then he did the same in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Now that he has outrightly invaded Ukraine, I can see that my Polish and Latvian friends were not exaggerating the threat at all. NATO’s purpose has never been more clear & the West bears ZERO responsibility for Russian aggression. If the Russians are truly concerned about Western expansion, it’s only because they know their system is broken and backwards and they cannot possibly offer their neighbors the same kinds of fruitful and healthy relationships that the West can.

Quit trying to hide in the gray area. Of course Ukraine wants to highlight its triumphs. Of course the Ukrainian government is not perfect. But the fact is, only one country is taking sovereign territory from others. Only one country has blatantly invaded a neighbor and is now in the process of killing women and children en masse. Only one country has cast aside all of the rules and norms that have allowed the world and the world’s economy to flourish for the past 70 years. The fact that Ukraine isn’t perfect should not make it hard to pick the right side here.

Nice shilling for the Russians here. It boggles my mind that so many Americans have bitten off on this hunk of Russian hot garbage propaganda, to include an influential portion of the media. Covert support of revolutions? Sorry bro, but we unapologetically supported the candidate that wanted to make democratic reforms over the Russian lapdog. This does not equate to supporting a “revolution” and it’s one of the things I expect and want my government to do. Also, doesn’t Ukraine get a say in who it decides to ally itself with? Or are you of the mind that great powers should still be carving smaller nations up for their own conveniences? If you’re not into American values and all that, that’s fine. Just don’t expect much sympathy here.

Is some sort of direct referendum what you really want to see when discussing war strategy? General: “Mr President, our forces in Poland are coming under fire from positions inside Ukraine and Belarus. Recommend we neutralize enemy fires with air strikes & cruise missiles.” President: “Sure. We’ll have a national vote next week and get back to you. Hang tough ‘till then.” There’s a reason it doesn’t work that way.

Funny you mention that because it’s wrong. It’s been well established that Eisenhower stated in his memoirs that if the N. Koreans didn’t agree to peace at the bargaining table in 53 then the best action to end the war would be to nuke the Chinese & Russian bases they were operating from with impunity. He even lamented the horrible losses that would occur when Japanese cities were hit in retaliation ‘cause the soviets didn’t yet have a reliable intercontinental capability. Also, don’t assume just because we presumably operate in a certain way that the Russian thought process is remotely similar to ours. The possibility remains that the current conflict will be escalated onto NATO territory by Russia regardless of our actions. We’d better have a plan when/if it does.

What’s your thinking here? We’re the most technologically advanced nation on the planet with the second largest nuclear arsenal and the most capable conventional forces by a long shot. Short of an all out nuclear exchange, in which NOBODY comes out on top, in what world conflict scenario does the US come out behind China or Russia?

#racecarsuxtnet? Courtesy of Toto Wolff? 😂

Excellent race today. Won’t spoil too much for those who haven’t seen it yet, but there will be some behind the scenes fireworks at Redbull & go Haas! Also, the prettiest cars got the best results.

As much as I’d love to see mass desertions/surrenders on the Russian side, I think it’s important that we temper expectations & acknowledge we may be looking at this through the proverbial Western prism. Russians are stoic, fatalistic people and many of them pride themselves on being willing and able to weather hardship and suffering. There may well be some who refuse to fight, especially amongst younger and/or conscripted troops (there appears to be some evidence of this happening already), but Russians have always been willing to put bodies through the meat grinder & I won’t be surprised if Putin is still bashing his forces against the rocks six months or a year from now, regardless of meaningful progress.

I dunno. If you try and save a few bucks by buying cheap Chinese knockoff tires for your Army’s trucks (amongst other questionable decisions) while sharing the spoils with your fat, rich, corrupt entourage, maybe it’s time to look in the mirror when said army gets bogged down in the Ukrainian mud and subsequently dismembered by a motivated enemy. But that’s just me. Probably not much of a solace for the guys about to get shot tho. Oh well. Something, something about sleeping in the bed you’ve made.

Putin is obviously not a fan of the Marky Mark version of The Italian Job:

Jesus man, what the hell kinda bars are you hanging out in? 😳

I don’t entirely disagree with your position. I also worry that we may be pressing too hard & there’s no telling where this all ends up. The fact that I can’t see an end game that’s acceptable to all parties is what really worries me. I think we are in the most dangerous situation for global security that I’ve seen in my lifetime. Here’s the thing though: Putin has played his hand and shown that he can never be trusted as a global partner. The only way Russia re-joins the civilized world is if and when he goes away. Of course we’re not going to come right out and say it, but it seems to me that our long game is forcing Putin from power one way or another. And we better believe there is far more action happening below the surface that we can’t see at the moment. There is certainly more here than meets the eye.

Might not make them love us, but it also might make them start asking questions about what they’re seeing on state TV and why the rest of the world is reacting so harshly. I don’t think the idea is to starve the Russian people. I do think the idea is to squeeze Putin at every possible pressure point.

I think this is where Western politicians need to be straightforward with their constituents right now. Moving forward, the world economy has likely changed permanently. Leaders need to be honest about this. Assuming the regime in Russia doesn’t undergo radical change very soon, there will be economic ripples for decades to come. Humans are adaptable and will adjust their lives when they have to. This is especially true if they believe the economic sacrifices they’re making will make life better for those directly affected by this horrific conflict. Note: this has nothing to do with whether we become involved militarily. The economic effects will be felt regardless.

Was sharing some airspace with guys on their way out to do some air to air the other day. The red air call sign was Ivan.

C’mon. No need for personal attacks. The world’s shitty enough right now. We can disagree, even forcefully and vehemently disagree and still be decent to one another.