Prozac

Well, out of the goodness of my heart, I suppose I could fall on that grenade for you guys.

To be clear, I’m in total agreement that it would be absurd for the US or NATO to directly engage Russia militarily over Ukraine. They are not a NATO member and the cost of a war with Russia is not something the US is, or should be, prepared to bare at this time. This is especially true considering the security issues we face in Asia at the moment. There are ways to make the cost extremely high for Russia though. Diplomatic pressure should be applied to Germany to scrub Nord Stream. See the article Dirk posted above for alternate energy sources available to Western Europe. A Ukrainian insurgency could also be particularly effective at inflicting pain on the Russians. Their proxy forces haven’t exactly been overwhelming in Eastern Ukraine. Even the force they have on the border now would be unlikely to be able to secure the entire country. Resistance fighters could easily be supplied from Poland and Romania and be a painful thorn in Putin’s side for a long time. Finally, severe sanctions on Putin & his cronies, & the removal of Russia from international finance organizations could also be very effective in limiting their future abilities to threaten neighbors. There is a lot we can and should do in the case of Russian aggression, short of actual combat operations. NATO has solidified in recent years based on Russian aggression in it’s former sphere (even if the allies still have their issues) and we should take advantage of the current relative solidarity.

If Putin is allowed to invade Ukraine without repercussion do you think he’ll stop there? He will be emboldened and the Baltics, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, etc, will all be in his crosshairs. What happens when he decides to attack a NATO member, thinking the alliance is too weak to respond? I’m not saying I support a direct NATO response wrt Ukraine, but sanctions, strong military support, and a more aggressive NATO posture in Eastern Europe should be the minimum response. Letting a tyrant run amok on the European continent has never worked out for anyone.

Do you have to pay extra for those? Asking for a friend.

So do tell us, with your obviously superior intellect and statistical analysis skills, how many Americans have died from Covid-19? Also, go with creds that prove you are qualified to determine the official numbers are pure propaganda. I’m sure they’re very impressive.

Agreed. Thanks for clarifying your position.

I hear you man. The only caveat I’d add is that I don’t buy that “the media” is a monolithic liberal machine. It is highly partisan though. But the problem you identified is real. Any “oversight” is strictly upon party lines and it’s become difficult to know what’s a real issue and what’s being trumped up to affect the next election cycle.

I honestly don’t know. A lot of/most diplomacy happens behind the scenes. I think Biden is trying to stay out of the culture war cesspool publicly. American diplomacy and soft power are much bigger than any one president. I have faith that the system is working as designed.

Except that all of the people I mentioned were literally encouraging their followers to riot. If I were China, I couldn’t think of a better narrative than to have half of the American public lose all faith in their institutions, to have half the public believe their president is illegitimate, and to have half the public believe that the chief American epidemiologist is responsible for Covid and not lax Chinese practices. We are well and truly fucked.

Uggghh. Are we really suggesting that the Jan 6 violence was a result of FBI "encouragement"? A few years ago, that narrative would be laughable to anyone with a brain. Still is. Total joke and a pathetic attempt to deflect blame from Trump, his sons, Rudy Giuliani, and all the Alex Jones type "media" figures who were more than enough to convince a bunch of ignorant dipshits to storm the Capitol. For those who want to believe this nonsense, ask yourselves: What would be the benefit to the FBI of leading an angry mob to Nancy Pelosi's office?

Well that certainly seems to be the attitude of many commenters here. “Vaccines are less effective than hoped - don’t put that poison in your body.” ”Masks are only 40% effective. No point in wearing them.” “Social distancing is marginally effective. I’ll take that as my cue to party like it’s 1999.” The truth is that there is no silver bullet, not vaccines, not masks, not monoclonals, that will get us out of this mess. All of those things have flaws that make it easy to poke holes in them on an individual basis. But taken in aggregate, they represent a layered strategy that is perfectly reasonable. Is it appropriate to talk about how far we are willing to go with these measures and what that means for economics, American ideals, mental health, and our very social fabric? Of course it is! I WANT to have that conversation. There is a lot of messaging on BOTH sides, however, that is making that conversation almost impossible to have.

Ok, Huggy and Ryder seem to have more current intel. Disregard my 1000 PIC comment. Like I said, grain of salt. 😉

1000 PIC still seems to be the magic number. You have a few choices: 1. Remain on AD (don’t take the bonus) and build up your PIC there. Note that Big Blue may interrupt your plan by giving you a non flying staff job at any time, extending your timeline and (they hope) influencing the calculus that will make you more likely to suck it up and stay for 20. 2. Go to a guard/reserve unit & get your PIC there. It’s been a while, so I’m not sure how easy it is to get orders these days, but with the airline hiring boom, I imagine it won’t be difficult to build up hours in short order. 3. Go to a regional. You’ll upgrade quickly and once you do, you’ll have your PIC in no time. Note: many people would put “ACMIs” like Atlas or Kalitta in the same category as regionals. In your case I’d avoid them as the upgrade time is much longer and you could end up being stuck there for a long period of time. 4. Combine 2 and 3. You’ll have some control of your regional schedule, build some PIC in the ARC while waiting for the airline upgrade, and be able to supplement your regional income somewhat. Best option IMO but I’ve seen it done successfully using all options laid out. Thats my 2 cents. As always, all advice given here is worth what you paid for it, take with a grain of salt, and YMMV.

I know guys who have left airline X while in training or IOE when their #1 choice called. It’s just business. Any of the majors wouldn’t hesitate to furlough you if it positively impacted their bottom line. I see this kind of action as returning the favor. Absolutely dance with the first girl who says yes, but if a prettier one suddenly becomes available, follow your instincts.

I imagine the vast majority of DAL new hires will continue to possess a degree. My company doesn’t have a degree requirement & I can probably count on one hand the number hired without one in the last several years. Generally 20 something unicorns who have strong connections and check at least one “desirable candidate” box. That said, the fact that DAL has removed the requirement is telling & seems to indicate that airlines are beginning to realize that their highly qualified pool of candidates is likely to start drying up soon.

I don’t disagree. But I do think there is culpability on both the left and right for anti-mask attitudes in general. On the left for being militant and on the right for overblowing the small nuisance that masking presents.

And this is why we can’t have nice things.

Tell that to the guy in 17C, next to me on the plane yesterday who was hacking up a lung. Unfortunately we live in a society where many people think it’s ok to fly, use public transit, or go to work while sick, even in a pandemic. Personally, I’m glad ‘Typhoid Mike’ was forced to wear a mask.

No, you are misinterpreting. I acknowledge the tool in question has a disappointingly waning efficacy when it comes to preventing disease. This does not mean in cannot be a useful tool, especially when combined with other measures. It still has very good efficacy when it comes to keeping people out of the hospital or the morgue, which is a pretty major consideration for most commanders. If you’re vaccinated and exposed, you don’t get taken out for 10 days (or 5, or 7, or whatever it is today…..agree that CDC’s messaging is atrocious), another major consideration for commanders. Finally, even 40% efficacy when it comes to preventing disease is not nothing. If I had a tool that kept 40% of my troops combat effective who otherwise wouldn’t be, you’re goddamn right I’d use it.

Reading comprehension much? My point was clearly that comparisons to Nazi Germany take the argument full retard.

Agreed. Closing schools has been, and will continue to be just about the worst possible Covid mitigation policy for so many reasons.

Apologies. First round’s on me. 🍺😎

Oh gmafb! Refusing a direct order to get vaccinated (especially after you’ve already rolled up your sleeve for a phalanx of them) is HARDLY the same thing as looking the other way as your army marches an entire race of people into death camps. The constant comparisons to Nazi Germany/Stalinist Russia/etc. are laughable at best and highly offensive at worst and they make it hard to take any of your arguments seriously. What do you think leadership would’ve told some marine who refused to storm the beaches of Iwo Jima on religious grounds? Seriously, if someone was pulling this shit on any other issue, you’d call them out for the whiny, entitled bitches they are.