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The Race For 2024

starwater said:

Jimmy Higgins said:
We are so fucked. This would have led to people losing, even in easy to win seats. Now days, it barely even makes the news. The fucking Tweet (or Xit) is still up!

Rep. Greene is unfit to run a gift shop, forget try to help operate the government.

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So she is finally agreeing that humans caused climate change?
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:D

Yeah, feels like a parallel to micro v macro-evolution among creationists. Long-term climate change is a lie... but The Jews have a weather machine that creates hurricanes!
 
Swammerdami said:
And Trump has suddenly veered to a 54-46 lead at Polymarket.
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The three big Rusty Swingers are all "too close to call." Harris needs all three. The sample-size bias (which is typically quoted as "error bars") is about the LEAST worrisome bias here. WHAT the biases are is a big unknown! Some pollees, I'd venture, are voting Trump but are too embarrassed by their own choice to voice it to a pollster. Someone else can Google for Nate Silver's opinion. I'm sure his predictions are excellent but to portray him as some Glamorous Superstar of Prediction is ... hyperbolic.

Let's face it. Trump seems to be at least even-money to win the EC "legitimately", but there is also a fair chance that, two states away from victory the Reds employ ought-to-be-criminal shenanigans and force the House of Reps to decide. (Will the Scotus Five back up the cheaters?)

I know that I'm a bore (and a boor) with the pessimism, but the situation really is dire.
I guess we're all trying to join in on a song called "Yay! Guess What?" Let's all hope the American People suddenly come to their senses and reject the Ignoramus and Con-man Donald Trump. Landslide for Common-sense!

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From the nostalgia desk: :: Speaking of patriotic songs for the Democratic Party, I am reminded of a poll question: Please answer
(1) Can you sing the song "Happy Days are here again!"?
(2) Did you know it is the unofficial anthem of the D's, since this 1930 hit became FDR's campaign song in 1932.

I feel as if I've hardly ever noticed this song sung as a Democratic Party anthem in the last half-century or so. Am I wrong?
 
Kami down to a two cent spread on Predictit, down from a 16 cent spread at her peak.
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TV and credit cards said:
Loren Pechtel said:
Henry-Finland said:
- The other problem (about Ukraine) is that USA does not sell e.g. 155 mm cluster bombs (4 million in storage that are meant for scrapping and 3.600 older Abrams that are just a reserve in the Arizona desert.)
USA has also planes that they do not use anymore (Warthdogs?)

You see, even if EU-countries are only building up their production capacity, EU is not lack of money. Uncle Sam needs only to whistle...
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No idea on the cluster bombs, but equipment in the boneyards isn't in shape to ship to the front line without quite a bit of overhaul.
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Not the least of which is the DU armor that would need to be removed and replaced with other material. Earlier in the year Ukraine pulled Abrams tanks from the field as they are fodder in a drone war. If Ukraine again finds a need for tanks, Australia has 59 of them being retired. These would not have the DU armor. Retired Army Chief Peter Leahy is asking why they are not being sent to Ukraine and not getting much of an answer from the government. They also scrapped and buried their fleet of 46 MRH-90 helicopters Ukraine could have used. Again, why wasn't Ukraine considered prior to the decommissioning process?
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My memory is the tanks weren't in shape to be worth sending.
 
TV and credit cards said:
Loren Pechtel said:
Henry-Finland said:
- The other problem (about Ukraine) is that USA does not sell e.g. 155 mm cluster bombs (4 million in storage that are meant for scrapping and 3.600 older Abrams that are just a reserve in the Arizona desert.)
USA has also planes that they do not use anymore (Warthdogs?)

You see, even if EU-countries are only building up their production capacity, EU is not lack of money. Uncle Sam needs only to whistle...
Click to expand...
No idea on the cluster bombs, but equipment in the boneyards isn't in shape to ship to the front line without quite a bit of overhaul.
Click to expand...
Not the least of which is the DU armor that would need to be removed and replaced with other material. Earlier in the year Ukraine pulled Abrams tanks from the field as they are fodder in a drone war. If Ukraine again finds a need for tanks, Australia has 59 of them being retired. These would not have the DU armor. Retired Army Chief Peter Leahy is asking why they are not being sent to Ukraine and not getting much of an answer from the government. They also scrapped and buried their fleet of 46 MRH-90 helicopters Ukraine could have used. Again, why wasn't Ukraine considered prior to the decommissioning process?
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The Taipan Helicopters were wayyy too unreliable. And if I remember correctly, the ADF is sitting on the Abrams because DFAT wants to use them as "donations with strings attached" to Pacific Island nations like the Solomon Islands to blunt some of China's influence.
 
Patooka said:
TV and credit cards said:
Loren Pechtel said:
Henry-Finland said:
- The other problem (about Ukraine) is that USA does not sell e.g. 155 mm cluster bombs (4 million in storage that are meant for scrapping and 3.600 older Abrams that are just a reserve in the Arizona desert.)
USA has also planes that they do not use anymore (Warthdogs?)

You see, even if EU-countries are only building up their production capacity, EU is not lack of money. Uncle Sam needs only to whistle...
Click to expand...
No idea on the cluster bombs, but equipment in the boneyards isn't in shape to ship to the front line without quite a bit of overhaul.
Click to expand...
Not the least of which is the DU armor that would need to be removed and replaced with other material. Earlier in the year Ukraine pulled Abrams tanks from the field as they are fodder in a drone war. If Ukraine again finds a need for tanks, Australia has 59 of them being retired. These would not have the DU armor. Retired Army Chief Peter Leahy is asking why they are not being sent to Ukraine and not getting much of an answer from the government. They also scrapped and buried their fleet of 46 MRH-90 helicopters Ukraine could have used. Again, why wasn't Ukraine considered prior to the decommissioning process?
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The Taipan Helicopters were wayyy too unreliable.
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We (Aust) should have let Ukraine make that decison for themselves. Thaa was such a waste.
Patooka said:
And if I remember correctly, the ADF is sitting on the Abrams because DFAT wants to use them as "donations with strings attached" to Pacific Island nations like the Solomon Islands to blunt some of China's influence.
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Yes I can just imagine the Abrams running through the jungles of Guadalcanal. Tanks were not good in WW2 there and tanks that are at least 8 times heavier are not going to fare any better.
 
Tigers! said:
We (Aust) should have let Ukraine make that decison for themselves. Thaa was such a waste.
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As it turns out, by the time Ukraine asked for them, they were already scrapped for parts.

breakingdefense.com

Australia reveals why it isn't sending grounded Taipan helicopters to Ukraine - Breaking Defense

After keeping mum on the issue for weeks, minister for defense procurement Pat Conroy said Kyiv's request came too late, months after the helos had been destined for disposal.
breakingdefense.com breakingdefense.com

Tigers! said:
Yes I can just imagine the Abrams running through the jungles of Guadalcanal. Tanks were not good in WW2 there and tanks that are at least 8 times heavier are not going to fare any better.
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I never said they are great for jungle warfare, although I suspect tank designs have improved slightly since WWII. I'll even go further and say the Abrams is entirely unsuited for that type of theatre as it travels about 500m to the litre in fuel. I am however saying they are going to be used as shitty diplomatic bargaining chips - and realism, practicality and reason have no fucking place in Australia's foreign policy stance in the Asia-Pacific Region. We've never used common sense before, why would we do it now?
 
Loren Pechtel said:
TV and credit cards said:
Loren Pechtel said:
Henry-Finland said:
- The other problem (about Ukraine) is that USA does not sell e.g. 155 mm cluster bombs (4 million in storage that are meant for scrapping and 3.600 older Abrams that are just a reserve in the Arizona desert.)
USA has also planes that they do not use anymore (Warthdogs?)

You see, even if EU-countries are only building up their production capacity, EU is not lack of money. Uncle Sam needs only to whistle...
Click to expand...
No idea on the cluster bombs, but equipment in the boneyards isn't in shape to ship to the front line without quite a bit of overhaul.
Click to expand...
Not the least of which is the DU armor that would need to be removed and replaced with other material. Earlier in the year Ukraine pulled Abrams tanks from the field as they are fodder in a drone war. If Ukraine again finds a need for tanks, Australia has 59 of them being retired. These would not have the DU armor. Retired Army Chief Peter Leahy is asking why they are not being sent to Ukraine and not getting much of an answer from the government. They also scrapped and buried their fleet of 46 MRH-90 helicopters Ukraine could have used. Again, why wasn't Ukraine considered prior to the decommissioning process?
Click to expand...
My memory is the tanks weren't in shape to be worth sending.
Click to expand...

Not so - but naturally everything needs to be upgraded, but that is much cheaper than to begin producing tanks from scratch.
I see it this way, the ball is in the EU, but of course, the decision is in USA.
www.marinecorpstimes.com

Goodbye, tanks: How the Marine Corps will change, and what it will lose, by ditching its armor

Commandant Gen. David H. Berger has said that should armor be needed by Marines, he would look to the Army to provide that capability.
www.marinecorpstimes.com www.marinecorpstimes.com
 
Lend & Lease would be a good program. And different EU countries could act as guarantors. Right now, some EU countries are just telling stories, like Italy: "Yes, we would help, but we don’t have the production capacity, yadda, yadda."
Germany is already investing heavily in increasing its production capacity, and Finland is also making significant efforts. We are buying new fighter jets from the U.S., and we have even received permission to purchase...

Even "Finland has announced the acquisition of US Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) weapons for its air force. The purchase is part of the country's F-35 integration timeline, equipping its upcoming fighter jets with air-to-surface capabilities as it replaces the aging A-18 Hornet fleet."
Finland is probably the only country that gives prototypes for testing to Ukraine. The thought is: "Who can better tell us what we should produce? So it is a win-win.
Ukraine has some 40 factories making drones! I think that Finland is very interested in cooperation.

Later I will introduce some of our drone production.
 
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Loren Pechtel said:
TV and credit cards said:
Loren Pechtel said:
Henry-Finland said:
- The other problem (about Ukraine) is that USA does not sell e.g. 155 mm cluster bombs (4 million in storage that are meant for scrapping and 3.600 older Abrams that are just a reserve in the Arizona desert.)
USA has also planes that they do not use anymore (Warthdogs?)

You see, even if EU-countries are only building up their production capacity, EU is not lack of money. Uncle Sam needs only to whistle...
Click to expand...
No idea on the cluster bombs, but equipment in the boneyards isn't in shape to ship to the front line without quite a bit of overhaul.
Click to expand...
Not the least of which is the DU armor that would need to be removed and replaced with other material. Earlier in the year Ukraine pulled Abrams tanks from the field as they are fodder in a drone war. If Ukraine again finds a need for tanks, Australia has 59 of them being retired. These would not have the DU armor. Retired Army Chief Peter Leahy is asking why they are not being sent to Ukraine and not getting much of an answer from the government. They also scrapped and buried their fleet of 46 MRH-90 helicopters Ukraine could have used. Again, why wasn't Ukraine considered prior to the decommissioning process?
Click to expand...
My memory is the tanks weren't in shape to be worth sending.
Click to expand...

They wouldn't be or at least shouldn't be. There are maintenance procedures for putting equipment in short term/long term storage and for decommissioning of equipment.
 
It pains me somewhat, but I have to give the "Legislative District 12 Republican Committee" here in AZ kudos. In the mail today, I got the voter guide put out by the Secretary of State's office, a comprehensive book (and it is the size of a small town phone book) covering every ballot proposal and every candidate running for office.

The GOP Committee left a hanger on my doorknob they call the "2024 Republican Golden Ticket," telling me which candidates and proposals they support up and down the ballot. Instead of reading that ponderous tome, I can just go down the list and vote against anyone and anything they support...from President down to dog catcher.
 
So am I going to have to join the NRA to fit in with the Democrats, now? :rolleyesa:

That Overton Window just keeps draggin', draggin', draggin...
 
"JD Vance says it's fine to make up stories, and we wish him well on his long road to recovery from syphilis"
 
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