Politics

[Datchew]

We have to ask ourself...is article 5 dead..? Let us say Putin launch an attack on one of the baltic states...what will Trump do..? Say its not Americas war..?

FFS. Yes, let's just say that happens, will you say it IS America's war?
What about India vs. Pakistan starting to go kinetic - is that America's war?
What if the troubles start up again in N. Ireland - is that America's war?
By whom do you propose this is decided?

For all you "putin is the boogeyman" neocon, war-justifying TDS people here, please provide some reasoning why you think Putin plans to invade and take over Europe.
He's a classic kgb thug that functions as a dictator with a shiny wrapper of having been elected. I get it.
Zoom out a little.

This is classic silly reasoning based on a "what-if" style of fearmongering. Classic propaganda based justification. No different than selling software and spreading fear about Y2k.

 

[Tanks]

Classic propaganda based justification. No different than selling software and spreading fear about Y2k.

Actually, Y2K fears were real in a lot of instances. A lot of our legacy software would have quit working if not upgraded as when developed we used a byte (max value 255) or two characters in databases to store the year instead of an integer (32767) due to memory constraints at the time.

Wish we had AI back then for conversions, would have saved millions for a lot of companies.

 

[RLD]

FFS. Yes, let's just say that happens, will you say it IS America's war?
What about India vs. Pakistan starting to go kinetic - is that America's war?
What if the troubles start up again in N. Ireland - is that America's war?
By whom do you propose this is decided?

For all you "putin is the boogeyman" neocon, war-justifying TDS people here, please provide some reasoning why you think Putin plans to invade and take over Europe.
He's a classic kgb thug that functions as a dictator with a shiny wrapper of having been elected. I get it.
Zoom out a little.

This is classic silly reasoning based on a "what-if" style of fearmongering. Classic propaganda based justification. No different than selling software and spreading fear about Y2k.

Talk about silly reasoning!

Happy to answer your questions though.

If Russia invades one of the Baltic states it is America's war. And Canada's, and Germany's and the UK and Iceland's and Turkeys because they are all part of NATO and have a clear, firm, written mutual defense agreement. I know it is an old fashion concept, you sign a deal, you abide by it.

Clearly India and Pakistan are not an American war by any stretch.

The troubles in N. Ireland starting again would not be an American war either, in fact it would even be what is thought of as a war it is an internal civil conflict, which is very different than a proper war between sovereign states.

There is a ton of evidence to lead one to conclude Putin has designs in the Baltic. His statements, writings, military deployment and other non-military actions against those countries make it as plain as the nose on your face that he has ambitions there. We can only hope the bloody nose Ukraine has given him forestalls them.

Putin is not just a little KGB thug. He is a man with a certain sense of and thinking on Russian nationalism and empire, and his own place in history. He believes in the concept of Russian Empire the same way that little postcard painter from Austria believed in Lebensraum, and everyone who has studied him knows it.

If he was just a left over KGB thug he would never have invaded Ukraine.

 

[Tanks]

We can only hope the bloody nose Ukraine has given him forestalls them.

Not if Trump succeeds in browbeating Ukraine into accepting Putin's terms. The peace proposal put on the table by Trump is the same demands Putin made of Ukraine 3 years ago.

 

[John Wasmuth]

And it just keeps getting better!!! A Wisconsin judge arrested for obstruction an official procedure!!

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/politics/fbi-director-wisconsin-judge-arrested/index.html

 

[fourfive8]

Actually, Y2K fears were real in a lot of instances. A lot of our legacy software would have quit working if not upgraded as when developed we used a byte (max value 255) or two characters in databases to store the year instead of an integer (32767) due to memory constraints at the time.

Wish we had AI back then for conversions, would have saved millions for a lot of companies.

Well, did AI solve the Y2K pending apocalyptic disaster? Oh that’s right, AI in the present form didn’t exist at the time. What an inexplicable paradox! Hah! I have no clue why so many insist on worshipping at that alter of AI??

I’m certain AI has become more and more a part of weather forecasting. But anecdotally, I see no increase in accuracy of the predictions. If anything, I’ve noticed more failures of predictions even in the short term, 1-2 day forecasts! So much for super computer modeling….

Be careful putting all your eggs in the AI basket. We’ve had AI for a while now in the form of the simple google search. At least half the time I use google search it tries to convince me I’m really looking for something 180 degrees away from what I’m really searching for. It may be fast but it is most assuredly NOT smart. Just yesterday the child of the lying evil idiot Zuckerberg, Meta, kept correcting a person to person message I was composing. Meta had no clue about the format nor grammar needed so the person on the other end could understand the message. Fast but dumb as s wedge! I gave up and had to shut the unit off, reboot and start over to get rid of the Meta override. Go ahead, keep investing more of your brain into relying on AI. Hope it works out

 

[Datchew]

Talk about silly reasoning!

Happy to answer your questions though.

If Russia invades one of the Baltic states it is America's war. And Canada's, and Germany's and the UK and Iceland's and Turkeys because they are all part of NATO and have a clear, firm, written mutual defense agreement. I know it is an old fashion concept, you sign a deal, you abide by it.

Clearly India and Pakistan are not an American war by any stretch.

The troubles in N. Ireland starting again would not be an American war either, in fact it would even be what is thought of as a war it is an internal civil conflict, which is very different than a proper war between sovereign states.

There is a ton of evidence to lead one to conclude Putin has designs in the Baltic. His statements, writings, military deployment and other non-military actions against those countries make it as plain as the nose on your face that he has ambitions there. We can only hope the bloody nose Ukraine has given him forestalls them.

Putin is not just a little KGB thug. He is a man with a certain sense of and thinking on Russian nationalism and empire, and his own place in history. He believes in the concept of Russian Empire the same way that little postcard painter from Austria believed in Lebensraum, and everyone who has studied him knows it.

If he was just a left over KGB thug he would never have invaded Ukraine.

Silly reasoning is using hasty generalization fallacies.

A ton of evidence?
Everyone who has studied?

Irony is answering a question (not asked to you) in a literal fashion about treaties in order to be cute and avoid the point inside a discussion about supporting Ukraine where the US has no treaty or obligation to defend.

 

[Tanks]

Go ahead, keep investing more of your brain into relying on AI. Hope it works out

It is working. One of our projects is replacing the automation on a multitude of pump stations for a municipal district. They used.Bristol Babcock RTUs programmed in their Accol programming language back in 1991. No documentation or drawings, a reverse engineering project to start. Using AI we not only documented the programs, but converted them to Siemens SCL language with about 95% accuracy. Already saved us thousands of hours of engineering time (read profit).

 

[Dudders]

I read somewhere the John Deere company is heading for Mexico. Though I am not into farming equipment in generel I do find it sadding an old american instutution is moving out. Farmers overhere buy John Deere stuff and they are often represented at Farmers fairs and everybody knows its american made. This brings me to the “ american made”. In the 1960-1980s lots of stuff we bought overhere was made in america. Today we barely see anything( items)with the exception of old vintage cars and a few of the newer Mustangs and Hellcats. We still have McDs and a few Burger Kings. After WW2 america had a huge positive influence in Europe. Not just the Marshallplan but also culturalwise. I would say it peaked in the 1980-1990s. From here things has slowly declined. Huntingwise Winchester, Remington and Hornady products are still found as new imports in huntingstores.
The tariffs the different countries will be forewarded to the customer. I have always felt a bit irritated all these importduties were added before I got my hands on it. In the 1990s I imported a lot of american brand scopes( made in Phillipines) and truckloads of reloading stuff. This was done on as private import. I could then later sell it and make a little profit. After 9/11 it all died. Trade restriction from the US side made it all die.

The 6 series john deere tractors are made in germany at Mannheim.

 

[RLD]

Silly reasoning is using hasty generalization fallacies.

A ton of evidence?
Everyone who has studied?

Irony is answering a question (not asked to you) in a literal fashion about treaties in order to be cute and avoid the point inside a discussion about supporting Ukraine where the US has no treaty or obligation to defend.

The question was what would happen if Russia invaded the Baltic states and whether that would be a U.S. war.

You seem to think it would not be, or do I misunderstand you?

Do you think the United States has a collective defense obligation to any of the Baltic states?

And yeah, there is a very broad consensus on Putin's Imperial Russian worldview. It's not big secret. I can't think of a single scholar or expert who does not agree with that.

Serious question for you, what makes you conclude he is just a KGB thug with no vision? Have you ever read any of the stuff Putin himself has written on the subject?

Putin has actually published tons of stuff about Kievan Rus' and Russian Imperialism. You don't even have to infer anything. Have you read what Putin himself says on these subjects?

 

[Wheels]

Second Judge arrested this week for harboring or hindering the arrest of an illegal. Wonder if DOJ can pull off a hat trick.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1915816561144721667

 

[deewayne2003]

It is not a markup. The $7K extra is part of the MSRP for any new order from the factory regardless of the color. I don't worry about repos as I pay cash unless there is a 0% interest loan.

Markups are listed separately, not part of the MSRP. For example, I did pay a $5K markup for my GX 550 OT+. It was the least of any dealers around as some were asking $10K+. And yes, it was a choice as there were no alternatives. As it is I waited 4+ months for one with the specs I wanted.

Either way it sounds like another reason to charge people more, just like when all the food packages shrank in content and also went up in price.

For the higher end consumer autos like you are buying, the dealers know their customers and as you said you are a cash buyer; so you have more leverage but I doubt their gonna come down on the price because they know someone that makes 100k a year will come in and finance it with as little money down as possible and stretch out the term as far as possible to get the payment down as low as possible; so more profit in selling to someone that finances vs. you as the cash buyer.

The repossession comment was to show how many people are underwater and the car dealerships in my opinion did themselves a great long term disservice by engaging in predatory selling to people who were the bread and butter of their business.

A buddy of mine is head of 4 dealerships in the DFW area and he's certainly not loving life at the moment, on the other hand he was making money hand over fist during the pandemic.

 

[WAB]

Donald buggered this up .....saw this was potentially going to happen.....

Canada election is Carney’s to lose in contest turned on its head by Trump

The Conservative Pierre Poilievre was poised to be the next PM until a lurch in US relations tilted polls to the Liberals

www.theguardian.com

Feckless US Foreign policy drove Canadians to unite behind the party in power. I can’t believe that folks actually think what he is doing with our most faithful allies is anything but insane.

 

[WAB]

You are correct, the Tundra will cost more but will also last longer as well and with fewer maintenance issues. As someone that is much closer to the 70K mark than the 700K; I honestly believe that many of the financial pitfalls can be avoided by shedding the consumerism mindset of needing a new car every couple of years.

People equal to and vastly above my income bracket often ask me how I afford to hunt and travel as I do, the answer is simple - I buy used, pay off early and follow the factory recommended service schedule and keep driving for extended periods.

This flies in the face of the average 100K earner who wears a Rolex and drives a new King Ranch Ford every 2 years; these are the same people who can't fathom dropping $15k on a hunt but have an $8k year deer lease that's 5 hours drive from home and that requires them to feed corn and protein year round.

When it comes to cars, keeping up with the Jones' holds many Americans back from building wealth.

Your comments are correct but you are missing the point. Tariffs will drive costs up across the board. This will pass along to the consumer who will be forced to reduce overall consumption to stay at the same expenditure level. This will reduce corporate profits and slow the economy. If this is allowed to continue it will drive us into recession or possibly depression. These trade deals Trump continues to go on about need to happen quickly. Unfortunately for him and us, these are not simple deals and involve much more than tariff structure. I hope he knows what he is doing but I fear that he is getting some very poor advice. I think it is interesting that Musk is against the approach.

 

[WAB]

Silly reasoning is using hasty generalization fallacies.

A ton of evidence?
Everyone who has studied?

Irony is answering a question (not asked to you) in a literal fashion about treaties in order to be cute and avoid the point inside a discussion about supporting Ukraine where the US has no treaty or obligation to defend.

Your grasp of history is tenuous at best. Russia and the US agreed to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty in return for them giving up their nuclear weapons. Your invasion of Crimea in 2014 was a clear violation of your word, and our hand wringing response is to our eternal shame.

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

Your grasp of history is tenuous at best. Russia and the US agreed to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty in return for them giving up their nuclear weapons. Your invasion of Crimea in 2014 was a clear violation of your word, and our hand wringing response is to our eternal shame.

The real shame is on the administrators in power with their “what have you done for me lately” attitudes trying to bill Ukraine for the pleasure of territorial concessions.

 

[Brent in Az]

Artificial intelligence, and nuclear weapons have something in common.

They are two things that the world will eventually regret the invention of.

 

[CJW]

Looking from the outside when it first started, the backlash was pretty obvious to me as to how it was going to pan out....same as other things over there....you can get a better perspective sometimes looking from a distance and seeing how the different reports are going.....

Spike, I'm not dense. I'm not a loyalist. I'm not blinded by anyone's pretty words. I view media from every major outlet and then some. All of this stuff was being reported here and being called out as a potential mistake on Trump's part as it pertains to Canada and elsewhere. Should he have played all of this differently? Yes. Have there been major backtracks, stupid statements, ass covering and head scratching decisions made since all this started? Of course. Any of us without rose colored glasses can see it and plenty of talking heads here were warning of it and the backlash in Canada.

That does not mean that as a Canadian or anyone else, you should slice your own throat just because you believe Trump is trying to slice your leg.

 

[Altitude sickness]

If there is no real movement and real concessions from Moscow soon. Trump needs to completely walk away from Russia.

With Europes help, arm Ukraine fully. And let Ukraine finish the job. Longer range missile platforms ETC.

 

[Datchew]

Your grasp of history is tenuous at best. Russia and the US agreed to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty in return for them giving up their nuclear weapons. Your invasion of Crimea in 2014 was a clear violation of your word, and our hand wringing response is to our eternal shame.

I think my grasp is just fine. You're leaving out the promises of not expanding NATO which seems a key piece of starting the whole path to the invasion moving. We've covered this ground before.

I'm curious on you saying "your invasion" and "your word." Are you associating me with the Russians?
That's quite a bizarre accusation if that's what you're getting at.