Politics

[375 Ruger Fan]

I guess it is just different circles, Im a millennial and my friends only really complain about taxes, and realize minimum wage is basically a gimmick because it raises the cost of living, and the cycle continues.

Gen Z (though I agree doesnt really bitch) but also doesnt really seem that motivated to climb the corporate ladder and is more focused on well being than financial goals/results. I do a lot of career coaching with Gen Z and find them to be very focused just very green (and that means even carrying a basic conversation).

Actually read an article somewhere that Millennial woman are preferring to date Gen Z men because essentially they dont bitch so much and dont seem to be as career growth at all cost focus. I found it interesting until one of the women mentioned her recent date with Gen Z man, he was telling her how he went to an alcohol free kimono wearing rave to help address his childhood trauma and I immediately said nope, fuck that.

Interesting, as most Millennial single guys I know are dating Gen Z women.

I’m just happy to hear that men are dating women and women are dating men.

 

[Pondoro]

That kinda depends on who you talk to and what their priorities are..

For example the Leopard 2 has better fuel efficiency.. and some would argue a marginally better gun…

But… the M1a2 has better crew survival and better global logistical support…

What’s best really depends on what’s wanted and needed by the country deploying them..

That said the Leopard is a fine tank…

Production capability is a huge factor as well..

Germany is very limited.. right now it can produce about 50 leopards a year…

Without ramping up production the US is currently producing about 150 M1A2’s per year…

I agree on most.. As an ex-tanker I have 2 negatives against the M1A2:

Running a gas turbine make them very thirsty...thus makes proper logistics mandatory.

Secondly, replacing the turbine is a major workshop job..the Leo can change an engine in the field within an hour..

The upgraded M1A2 have a slightly better crew survival..as proven in Ukraine..

Given proper logistics and workshop facilities, maybe the M1A2 is the winner..

 

[mdwest]

I agree on most.. As an ex-tanker I have 2 negatives against the M1A2:

Running a gas turbine make them very thirsty...thus makes proper logistics mandatory.

Secondly, replacing the turbine is a major workshop job..the Leo can change an engine in the field within an hour..

The upgraded M1A2 have a slightly better crew survival..as proven in Ukraine..

Given proper logistics and workshop facilities, maybe the M1A2 is the winner..

And that turbine isn’t just thirsty… it’s LOUD..

I was never a tanker.. but I used to love finding a tank company in winter… standing in the exhaust of that jet warmed you up quick! But it would make you deaf in the process

 

[Pondoro]

I never really understood why they went for a turbine..maybe because the soviet T-80 used one.. The russians had trouble with them and thus changed back to conventional diesel engines on later models..

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I never really understood why they went for a turbine..maybe because the soviet T-80 used one.. The russians had trouble with them and thus changed back to conventional diesel engines on later models..

Weight savings. Turbines produce a lot more horsepower in a smaller and lighter package when compared to diesel engines. We used a lot of turbines to drive compressors, pumps and generators in the offshore oil industry.

 

[Pondoro]

Weight savings. Turbines produce a lot more horsepower in a smaller and lighter package when compared to diesel engines. We used a lot of turbines to drive compressors, pumps and generators in the offshore oil industry.

It does not quiet add up..if a conventional diesel is used, fuel tanks can be reduced..

And mind you...the only current produced tank with a turbine is the M1A2..

Yes, we also use turbines on the North Sea oilrigs, GE LM2500s..they are excellent.

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

 

[CoElkHunter]

Wait a minute...so only Europeans are allowed to whine?

“it’s such a fine whine (line) that keeps me searching for a heart of gold”-Neil Young LOL

 

[Wheels]

Good article on the IRGC Hormuz gambit and how it is backfiring.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2042992890666787115

 

[CoElkHunter]

I think @Red Leg and @Altitude sickness comments and observations are spot on with regards to Vance and the Iran negotiations.

I will add one comment. The location of the negotiations favors Iran. Islamabad is 1,000 miles from Tehran. The US delegation had to fly half way around the world. As we all, after a long flight (think Atlanta to Joberg), that last thing you are ready to do is enter a game of high stakes poker.

Think 28+ hours on Qatar to Port Elizabeth in baggage class instead of opulent suites with beds and rib eye steaks that the U.S. delegation travels in. I’d enter a game of thrones or chess after that. Just saying. LOL

 

[CoElkHunter]

I agree with that, but still kind of wild, Europeans saying we need Germany to build up its troops to provide defense for us.

I mean Germany would have the biggest military, biggest manufacturing base and biggest GDP of all European Union countries.

Like historically speaking it is kind of wild.

They can’t have the biggest industrial base anymore. They have no electricity and very little natural gas. They’ve bought into the radical climate change BS and have shut down their nuclear power plants and are relying on green energy and were relying on Russia for gas and now that’s gone away. They have the 3rd or 4th largest gas reserves in the world that sits idly underneath them. Very sad.

 

[skydiver386]

Weight savings. Turbines produce a lot more horsepower in a smaller and lighter package when compared to diesel engines. We used a lot of turbines to drive compressors, pumps and generators in the offshore oil industry.

One of the stated reasons for the turbine over a standard piston diesel engine is the ability to use multiple types of fuels. Any FARP with kerosene based fuels and you can run an Abrams.

I remember the old M35 Duce and a half engine would use anything including Mogas, diesel, JP4, Aqua Velva after shave or anything else as long as you added enough motor oil to the fuel to lube the injector pump

 

[mdwest]

It appears Iran is signing up for a few more rounds of air sorties..

https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/11/world/live-news/iran-us-war-talks

 

[Brent in Az]

So.....the U.S announces it will start clearing the Strait of Hormuz?
I think it's folly to think Iran will honor any type of treaty or ceasefire agreement

 

[mdwest]

So.....the U.S announces it will start clearing the Strait of Hormuz?
I think it's folly to think Iran will honor any type of treaty or ceasefire agreement

Iran has never honored any agreement that I am aware of…

Even when they ultimately agree to no nukes, they’re going to pursue nukes… they’ve agreed 4x times previously and violated every agreement..

Until we completely destroy not just their facilities, but also facilities designs, and kill all of their senior nuclear scientists, and remove all of the fundamentalists from power, nukes will remain a threat…

 

[Tex .416]

• US Vice President JD Vance, who is heading the American delegation in talks with Iran, says he is yet to see a commitment from Tehran on the nuclear issue and says he has “made our best and final offer”.

Vance says no deal reached with Iran, US has made ‘best and final offer’

Iran and US continue direct talks in Islamabad, with the Strait of Hormuz believed to be a key sticking point.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[skydiver386]

Now now. You guys need to slow down your roll.

Just because Iran hasn't honored a single non proliferation Treaty in the last 47 years doesn't mean anything.

@Pondoro has assured us all that if we signed just ONE more treaty with Iran, that would solve all our problems.

 

[skydiver386]

remove all of the fundamentalists from power

There we have it.

The only questions are when, and how?

 

[mdwest]

There we have it.

The only questions are when, and how?

It’s definitely not an overnight affair..

Some will need to have a tomahawk fly through their window.. some will probably need a “raid” that puts a couple of 556 rounds on their forehead… others will likely need outright assassination..

All depends on where they are and when they are most vulnerable..

At this point I feel pretty positive their intelligence networks and military are compromised.. that’s how the ones that have already been taken out were removed…

I’d imagine we know exactly where a handful of senior leaders are right now.. and are choosing not to take them out in an effort to figure out which ones we are talking to might be more favorable than others…

They can only stay in bunkers so long… and satellites and reapers have incredibly long loiter periods…

I’d also imagine that there is a serious “trust” issue among senior leadership right now.. you know someone is ratting and you know some systems are compromised… but.., which ones? Who can you talk to? And what system can you use? If you make the wrong choice your bunker gets hit with a jdam…

If the mission is to eliminate every fundamentalist over the age of 50 they has ever held high office or has the potential to… we’re talking about a few years rather than a few weeks..

The only rapid solution is revolution.. where the Iranians round up all of the bad boys and hold a Persian version of bastille day..

 

[Pondoro]

Now now. You guys need to slow down your roll.

Just because Iran hasn't honored a single non proliferation Treaty in the last 47 years doesn't mean anything.

@Pondoro has assured us all that if we signed just ONE more treaty with Iran, that would solve all our problems.

No..what I said was give diplomacy a chance.. But I guess you want war..