Bateshorn

I knew this thread would get bumped with a Cowboys-49ers playoff game. Good work, America.

The Swedes were really ahead of their time on the Gripen. Take the best parts of the F-16 role wise, then focus on ease of flight/fight/service for a logistics constrained battlefield. It’s perfect for the Ukrainians.

I suspect that’s why the Dutch are starting to talk about putting together a group of EU partners to “buy” the Leopards: to give Scholz the out he needs here before the Poles start giving their Leopards to the Ukrainians without German approval and turn over the Fragile EU applecart.

Hence the reason he is tying the Leopards to the Abrams: it allows him an easy out instead of having to say no outright. and risk his governing coalition. He’s absolutely savvy about US politics. The Germans aren’t sending Leopards because they don’t want the Ukrainians to win. They also don’t want them to lose. Which is why they will send all the anti air weapons the Ukrainians want.

I wanted to take a second to discuss the US political reasons behind the German tank intransigence. If folks want to argue in detail about the domestic politics, kick it over to Cloakroom, but I just wanted to give 100k consequence of the November elections as a DC person. Following GOP takeover in the House, it has become conventional wisdom that we will be operating under a series of short term funding resolutions, flat funded appropriations, and possibly cuts over the next two years. It’s highly unlikely that there will be another major Ukraine funding bill that will make enough people happy to survive the politics of divided government. I’m not CR-ing this: it’s just politics 101. It’s equivalent of saying Nick Cage is weird. There are basically 20 or so pro Russia House Members that can block anything, short of some sort of unique procedural trick that virtually never happens. The last Congress realized this, and during December did another Ukraine Bill, plus gave the President lend-lease authority and lots of other legal wiggle room in the Defense Authorization. Basically, that’s gotta get Ukraine through the next election. Because the Abrams costs nearly $10 million a pop, retail, even giving the Ukrainians a few dozen, with all the necessary support, training, etc. will quickly eat up a massive chunk of the money the Administration has to stretch out over the next two years. That’s why we aren’t stepping in and saying “Let’s just roll the Abrams! Fuck them Krauts!” The Germans know this, and I’m sure have conditioned any Abrams we send on being fully supported, as opposed to just sending a few first gen Abrams to be parked on the outskirts of Kyiv for show. Putting aside all the other dysfunction in the German Government, Olaf has figured out a weak point in US domestic politics and is exploiting it for maximum leverage.

You know, for a site full of Cockrell engineering grads, I really wonder about you guys occasionally.

I’m going to have to be the one to bring up PedoBear at the Texas Bowl? I feel like that’s core Shaggy.

French let the UAE use the LeClerc to do the same.

@Ghost of LL Didn’t you get drunk with like half TOS and fall in a campfire once? Put that in there.

If you have the logistics, the Abrams is the tits. This isn’t about the Abrams, it’s about the Germans wanting the war to end in some sort of current status quo in hopes of reviving its cheap commodities relationship with Russia that allows it (Germany) to go back to the export driven economy and 800 lb. Gorilla in EU politics. That isn’t going to happen. The fact the Dutch are on the edge of telling the Germans to fuck themselves and ship tanks directly tells you where the winds are blowing.

I honestly think it has to do with the green subsidies in the Biden Energy Bill. I think they are pissed about export markets.

I was wondering at what point the French were going to start threatening to send LeClercs. They aren’t ideal, but they are diesel, NATO round capable, and better than T-72s.

I like my coffee like my Gen X heart: Dark and Bitter.

I went to High School with one of his kids. I have a french press, moka pot, and a aero press, but 95% of the time, I use a Mr. Coffee drip. My wife is from the Pacific NW and likes her coffee hair on your titties strong. So I just make the coffee as strong as humanly possible, with good dark roast beans. I'm a mesh filter guy because I like the oils. If you aren't vibrating and about to shit your pants halfway through your second cup, I haven't done my job right. Use a Thermos, prewarmed, to hold the coffee after the pot is brewed. Never had a complaint and most people make a point of asking if I'm making coffee when they crash at Castle Bates for the night.

Este.

I had a PFOS/PFAS chemist once describe our use of the chemical as we live in a bathtub with the plug in, and it just continues to build up in our environment.

Well we wouldn't have to force Thomas or Alito actively lie to somebody's face now? That would damage the integrity and august history of the court.

It was definitely one or the other. Can't have Kav going squishy now.

In a shocker, It looks like Roberts didn't feel like calling out Thomas (or more likely Ginny) for leaking the Dobbs decision https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/19/politics/supreme-court-dobbs-report-leak/index.html

The Bee has had exactly 1 good headline: https://babylonbee.com/news/loud-cheering-heard-from-lockheed-martin-board-room

I realized today this may have to do with the Administration's domestic manufacturing and trade protection policies more than it has to do with the war itself. The German's are nothing, if not ruthless export driven capitalists.

https://slate.com/culture/2023/01/velma-mindy-kaling-hbo-max-review.html

I don’t think we have an objection to providing Abrams, it’s just that with their fuel usuage, it’s problematic for the the Ukrainians. I know the M1A2s are being retrofitted with an auxiliary power unit that will save lot of fuel, but I don’t know ho far long that process is. It’s just sorta stupid to tie the export of Abrams to the Leopards, because the Abrams are so much harder for the Ukrainians to use effectively. It fixes the heavy armor problem while creating a logistics nightmare for Ukraine. Basically, the Leopards are ready to go now. The Germans are still trying to have their cake and eat it too with the Russians.

Srsly, you game nerds fucking control yourselves. If you aren’t sure, spoiler that shit. Im rewatching it tonight