Walter_Sobchak

I'll be honest, I don't think they are literally controlling Trump via some sort of black mail. I think it's a more a case that Trump has some sort of admiration of Putin (and other autocrats) and wants to be in their club, so to speak. I also think he is financially tied to Russian financiers and oligarchs. And yes, I think he is shallow enough to tailor foreign policy decisions around what is best for his own personal finances. If he had released his tax returns like most normal candidates, this would be less of a concern. The same goes for if he had actually separated himself from his businesses while in office. Ethics rules exist for a reason, but unfortunately there is little political will to enforce them concerning this President. As to your comments regarding the Mueller investigation, let's wait and see what all they come up with. As to Russia, I like many individual Russians quite a bit. They are some of my favorite contributors to Sturgeon's House. I have a good deal of sympathy for the many great tragedies that have befallen the Russian people over the past 100 years. That said, I do not like Putin at all, nor do I trust him. I respect him as a very intelligent and capable adversary, but that's about as far as it goes. Right now I see the USA and Russia as having some fundamentally different interests on the world stage that place limits on the extent to which the two nations can cooperate. Trump's attempt to win Putin over by establishing some sort of personal friendship does not seem to be a particularly wise approach to me. As to some of the points you make, I think you are missing the big picture. It doesn't really matter to Putin how much NATO spends on defense. Even right now, NATO spending is magnitudes higher than what Russia can afford. What I am sure delights Putin is when Trump sends signals that the USA might start to consider its collective defense responsibilities as stipulated by the NATO treaty to be optional, or contingent on some arbitrary set of factors. If the international security apparatus established after WWII starts to fray, it opens up a lot more possibilities for a second rate power such as Russia to start flexing it's muscles regionally. The weirdest result of the Trump presidency has been that I find myself in agreement with.....George Will. I never thought I would be saying that about the old insufferable baseball loving champion of Reagan era conservatism. He pretty much summed up my feelings regarding Trump in his latest column. If I had an ounce of sense, I would stop arguing politics here and focus on writing the next boring script for my next boring youtube video. Yeesh.

I don't give a fuck about "fairness" when we are dealing with adversary states lead by dictators. The US is supposed to be the top dog, and instead our president is acting like a little bitch in front of every shitty ass dictator while treating our friends like garbage. It's a disgrace.

As you have pointed out yourself, Trump is up against a good deal of bureaucratic inertia and is limited in what all he can do. Many of the things you listed are contingent on Congress being on board. As to his strikes in Russia, they were for show and I believe we gave the Russians advance warning. Regardless, Trump's actions causing tension within NATO, the G7 and with the EU all help advance Putin's agenda. As to THAADs, it seems that China is the one that is really upset about it being in South Korea, and Trump obviously likes picking fights with them right now. As to Seth Rich, I don't traffic in conspiracy theories.

I don't care how much a scum bag he may or may not be. NOT THE POINT. The president is seriously entertaining an offer for let a hostile foreign power interrogate American citizens, including a former ambassador. You all keep arguing that Trump is not some sort of Russian stooge. Let me ask you this. If he was, how would his behavior be any different?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP_QaNU5Uys

https://www.rferl.org/a/browder-says-trump-may-have-agreed-help-russian-prosecutors-pursue-him-hermitage-magnitsky-/29373329.html

Lets look at all the elections. With the exception of 1976, which was a year that pitted a Democrat from the Deep South vs a Republican from Michigan who was saddled with post-Watergate baggage, the South has pretty consistently gone red. The other exceptions predate Nixon and his Southern Strategy. Clinton, had some success grabbing some of the Southern states had the advantage of 1) being from the South, and 2) having Ross Perrot split off some of the electorate from Bush. In 1996, you can see that Clinton still was not able to win most of the South, with the notable exception of Florida. Look at 1952 and 1956. All red except the deep South, which was Democrat. By 1964, its the total opposite, the map is a sea of blue other than the deep south. What was different about 1964? Well, republican candidate Barry Goldwater was opposed to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Nice. Spot on.

what is this crap? Anyhow, it's a well documented historical fact that the Southern Dixiecrats largely switched allegiance to the Republican party in the civil rights era. Here is the electoral map during the election of 1920 Here is the electoral map in 1964 I'm pretty sure this complete reversal didn't happen by accident.

The only thing I find weird about Trumps visit with Putin is how everyone is surprised that Trump threw his own country under the bus. Trump said the same crap he has been spewing for months. Trump loves dictators and he loves Russia. He hates democracies. He treats allies like enemies, and enemies like "competitors". Trump has actually made me nostalgic for Ronald Reagan...

I started poking around there too. I found a listing for a document on "Use of compressed wool as armour". How very Australian.

I remember back when the WoT forum tank ID thread was on its last legs, I stumped everyone with this picture. And yes, its a Bradley turret, but what is the hull? Edit: I just noticed that for whatever reason, this photo has been reversed. That Bradley turret has the missile launcher on the wrong side. This is how it appears in the book I took the image from, I didn't reverse it.

He has certainly been affecting my mental health.

Funny, I don't seem to recall seeing massive protests in the streets of our allies when Obama visited. If anything, he probably relied too much on soft power rather than hard power when dealing with international situations. Drawing a line in Syria and then backing down did little to impress our adversaries. That said, he inherited a bit of a foreign policy mess from Bush and his ill conceived adventures in the Middle East. Bush mucked things up so bad that the international community gave Obama the Nobel Peace prize for simply not being Bush. I can only imagine what accolades the 46th US president will receive for simply not being Donald Trump.

I don't often agree with my congressman, Justin Amash (R MICH). That said, he seems to be one of the few in congress who actually votes based on his principles. Anyhow, I thought his tweet today about the Putin/Trump summit summed up my feelings pretty well. Justin Amash ✔@justinamash A person can be in favor of improving relations with Russia, in favor of meeting with Putin, and still think something is not right here. 11:58 AM - Jul 16, 2018 9,018 3,140 people are talking about this

That video Trump showed Kim had nothing to do with "soft power" as it relates to nations, it was a tacky bit of salesmanship. Obviously, Kim did not fall for it. Soft power comes from being respected. Right now, most of the world is laughing at us.

All the drawings you will ever want on the Australian Sentinel tank AC3 model. https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=382893

Front wheel drive race car designed by Walter J Christie.

Since we don't have a thread for British and Commonwealth tanks of WWII, I thought I would start one. Check out this manufacturers instructional video on the Crusader.

Plus the fact that so few items are replaced on a one for one basis, orders for future vehicles keep getting smaller, which drives up the price per vehicle.

Here is a news story about it with subtitles

This is the result of when a bridge and a T-72 love each other very much.