Walter_Sobchak

I have several friends in New York.  None of them sound retarded.

Dude, as a South African: what the fuck are you talking about?

The Leo 1 beat the snot out of other Western MBTs in terms of practical mobility in its day.  There are some tests that show that Chieftains were almost as good, but it's trivial to set up a test where the primary limitation on average speed is avoidance of obstacles that are hard to see.  In that case, all drivers would need to slow down enormously so they could see the obstacles (hidden by tall grass, for instance), and all tanks tested would have the same practical mobility.

But on more representative courses, the Leopard 1 has several advantages over contemporary Western MBTs in addition to its higher power to weight ratio. 
 
The steering on the Leo 1 was better.  The Leo 1 had a two-speed steering drive and a differential lock.  This meant that the Leo 1 had two steering radii per transmission gear, which meant that the driver could select a small or large radius turn without having to upshift or downshift (and thus loose speed).  The differential lock prevented the tank from "self-steering" on uneven terrain, which meant that the driver didn't need to make periodic corrections when trying to drive in a straight line on a slant.  This system also prevents the loss of traction on one track when maneuvering in mud.  The only contemporary tanks with better steering were the Swiss Pz. 61/68.
 
The Leo 1 had a total of 383-407mm of total travel of its road wheels.  This was much better suspension than the M60 had, with a mere 292mm.  The AMX-30 was even worse with only 279mm of total travel, and Chieftain didn't even have independently suspended roadhweels, but even a single wheel could only translate through 242mm.  This gave the Leo 1 a considerable edge on other Western tanks on terrain with lots of small bumps, as it would much better isolate its crew from vibration and jolting.
 
The Leopard 1 had rubber-bushed, double-pin tracks.  These lasted longer than the single-pin tracks on Chieftain.  Leopard 1 also pioneered the powerpack concept.  I don't think any contemporary tank could have its entire engine and transmission swapped as quickly.  In Australian trials the Leo 1 was found to be more reliable than the M60, and while Chieftain and AMX-30 competed for last in that generation of tanks.
 
There were only two aspects of mobility where the Leopard 1 wasn't best in class at the time.  With a maximum hull width of 3.37 meters, it was somewhat outside the 3.15 Berne international railway gauge limit.  Leo 1s could still be transported by rail, but schedules would need to be double-checked to make sure that the train going in the opposite direction from the one carrying the tanks wasn't carrying anything really wide.  The AMX-30 and Pz. 61/68 were within the 3.15 meter limit, and thus enjoyed unrestricted rail movement.  Chieftain and M60 are both chunky, and stick out from their transport rail cars. The Leopard 1 also had about 10% greater mean maximum ground pressure than the M60A1, but had substantially lower MMP than the AMX-30 or Chieftain.  The M60 would have sunk into boggy ground and mud somewhat less than the Leo 1, but the Leo 1 would have sunk in substantially less than an AMX-30 or Chieftian.
 
So, aside from taking the silver medal in terms of rail transport and ground pressure, the Leo 1 was head and shoulders above contemporary Western MBTs for all aspects of mobility.

The absolute nuttiest candidate in the US has dropped out.  independent candidate for Virginia's 10th Congressional District, Nathan Larson, announced he is ending his campaign.  I guess not many people in Virginia supported his pro-pedophilia and incest platform.

Its a grand American tradition going back at least as far as Andrew Jackson.

She better make some money off that book because ain't no one gonna take her seriously anymore.  

If Omarosa won't take the $15,000 a month deal to stop bad mouthing Trump, I'll take it! I mean, I have principles and all, but $15000 a month?  That might convince me real quick to stop shit posting about Trump and say "no comment" real fast.

If Omarosa won't take the $15,000 a month deal to stop bad mouthing Trump, I'll take it! I mean, I have principles and all, but $15000 a month?  That might convince me real quick to stop shit posting about Trump and say "no comment" real fast.

I don't remember where I read it, but supposedly the 3rd Army did testing on sandbags as well as concrete and other materials that were being put on tanks.  They found that these improvised types of armor actually made shaped charge weapons more effective since they improved the stand off distance of the warhead detonation, allowing the particle stream to form a little further out from the armor plate.  This is why Patton ordered all Third Army tanks to remove any extra armor other than actual armor plate.  

Fixed that for you.

Based on my own experiences this description matches most organizations in general.  I can think of several departments and people at my old workplace who nobody knew what they did or why they were there, but somehow, they were considered important.  Or at least thought they were.  Anyhow, it was pretty apparent from the last election that the Democratic party is not a well run machine.  The fact that it represents a fairly large range of demographics and interest groups probably does not help either.  Also, normal people don't choose a career in politics. 

Again, you keep using Communism and Socialism interchangeably.  I looked at the platform for Ocasio-Cortez, most of it is pretty much a continuation of New Deal style policy.  I saw nothing about the liquidation of Kulaks, imposition of single party rule, or the collectivization of the means of production.  And please, don't assume that I support her entire platform.  Some of it sounds wildly impractical from a financial standpoint.  That said, I don't think she is the second coming of Stalin, nor is it fair to compare her to some of the extreme right nutjobs that have surfaced on the Republican ticket in non-competitive districts.  And yes, the Democratic establishment is not all that happy with her.  For that fact alone, I am sort of happy she is around.  

Yes, I to think it's a shame the Republican party threw away what remained of its values and dignity.  Oh wait,  you were talking about the Democrats?
 
anyhow, enough snark.

You say the economy is doing great.  Yes, for corporations, who got the lions share of the tax cut.  Wages for working people are stagnant, and the average US worker has nothing in savings.  This is not a new trend, but Trump's "great" economy has done nothing to reverse this trend.  And of course, while the corporate tax cuts are permanent, the ones for individuals end in ten years.  I figure that's about when they will use the excuse that there is a huge hole in the federal budget (due to the Bush Jr and Trump tax cuts) to start seriously cutting entitlements.  So, kiss your social security and medicaid goodbye by the time any of us need it.
 
As to NATO, please stop using Trumps deliberately misleading rhetoric.  No one "pays" anything.  The issue is whether or not member states are "spending" enough on defense, not "paying" money to anyone.  The 2% goal is not something Trump created, it actually is a long standing goal established by previous administrations.  Trump's main "accomplishment" regarding NATO has been to cause our allies to have serious doubts as to the US willingness to actually Article 5 of the NATO treaty.  
 
On other foreign policy issues, he tore up the Iran deal, then said he would be willing to talk to the Iranians.  Predictably, the Iranians were not in any hurry to talk to a leader who just arbitrarily withdrew from a treaty signed only a few years ago.  By reimposing sanctions on Iran, Trump has created another dilemma  regarding European relations, who have not disavowed the Iran deal. 
 
So far, negotiations with North Korea have gotten the return of US soldier remains, but as far as actual progress on the dismantling of NK's nuclear capability, recent reports claim that NK research and development is continuing.  Actually, Mike Pompeo stated it himself last month.  As to US - Russian relations, Trump went to meet with Putin in Helsinki, and the results were, shall we say, a little odd...
 
One the international economic front, he seems to think tariffs are the magic bullet.  Frankly, it's still probably too soon to tell exactly what impact these tariffs will have, although Trump already has had to bribe US farmers with $12 billion dollars to make up for their tariff related losses.  If we are lucky, prices on consumer goods will not go up too dramatically as this trade war escalates.
 
As to his skill as an executive leader, the Trump white house has been an absolute mess.  Never before have we seen an administration with such a quick turnover of high ranking positions.  Most of his cabinet heads seemed to have been picked based on their antipathy for the department they are supposed to head.  His first EPA choice, Scott Pruitt, ended up in over a dozen ethics investigations.  Zinke, the head of interior, has had a few ethical issues of his own.  Betsy Devos, sec of Ed, went in front of congress and delivered one of the most embarrassing performances by a cabinet head ever.  Tom Price, of Health and Human services had to resign over misuse of department money for travel.  Ben Carson seems to like very expensive office furniture.  
 
As far as Trump's primary campaign promises, most are still unfulfilled. 
 
The Wall?  Congress has not been able to come up with a new immigration bill, let alone funding for the wall.  The idea that Mexico will pay for the wall seems to have been quietly abandoned.  The only accomplishment by Trump on immigration so far has been to put children in cages. 
 
His other big promise, to repeal and replace Obamacare with something better has not materialized either.  He's managed to cripple the AHCA to a certain extent, but the law still stands, and it is doubtful congress will take up the issue of repeal any time soon. 
 
And then there is the promise to "drain the swamp", whatever that means exactly.  If it means getting rid of corruption, perhaps he should have started with his own campaign?  Currently, we have Trump's former campaign manager on trail, the star witness being Trump's former deputy campaign manager.  Both are accused of serious financial crimes. His commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, has been accused of grifting $120 million dollars.  His son and son in law are prime targets for the Mueller probe, and Trump himself has admitted that the two willing attended a meeting during the campaign with the goal of securing damaging information about Trump's opponent from agents of a foreign government.  Meanwhile, a different legal case is proceeding regarding Trump's potential violations of the emoluments clause.  Given that Trump refused to disclose his tax returns to the American public, or to effectively distance himself from his business empire while president, the notion that he is financially benefiting from his elected office is not all that far-fetched. 
 
Meanwhile, Trump's approval ratings have stayed fairly flat, hovering in the 40-45 % range.  The republican establishment is scared as hell of November, knowing that Trump has alienated all but his base.  Just look at all the high profile republicans who decided to retire to "spend more time with their families."  Most of what Trump has accomplished so far has been done the same way his predecessor did it, with executive orders.  And as we have seen, executive orders are not nearly as long lasting or as durable as actual laws.  If Trump loses the congress in November, you can be guaranteed that the next two years of his presidency will be even less productive. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I'm sure they all have their platforms posted on campaign websites in case you want to prove your point.  Anyhow, while I am sure there are a number of democratic candidates who are socialists, I doubt there are any that resemble of the hardline communists of old, demanding the liquidation of the Kulaks and Stalinist re-education camps.  Most of the "democratic socialist" candidates seem to be espousing something more in line with the socialist policies of some of the Western European countries.  

This story has nothing to do with anything.  She wasn't even on the ballot, let alone the Democratic candidate for her district.  Anyhow, if you want to start comparing which party has more nutcase candidates for US house races, I just want to point out that the Republicans can boast of a handful of candidates that are literal Nazis. 
 
 

I have made no secret of my dislike of the man.  Examining his history as a business man and public figure leads me to the conclusion that he lacks the necessary skills and ethics to occupy the highest office of the land.  

Fringe folks will be fringe.  At least there are not actual gun battles in the streets.  If ever there was a time for calmer head to prevail, now would be the time.  
 

Well, that's an optimistic take on it.  A less optimistic take would be that the GOP held on to this seat by the narrowest of margins despite the fact that Trump won it by 11 points in 2016, Romney by 10 points in 2012, and it has elected a Republican congressman for the past three decades.  According to one op-ed I read, there are 68 house districts currently held by the GOP that are less consistently red than the 12th Ohio.  So if the GOP can only eek out a victory by the narrowest of margins in a thoroughly red district after pumping in millions of dollars and a visit from Trump himself, they could very well lose some of these 68 other districts that are traditionally less red.  
 
That said, we will find out in November.  After the 2016 election, I am a bit hesitant to prognosticate too much.

As I understand it, the Army also got really tired of his refusal to alter his vehicles to meet US Army specifications.  They would say "we really like what you have, but can you add armor and guns?" And he would say yes, then resubmit the same damn vehicle and say he knew best what the army needed.  This did not please the army.  
 
One a somewhat different note, I would like to take this opportunity to make fun of the biography that Christie's son wrote about him, "Steel Steads Christie".  It was a small print affair and now goes for big dollars on the second-hand book market (100+).  I don't own a copy, but I have been able to see it.  I just want to share this one paragraph from the book, it's a delightful bit of insane hyperbole.
 

I'm sure a few tiger tanks broke through some bridges...
 

I get where you are coming from.  I get riled up a bit sometimes, but I'm not here to piss people off or start fights.  Always more interested in generating light than heat. 

We interpret it differently.  Not assuming anything.  I'm not calling you anything.