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Everything posted by DC Tom
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With a joke like that, he must have been another screenwriter.
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I've read that it does, but not from a reliable source. A2A in particular, since it usually has to withstand multiple cycles. Makes a certain sense...but "makes sense" doesn't make it true.
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Can't the shock of landing degrade weapon reliability, too?
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Yet Another Violent Trump Supporter Arrested
DC Tom replied to Trump_is_Mentally_fit's topic in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
He's a conservative? I thought he was just an idiot. -
Global warming err Climate change HOAX
DC Tom replied to Very wide right's topic in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
This weather is out of control... -
I remember seeing all those "working women" when I first moved here. After a few years, they were suddenly all gone. I always chuckled at the thought of prostitutes working the lobbyist district of K Street.
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Not necessarily, considering they were originally purchased to complement/replace the U-2. But in this case, doctrine's an important qualifier. While the RQ-4A might be used as a strategic surveillance platform over other countries, that would be a mission more likely to be performed by the Air Force. In this specific case, this was a drone modified to support a specific Navy program of maritime ISR, and would be very unlikely to be used for overland missions. Particularly given the scarcity - there were only two in-theater, losing one just eliminated the capacity for full-time coverage of Persian Gulf traffic. The elimination of full-time surveillance actually creates some significant limitations on naval operations in the Gulf. For that reason alone, flying the Navy's BADS-M platforms over Iran would be downright reckless. They're invested in the "Trump unstable warmonger" narrative. It's part of their identity.
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The Deep State War Heats Up :ph34r:
DC Tom replied to Deranged Rhino's topic in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
Sailors visit prostitutes? Next you're going to be telling me there's gambling in Casablanca. Shocking! -
The drone that was shot down was actually one of the Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance drones for the Navy. There's two prototypes (modified RQ-4As) stationed in the Persian Gulf region; together, they can basically provide full-time high-res radar coverage of the entire Gulf, and reportedly are always in the air to watch the Iranian Navy when a US Navy ship transits the Straits of Hormuz. Given that - their purpose and the nature of the mission, there's no particular reason they'd need to be flown in to Iranian air space. Basically, they're not that sort of platform. Based on that, and what I know of the operators' restrictions and procedure, it probably was in international air space. Not certainly, because mistakes do happen. But most likely. Another point: if this was in the air specifically to support the transit of a Navy ship at the time, and the Iranians shot it down...that's pretty serious. That's not just the loss of a drone. That sends the chain of command's collective asses puckering, wondering if it's the opening of an attack on whatever ship's in transit.
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Google seems to have scrubbed all the articles from its search results about the Administration's stated justifications for the detention camps.
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This, exactly. We've done it before, both with Iran and other countries. We're actually pretty good at this sort of limited action.
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You took part in Praying Mantis? I'd suggest that Iranian air defense in 2019 isn't quite the same as it was in 1988. But I'd also suggest that we'd take their AD system apart very quickly. In fact, I'd suggest that would be the strongest acceptable military response to this drone shoot-down: take their air defense system apart at the seams. Nothing else, just degrade their capability to the degree that they know they're vulnerable to follow-on strikes if they try anything else.
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Global warming err Climate change HOAX
DC Tom replied to Very wide right's topic in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
We struggle with the same question. It's why we're considering rural Ireland. I mean...it's in the EU, but it's still got to be better than this, right? -
The Media's Portrayal of Trump and His Presidency
DC Tom replied to Nanker's topic in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
"We now go to Chris Hayes for an in-depth report on President Trump's fantasies..." -
Occasi-Cortez Channeling the Rent's too damn high guy
DC Tom replied to bdutton's topic in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
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No, they already have that info.
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Occasi-Cortez Channeling the Rent's too damn high guy
DC Tom replied to bdutton's topic in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
Not even. There's many crucial differences between these detention centers and concentration/internment camps. But one of the biggest is that this is specifically pre-hearing detention as a part of due process, not instead of it. There's a defined end-point of release (a hearing to determine status) that no concentration camp system has ever had (in fact, "uncertainty of the length of sentence" is the most common source of stress quoted by early camp survivors in Germany). I'm writing an article on this. I'll share it when it's done. -
The Deep State War Heats Up :ph34r:
DC Tom replied to Deranged Rhino's topic in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
Your house ever been checked for lead paint? -
Familiar with the area; brother used to live in that neighborhood, and I still drive through it twice a week. I was right: you don't talk politics, because you live in a bubble where everyone thinks identically so nothing need be discussed.
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The Deep State War Heats Up :ph34r:
DC Tom replied to Deranged Rhino's topic in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
Hamre's a licensed PI and certified to give polygraphs. Doesn't mean this whole thing isn't faked...but that part of it isn't. This is not a new story; it's been around for at least 18 months. This "lie detector test" tweet neither adds nor detracts from the credibility of the original story. -
Global warming err Climate change HOAX
DC Tom replied to Very wide right's topic in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
A whole 74 Fahrenheit? Freezing? You're a ***** wussy little pansy-boy.