Russia Invades Ukraine pt XII
- Thread starter Bamaro
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I got a Mercedes rental in Brussels one time. The owner's manual was 800 pages.
If you turn the volume knob on the radio while turning the left turn signal indicator, the Mercedes will tell you your horoscope. If you push and hold the brake, while pushing the trunk release button, the car will generate pick-up lines sure to work on German women.
Overall, a grossly overcomplicated car. I never want to drive another.
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US deploys Global Hawk for Black Sea recon after Russia downed drone
The downing of the U.S. MQ-9 drone on Tuesday marks the first direct US-Russian confrontation since the start of the Ukraine war.
I’ve driven German cars for over 20 years now. BMW Z3, BMW 328, BMW 650, and now a Porsche Boxster. All convertibles.
The one BMW got dead-on right was the 3-series. The Z and the 650 were huge fun, but each had its own separate design flaws that could have run into serious dollars — $3,500 for the Z, $30K (yes, $30,000) for the 650.
The Boxster is built like an Abrams M1A1 tank mechanically. It’s less reliable electronically. Good news is that I don’t have a ton of electronics. Bad news is that some microswitches (there are several) on the top developed intermittent failure, you can’t replace the switches alone, and the part is $1,700. Plus labor.
I love the feel. I love the driving experience.
The places they spend money, yet skimp on minor (but expensive) details, flummox me.
Still, my next car will be a few years off and probably be a BMW 3-series.
The one BMW got dead-on right was the 3-series. The Z and the 650 were huge fun, but each had its own separate design flaws that could have run into serious dollars — $3,500 for the Z, $30K (yes, $30,000) for the 650.
The Boxster is built like an Abrams M1A1 tank mechanically. It’s less reliable electronically. Good news is that I don’t have a ton of electronics. Bad news is that some microswitches (there are several) on the top developed intermittent failure, you can’t replace the switches alone, and the part is $1,700. Plus labor.
I love the feel. I love the driving experience.
The places they spend money, yet skimp on minor (but expensive) details, flummox me.
Still, my next car will be a few years off and probably be a BMW 3-series.
This is off-topic, so I apologize in advance. I do not doubt that German cars are of high quality. When renting a car, I do not have weeks to learn and master the owners manual. When I returned my Mercedes, I told the guy at the counter I would rather rent a Peugot. Peugot has a gas pedal, a brake pedal, a steering wheel, turn signal, and a radio. Pretty basic. The rental car agent said, "We have not had many people ask for a Peugot over a Mercedes."
The point here is that Germans tend to overengineer their kit.
Russians tend to improvise. When the KV-1 (early war Soviet tank) was issued, drivers discovered that they could only get the tank into gear by hitting the gear shift with a ten-pound sledgehammer. So the Soviets issued each KV-1 a ten-pound sledgehammer. Simple. Effective.
The Germans would have stopped production and gone back to the drawing board for months.
The point here is that Germans tend to overengineer their kit.
Russians tend to improvise. When the KV-1 (early war Soviet tank) was issued, drivers discovered that they could only get the tank into gear by hitting the gear shift with a ten-pound sledgehammer. So the Soviets issued each KV-1 a ten-pound sledgehammer. Simple. Effective.
The Germans would have stopped production and gone back to the drawing board for months.
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Reading the Machine That Changed the World. It is about the rise of Toyota primarily their design and manufacturing strategy. It was reported by the authors that the Mercedes assembly line had 7 times more defects, i.e. cars pulled off the assembly line for repair than the Lexus Assembly plant during the same period of time. The Japanese perfected process control throughout their assembly process and it pays off through initial quality and reliability. German designers do tend to over complicate their designs in everything from appliances, industrial equipment and automobiles.
Nordic countries move toward linking their air forces: 250 planes
[HELSINKI — The Nordic countries have moved to deepen air force cooperation to bolster the region’s air defenses. The initiative, covered by a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI), takes place against the backdrop of persisting security tensions, provoked by Russia’s war against Ukraine, impacting the High North and Baltic Sea neighborhoods./QUOTE]
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Nordic countries move toward linking their air forces: 250 planes
With Sweden and Finland poised to join NATO, plans for a combined air force capability to defend the region's skies are picking up steam.www.defensenews.com
I saw this is week.
What to Make of the Escalating Repressions in Belarus?
"Valeria Kostyugova and Tatiana Kouzina, opposition-minded analysts found guilty of the 'conspiracy to seize power, inciting hatred and calling for actions against national security.'”
This is why I oppose "hate speech" legislation. Not because I like hateful speech, but because I do not trust any government to judge what is hate speech and what is speech that government simply does not like.
I do not know Valeria Kostyugova and Tatiana Kouzina, but I doubt their speech actually incited hatred. I suspect their speech was critical of Lukashenko's administration, so Lukashenko's henchmen threw the "inciting hatred" statute at these journalists.
What to Make of the Escalating Repressions in Belarus?
"Valeria Kostyugova and Tatiana Kouzina, opposition-minded analysts found guilty of the 'conspiracy to seize power, inciting hatred and calling for actions against national security.'”
This is why I oppose "hate speech" legislation. Not because I like hateful speech, but because I do not trust any government to judge what is hate speech and what is speech that government simply does not like.
I do not know Valeria Kostyugova and Tatiana Kouzina, but I doubt their speech actually incited hatred. I suspect their speech was critical of Lukashenko's administration, so Lukashenko's henchmen threw the "inciting hatred" statute at these journalists.
I drove them for over 30 years, all diesels. The last one was the worst. Back in the late 70s, I was going over with the family for a tour through south Germany. I was driving a 300D at home, non turboed. The company didn't have one and offered a 240D. Well, I had had a 240D before and found it inadequate for power. I groaned, since we were going into the mountains. To my surprise the 240 had more pep than my 300. I finally got around to looking under the hood - absolutely no anti-emission equipment. My 300 looked like a whole factory under the hood, packed with emission equipment...
The 80’s MB 300s with the six cylinder turbo diesel were nice cars. One of the engines they put in the 300s back then was a five cylinder diesel that was almost indestructible.
I had a 190 back in the day and put 250k on it.
It wouldn't do any good if they did.
There are a lot of Belarusian who get along with the Russians, but do not wish to be Russian. I wonder how far they will let this go before they start causing problems.
I wonder if they are okay with it thinking that one day they will seize them and point them back at Russia?
The 300D I had was the last they exported to the US for a long time. It was a '93, I think. I drove it a long time. Finally, the turbo went. I was using the same mechanic I'd used since the mid-70s, although he'd retired. I was having to drive up to Skyline, although I'd taken over all the routine maintenance long before. He was a good man, since deceased. He searched the nation for a turbo and found a used one in NOLA for $1100, about $1800 today. It was used, no warranty. I bought a Passat, my last German car, and sold the 300D to my mechanic, cheap...
I am not versed in such things, but I do not think it is as simple as seizing them and pointing them towards Moscow.
Now is a good time to allow Ukraine to join NATO, tit for tat.
When I lived in West Omaha, I had a neighbor who had immigrated here from Belarus. He was in a tank division in the Soviet army, and had a lot of cool stories about those days.
One day, we got to talking about Russian fighter jets vs American, and his take was that Russia's jets were far superior. I responded, the Su-27 or Su-35 might be faster than an F15, but the F15 will shoot the Russian jet down from over the horizon.
I love the sleek look of the Russian jets, but know that it's mostly window-dressing.
Ukraine would obviously love that, but NATO isn't going to extend an invitation that will immediately draw them into war.
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