Pooky

Still brighter than Biden 🤣

Even if the aforementioned goodwill is transitory, Gaza disappears from the news cycle for a couple of days and the West turns their attention to the backers of Hamas, Hezbollah, et al. As for the Iranians and Palestinians gloating, that is all for public consumption. Behind the veil, Iran will be feeling embarrassed at the lack of return on their attack, even if it was announced 72 hours prior to its enactment. Worse still, the most serious casualty is, if I read correctly, a 7 year-old girl, who is currently in critical condition. If she dies, Iran will get labelled a terrorist nation, not just a supporter of terrorism. As retaliation for their terrorist advisers killed in the embassy strike, this would be seen as even more of an indiscriminate terror attack, with a minimal return. If I were to advise the Israelis, I would urge that they sit back and emphasize the civilian casualties of this drone attack and compare them directly to the seven Iranians killed. They do not need a retaliatory strike. The loss of face on the part of the Iranian military is retaliation enough. The exhibition of the IDF’s defence systems is enough of an Israeli victory to outweigh the need to strike back. This then puts the onus on the Iranians to either stand by their word at the UN and face their ineffectiveness, or prove themselves liars and try again. Only then, would I let loose the IDF to respond. But that response would be an overwhelming one that would return the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Stone Age.

Well, that’s not entirely true 😚 Sometimes we have a Republican administration. 🙂‍↔️

In my opinion, Israel can afford to sit back and do nothing. Current total casualty reports on the Israeli side are one person injured, apparently from an incoming weapon that was destroyed before striking its target. While this is yet to be confirmed, I would be embarrassed if I were Iran. Thinking that this kind of tactic was working in the Ukraine, they badly underestimated just how good the Israeli air defence systems are. If Israel sits back and just laughs at this (as I suspect Bibi and his crew are right now), Iran may just have bought the Israelis a whole bunch of renewed good will from around the world. That’s only IF Israel does nothing.

When the only person Dave Grohl invites onstage to guest drum on Everlong is an 11 year old girl who challenged him to, and beat him in, a drum-off. Then she did this.

If it don’t fit the agenda, it ain’t gonna happen. Questions are anti-scientific. Unapproved scientists are subversive. Stick. To. The. Plan.

They’re being shut down because it’s too much effort to shoplift enough to get close to the felony limit but not over it and still be able to walk out of the store. 😗

And here was me thinking it was just self-defeating, not to mention a complete waste of my valuable time. Because “progressive” and “logic” are mutually exclusive 🤔

Remember, the World Trade Center was build to withstand a Boeing 707 that got lost in fog approaching a NY airport, not a Boeing 767 doing 500mph. Similarly, back in 1977, the engineers probably didn’t take into account a 100,000 ton container ship hitting a bridge pier at 7 knots, as they didn’t make them that big back then. Money would certainly be a constraint in voluntarily designing a bridge without a large element of structural contingency. Design aesthetics would be another factor. Most structures are, at least in part, a compromise between cost, appearance and resilience.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge was what is termed as a “Fracture Critical” bridge. In short, this means there is zero redundancy in the structure, so that if a component fails, its function can not be transferred to another component or system. Additionally, if a major system fails in one part of the structure, the remaining parts of the structure will also fail, leading to a total collapse, as happened here. According to the DoT, there are over 18,000 fracture critical bridges in the U.S.

So, the Mexican President is attempting to blackmail the U.S. administration over controlling the Southern border? And Sleepy Joe is just going to let this fiasco continue 🙁

When a pilot is on board, they have full authority over the ship. If the ship was being towed, the tugs would be controlling the direction and speed of the ship. In addition, must tugs are pretty powerful, far more so than the bow thrusters the ship would be using to assist in manoeuvring. The chances are good the impact with the bridge could have been avoided.

I have been on a container ship, where the steering failed leaving port. We were only 16,000 tons, but it took almost half a mile to bring the ship to a stop with the engines full astern, if my memory serves. We missed Hythe Pier oil jetty in Southampton by less than 10 yards. We also had a pilot on board and he was white as a sheet when he disembarked. Nothing he could do about it. This ship displaces 100,000 tons and at 8 knots, you’re looking at miles to stop it. With a total power loss, you’ve lost the ability to reverse the propellers. That ship was not stopping anytime soon. That they were able to get off a mayday and the authorities managed to stop traffic on the bridge saved countless lives. This could have been a lot worse.

Letitia James’ ego is the first known victim ☠️

Are they grown-up enough to have temper tantrums? 🤔

Ouch!!!! 😣 That’s got to hurt AG James’ ego just a tad 😎

But it’s in Florida, so it’s related to a real swamp, not a metaphorical one, so it may, indeed, fly 😎

It’s not the charges themselves that arouse suspicion, it’s the timing of the cases to impact the 2024 Presidential Elections and the campaigning cycle that precedes them, that stokes the fear of state-sanctioned electoral interference. What is ironic is the political capital DJT is deriving from this very obvious attempt to sway the electorate. That none of the prosecutorial actors can see that, regardless of the outcomes, the interference is having the opposite effect to that which they desired is truly mind-numbing.

Tulsi Gabbard, who ruined Kamala Harris in 2016. I like her. 😎

Worse for her, she is already held in contempt of the general public. 😒

In the eyes of the non-partisan public, Fani Willis is fatally compromised, she just can’t see it. It no longer matters which way this case goes. Conviction, acquittal, or dismissal, DJT will only benefit politically, regardless of outcome. But her ego won’t let her see anything but the illusion of personal glory should she get lucky and obtain a conviction.

If you want realistic WWII air combat, Battle of Britain is unsurpassed (still). For modern day combat scenes, Les Chevaliers du Ciel beats out both Top Guns (even though it’s French 🇫🇷).

Haven’t watched it myself, but I hear from other plane buffs that the visual effects aren’t quite there. Still better than Red Tails, though 😗

No plagiarism here. My MIL is part of the 99% 👿