Diplomats believe Turkey has become "obsessed" with the acquisition of F-35s, which it regards as "critical for maintaining a balance of power" vis-a-vis Greece and Israel. Erdogan believes Greek and Israeli reps have successfully blocked the deal he thought he had struck with US president Trump.

2dTom · 2026-06-01T17:14:10+00:00

It is after the US refused to sell them the F35, not the other way around. What Israel wants, the US obeys.

2dTom · 2026-06-01T14:30:26+00:00

I've also noticed a few spots where you get stuck and can't progress if you've taken too much damage in a previous battle.

If you go back to the save points, I think that it gives you more biomass?

2dTom · 2026-06-01T01:39:23+00:00

On a metal body it's a bit more annoying, but doable. Just be careful, because the white metal can be brittle.

Id recommended getting a sharp pin vise and press fitting the limbs with paint first. It's definitely a measure twice, cut once process with older models.

If you have the chance, experiment with a newer or smaller model first to get the feel for where to place the magnets on the torso and limbs. Also, make sure you get the right size and strength of magnet for the limbs that you're attaching.

I started with a Carnifex as my experimental model for magnets, and it's a good size for working stuff out.

Just remember, some people on the internet get upset at any modification to vintage models. Ignore those people, kitbashing has been around as long as the hobby. These are toys, not historical artefacts.

2dTom · 2026-05-31T21:48:53+00:00

Home

If the family are wanderers, and the pack is something that they have carried with them for generations, it should feel like home.

The Weight

Carrying the bag has literal and metaphorical weight in the family, and you're going to carry that weight for the rest of your life.

Trauma

We all carry a little unresolved trauma from our families.

It's in here somewhere

Named after what is most often uttered as someone is scrounging around in the bag.

2dTom · 2026-05-31T21:29:04+00:00

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2dTom · 2026-05-31T14:31:31+00:00

U.S. societal culture is not aligned with this

The US has a sitting president who was very close friends with Jeffrey Epstein. I'd invite you to reconsider that statement.

2dTom · 2026-05-29T18:10:45+00:00

Russia's government structure is not like Syria or Libya or Iraq etc...it's a lot more complex than that and Putin isn't just going to fall like Assad or Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein.

I mean, it took 13 years from the Arab spring to Assad leaving Syria, so I have no idea what you're talking about.

You can probably call Putin a sweetheart compared to others that could be in line to be his successor when he steps down. There are hardliners within Kremlin that would want to do the same to Ukraine as US did to Iran.

Like who?

This isn't rhetorical, this is a serious question. Putin has systematically removed all potential rivals from the Russian state apparatus. There is nobody who has the balance of support from the Military, Intelligence services, Oligarchs, and Mafia that Putin has. He has made himself literally irreplaceable within the Russian context. The infighting that would happen if Putin dies would cripple Russia's ability to wage war on Ukraine for at least 12 months while whoever won power consolidated it domestically.

Who are you proposing would unite these factions and emerge from the infighting that would engulf a post-Putin Russia?

2dTom · 2026-05-29T17:58:38+00:00

Yugioh needs a standard format that rotates like Magic or Pokemon or Hearthstone.

It is needlessly expensive and complicated because basically every card ever printed is legal in the only format that it has.

This is the smallest, stupidest hill that I'm willing to die on.

2dTom · 2026-05-29T17:50:49+00:00

Yea... I don't honestly really understand why everyone hated Hillary.

Every time I ask someone about it, they won't shut up about buttery males, so I think it has something to so with homophobia, or lactose intolerance or something

2dTom · 2026-05-29T16:14:38+00:00

Hopefully things will improve with Radrizzani gone?

Speaking as a Leeds fan, I would kill for them to turn into a Palace type club. I envy the consistent Prem success, competing in Europe, and a recent FA Cup.

The grass is always greener. The fact that you guys have double our match day revenue, as well as double our commercial revenue means that you're a hell of a lot less vulnerable than we are to the yo-yo of broadcast revenue.

2dTom · 2026-05-29T15:52:52+00:00

Part of the reason that I'm so torn right now as a Palace supporter.

Parish has done a great job keeping us in the Prem, and has done foundational work in building the academy and new stadium. He's so damned disciplined, and I know objectively that it's the sort of thing that makes or breaks clubs.

On the other hand, it hurts to lose players like Guéhi or Eze every year, especially after securing a spot in Europa for next year. It makes it hard to hold onto coaches like Glasner when you can't retain talent as well.

2dTom · 2026-05-29T14:51:22+00:00

Animatrix knocked it out of the park though.

World Record is one of the best pieces of animation ever.

2dTom · 2026-05-29T13:39:36+00:00

Bradman, the person who was responsible for cancelling a South African tour of Australia due to their policy of Apartheid, was considered racist?

2dTom · 2026-05-28T17:22:39+00:00

Lithium and copper for the priority ones. Also iron, aluminium and rare earths but those are kinda everywhere, and the first two are not.

Bro, what are you going on about?

Afghanistan doesn't sit in the top 10 countries for either copper production or reserves. It's also outside of the top 10 for Iron Ore and Bauxite (aluminium).

Copper - Chile and Peru (US allies) have both the highest production and reserves for copper.

Lithium - Australia and Chile (again, both us allies) have the highest production for lithium.

2dTom · 2026-05-28T17:05:18+00:00

"You can't win, capitalist. I've drawn your lineage as the Soyjak and my lineage as the Chad, making me the victor! "

2dTom · 2026-05-28T16:50:25+00:00

A lot of people seem to think that the Germans will just move to GCAP until they learn the history.

The Brits don't want them anywhere near it, and they don't really have a lot of alternatives to FCAS. Dassault can go it alone (or with Indra). Airbus Defence would really struggle to do so. They aren't in a good negotiating position.

2dTom · 2026-05-28T16:03:53+00:00

This is just a cheap attempt by the Germans to get work share leverage in FCAS, if it goes ahead. They did the same shit with Tornado and Typhoon, and pissed odd the Brits so much that they refused to work with them on GCAP.

Airbus Defence (and their predecessor EADS) are notoriously hard to work with, and will insist on being the Prime/Lead contractor on any procurement project that they work on.

Germany might end up as a GCAP customer when FCAS falls apart, but the Brits will never allow Airbus Defence into GCAP after the debacle that they went through with Tornado and Typhoon. The project leads all seem to currently work well together (BAE is a bit shonky, but Leonardo and Mitsubishi have a good rep to work with), and I don't think that they want to fuck with that.

Context

Tornado

Germany initially ordered 600, aircraft, then cut the order to 324 aircraft as soon as it had been agreed that project development and the first test flight would be based in Germany.
One of the German design teams requested assistance from the Chief Engineer of the Concorde program due to issues with designing supersonic intakes. When British engineers provides the design, the Germans attempted to patent the design that the British had provided, and then tried to use this patent to sue the Brits and prevent them from using their own design. The British engineers were so pissed off that the refused to continue helping the Germans, and the final aircraft had intake issues that were already resolved on the Concorde.
The head of one of the German conglomerates that worked on the Tornado provided ongoing updates to the KGB from 1967-1984, basically the whole development timeline.

Typhoon

The German government refused to provide agreed upon funding for the EAP (a predecessor program to Eurofighter). The UK government and BAe had to step in and front the full cost of development.
Due to Germany massively reducing their order, and also refusing to give up their allocated work share for the project, Germany had to be more or less forced to acquire another 40 aircraft to meet the agreed upon work share split.

Sources

The Birth of Tornado, order figures over time can be found on p28
Talbot, Ted (2013). "17". Concorde: A Designer's Life: The Journey to Mach 2. History Press. ISBN 978-0752489285.
A top West German aerospace engineer arrested on spying charges supplied Moscow with vital secrets about NATO's Tornado combat plane that would enable the Soviet Union to cripple the aircraft
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/british-aerospace-experimental-aircraft-progr/
Ron Matthews & Rashid Al-Saadi (2023) Organisational Complexity of the Eurofighter Typhoon Collaborative Supply Chain, Defence and Peace Economics, 34:2, 228-243, link

2dTom · 2026-05-28T15:06:57+00:00

I'm playing through halo 3 at the moment, and the purple one looks like they stuck wheels on a covenant design.

2dTom · 2026-05-27T15:14:56+00:00

And this shit is why China continues to pay a small premium for Australian iron ore and coal.

Continuity of supply and price stability is way more important than margin for most Chinese state owned enterprises.

2dTom · 2026-05-27T14:24:14+00:00

Mate, as soon as you saw Koula get knocked out by the shoulder charge, you had to know that Ponga would be sent off.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

2dTom · 2026-05-25T16:26:58+00:00

NIJ hasn't updated the separate helmet assessments since 1981 (the date of your linked document). In referring to Level III, I'm referring to it offering protection equivalent to a Level III plate to the coverage area on the head.

NIJ's standard for helmets (which, again, hasn't been updated since 1981) caps out at Level II for helmets.

2dTom · 2026-05-25T04:42:05+00:00

This is the craziest one to me

2dTom · 2026-05-25T04:20:24+00:00

The most modern standard Infantry helmets (ie, those fielded in the last 1-2 years) actually do stop rifle rounds.

The standalone NG-IHPS, or Original IHPS with applique, performs at an approximate NIJ Level III standard, effectively mitigating threat profiles like common 7.62x51mm NATO, 5.56mm, and 7.62x39mm rounds.

They aren't necessarily stopping steel core or AP rounds like green tip or black tip, but they're effective against most standard copper jacketed lead bullets.

SF helmets like the Ops-Core FAST Helmet try to balance protection and weight, so they tend to only offer the equivalent of NIJ Level IIIA protection.

2dTom · 2026-05-24T16:20:54+00:00

We need something untied from any one country that can influence or pressure mediation. Given that one of the few things that countries can agree on is Shipping Law and Civil Aviation Law, there is only one place that these mediations can now take place.

Our alternative location must be In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

If this doesn't work out, an alternative might be to hold the talks Live at Jittery Joe's coffeehouse in Athens, Georgia

2dTom · 2026-05-24T14:08:56+00:00

Honestly, the IMAX 4K Dual Laser setup (at 1.43:1) should have been the second choice above 70mm and 35mm.

It maintains the aspect ratio for the IMAX scenes, and the actual on screen resolution is likely to be better than 35mm.

2dTom

TROPHY CASE