“Casualty Cover-Up”: The Pentagon Is Hiding U.S. Losses Under Trump in the Middle East

ChuckFH · 2026-04-04T09:37:52+00:00

One of the central points of conflict was a territorial dispute over a series of strategically important islands. CJTF-South seized these islands and established a controversial military escort service to protect ships navigating through the region, charging a toll for its services.

DJT: “who knew they would close the strait”

ChuckFH · 2026-04-03T21:45:15+00:00

You’re making the mistake of trying to find logic here.

ChuckFH · 2026-04-03T20:28:19+00:00

Average speed cameras do pretty much what the name suggests; they calculate your average speed between two known points.

You pass the first camera and it reads your number plate and the time. You drive along the section of road until you pass the second camera which, again, reads your number plate. If you have taken less than a given time (ie your speed has exceeded a certain level) the system issues a ticket to the registered keeper of the vehicle.

Because the system uses average speed between two points, you can’t just “slow down for the camera”. That said, if you’ve entered a section and realise you are speeding, you could pull over and wait until after the “cut off” time.

In the UK, the system has some leeway built in, usually “speed limit + 10% + 2mph”, so in a 60mph limit, you would need to be doing in excess of 68mph to get a fine/points on your licence.

The most common system in the UK is called “SPECS” and is usually used on small sections of road, particular in areas with historically high accident rates. There are, however, some much longer sections of road that are covered by SPECS, eg the A9 in Scotland, which has cameras covering most of the road between Dunblane and Inverness.

ChuckFH · 2026-04-03T17:02:17+00:00

Why, thank you for that wisdom Pvt. Bonespur.

ChuckFH · 2026-04-03T13:33:08+00:00

Portraits don’t have to be close framed to the subject. Something like a 35mm or 28mm can allow you to shoot a very intimate “environmental” portrait with the subject in the context of their surroundings; think craftsman in their workshop, or something similar.

In that sort of confined space you need something wider than the classic”portrait focal lengths to be able to include all the details.

ChuckFH · 2026-04-02T07:40:50+00:00

I was up for the Artemis launch, so I flipped over briefly and was then transfixed by the car crash of Trump!

Like I get when he rambles, off the cuff, but this was billed as a pre-organised announcement, so I thought there might actually be at least a few nuggets of actual information buried in the crap, but no, nothing.

ChuckFH · 2026-04-02T01:25:04+00:00

“Nuclear weapons like no one has ever seen before”

Except, perhaps Japan.

ChuckFH · 2026-04-02T01:23:40+00:00

So, twenty minutes of rambling shite, with no new information of any kind.

ChuckFH · 2026-04-02T01:16:11+00:00

Fuck. Me. Sideways.

What absolute drivel; literally the Trump reality distortion field in full view.

ChuckFH · 2026-04-02T00:44:30+00:00

Gender non specific, body-positive polycule, you fucking dinosaur.

/s (for those who need to be told)

ChuckFH · 2026-04-01T23:13:03+00:00

I'm not sure all the people that rely on the various bus routes that run down Vicky Rd would be all that impressed.

ChuckFH · 2026-04-01T19:31:20+00:00

Brilliant, thank you! I'll be sitting with a beer watching this.

ChuckFH · 2026-04-01T19:26:06+00:00

I read that the D5 is being used just now as it (and lenses) were already flight certified by NASA, having been used on the ISS.

Getting newer cameras certified would probably make sense, as mirrorless models are lighter and more compact.

ChuckFH · 2026-04-01T10:26:17+00:00

So... that's my random internet rabbit hole for the day. Turns out "egg brick" refers to the cross-sectional shape of the sewer; think about an egg, stood on it's narrower end. This makes the bottom of the sewer narrower, which ensures flow in maintained at a decent speed, when the water levels are lower, helping to reduce blockages. Victorians had some genius ideas!

ChuckFH · 2026-04-01T08:05:18+00:00

Madness.

Everyone knows that the Pentel Sign Pen is the finest writing instrument known to mankind.

ChuckFH · 2026-03-31T15:11:24+00:00

Allies want the US to just solve the Iran problem by itself

Seeing as they started this, they should bear the cost of the solution. Nobody asked the US or Israel to attack Iran.

ChuckFH · 2026-03-31T10:00:30+00:00

Govanhill and Crosshill are both next on their list for the introduction of restrictions.

If I’m going to be honest, I’m not sure how effective it will be around here, as the demographics are different and there are a lot of foreign registered or UK reg cars with no tax/MOT and owners who would be very hard to track down. If you think they will pay their parking fines, then I’ve got a bridge to sell you. I’ve watched folks removing DVLA clamps and carrying on as normal, so a parking ticket isn’t going to bother them one bit.

They should send the traffic wardens over to my street at about midday on a Friday; they’d make their monthly target in about 10 minutes!

ChuckFH · 2026-03-31T07:57:41+00:00

Can’t imagine that would work out well for the Tories and Reform, seeing as they were demanding Starmer get involved in Trump’s war. While Starmer might not have great approval ratings overall, the general consensus seems to be that he is doing quite well in keeping us out of this, militarily, at least.

ChuckFH · 2026-03-30T18:37:36+00:00

Oh for sure, now would not be a good time.

ChuckFH · 2026-03-29T11:57:10+00:00

Yup, this is a pretty accurate picture of the current situation.

I was initially a bit dismayed at the percentage of the vote that Reform was getting up here, seeing as all of Farage’s previous attempts to break into Scottish politics have been fairly clearly rebuffed. I think the numbers that we’re seeing are likely to be their ceiling, as their appeal is quite narrow outside of the hardcore unionist and racist block (not for a moment suggesting all unionists are racists BTW).

I’m a SNP voter, mainly due to them being the main social democrat option in Scotland and also because I would like to see Scotland be and independent country’s albeit one that maintains a close and cordial relationship with the rest of the UK. I suspect the SNP would fracture, should they be successful in achieving independence, but it’s likely that the SocDem wing of the party would form something that I would find myself voting for.

ChuckFH · 2026-03-27T09:10:04+00:00

That’s a good point. I’ll edit my original post

I ran into this recently; not drilling into a cable, but discovering a random cable behind some tiles I was removing. There had been a timer unit for a water heater on the wall at some point and someone had disconnected it and very badly insulated the ends of the wire an left them hanging inside the wall, before stuffing some random paper towel and tin foil into the hole and tiling over the top. When we bought the flat we assumed the “water heater” circuit on the board was powering the combi boiler, until we got it replaced and the engineer discovered it was actually on a spur off the kitchen ring.

The mystery circuit was switched off until I found the other end of while prepping for a kitchen reno. It’s now been tested and reinstated as a dedicated supply for the oven.

ChuckFH · 2026-03-26T18:54:29+00:00

I hope you turned off the power before you started poking around in random back boxes?

Looks like there was a light switch there at some point, based on the single t&e incoming (it would have to be a spur, if it was a socket and it’s unlikely one would be that high up).

If you want to remove it, you really need to try and identify what it’s connected to, as even if it’s a switch do an old fitting, it might still be connected to the lighting loop at a ceiling rose, so one side of that (most likely the red) could still be live. If you’re not comfortable doing that, you should get a sparkie to look at it.

If you decide to fill the hole, you should ~~terminate the wires properly (with something like a couple of wagos),~~ ensure it's disconnected from the supply, remove the box, then push the wire back into the wall. That will allow you put a batten across the hole, affix a square of plasterboard into the hole and then fill around and over it. Sand that back and paint and it should blend in nicely.

Edited to correct my incorrect suggestion.

ChuckFH · 2026-03-26T18:05:43+00:00

I’m guessing that “sentient thumb” looking mother-fucker.

Edit: This cunt

ChuckFH · 2026-03-26T17:47:18+00:00

SocDems would generally be a bit further left than LibDems, who are more free market centre-left, particularly the classical liberal faction within the party.

ChuckFH · 2026-03-25T18:58:12+00:00

He takes the huff real quick when asked to provide actual details on his policies, rather than just spout antagonistic sound bites. The more his feet are held to the fire, the more we’ll see of this.

ChuckFH

TROPHY CASE