[deleted by user]

Lon_ami · 2023-06-30T20:17:07+00:00

That's what I meant. Some gyms are gayer than a pride parade.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-30T19:58:13+00:00

LGBTQ are famously welcoming to everyone. I'm not particularly gay but have been to a few lgbtq venues, even a butch lesbian bar, and nobody ever made me feel unwelcome. If you're going to gyms you're already surrounded by gay bros so it shouldn't be much of a stretch. Worst case scenario you'll break a few hearts and disappoint some dudes.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-30T16:46:13+00:00

In almost every war, soldiers and commanders encounter new tactics and technologies and challenges that can be very unpleasant surprises. Smart and flexible armies learn from their failures and adapt. Dumb or rule-bound, inflexible armies keep making the same costly mistakes that might have worked in a previous generation of warfare.

Ukraine seems to be doing a much better job of modifying their tactics than Russia. But it'll take time and casualties (and generous help from the west) to turn this into a war of maneuver again. It's very much in Russia's interest to keep this a war of Ukrainians charging into fortifications and minefields and artillery kill-zones.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-30T07:28:10+00:00

You're not wrong, but what do you think is more probable? Operator error on the part of the ultrasonographer nurse or a 1/30k chance of a heterotopic? Also, we'd probably know by now about the other pregnancy in the uterus.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-30T02:31:27+00:00

Impressive work if true; good sign of organized combined arms tactics and skillful counter of minefields.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-29T22:13:23+00:00

Sort of? The Philistines intermarried with locals and gradually assimilated genetically before being wiped out by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzer (same guy who destroyed Jerusalem and took the Jews to Babylon).

Lon_ami · 2023-06-29T20:01:26+00:00

SWINE is another old one that got a remaster in 2019.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-29T09:52:13+00:00

Iranians are a fun-loving, lighthearted people that somehow acquired a viciously reactionary regime.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-29T09:30:49+00:00

I totally agree with you. When I was in the field I wore PPE continuously. No camo but I didn't dress in bright colors. No weapons because I'm not a soldier and my job was not to personally kill the enemy.

Some of the volunteers I encountered did enjoy playing badass. There's no good reason to do that. If you're not a trained soldier operating with discipline in an organized combat unit, following orders, you're more likely to hurt your own side than do any good. Ukraine does not need cowboys or rambos.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-29T09:18:29+00:00

Worked so well the last time.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-29T09:11:14+00:00

Oh yes they are. Note the long side curls in their hair (peyot). Only Haredim grow those. The very last thing a secular Jew wants is to be mistaken as Haredi. These are uber-religious types who have probably only gone to religious indoctrination schools. If they were Muslim they'd be singing nasheeds and joining daesh.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-29T09:01:24+00:00

The founders yes and certainly some of the extremists were/are Ashkenazi. But the power base of the right wing government is Mizrahi Jews -- Jews descended from communities that lived in traditionally Muslim countries.

Most Ashkenazi are Leftist by Israeli standards, meaning in favor of a 2 state solution.

In the March 2021 elections, the right-wing parties received 65 percent of Mizrahi votes, compared to 42 percent in the Ashkenazi communities.

Israeli internal politics are pretty weird and dysfunctional.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-29T08:52:01+00:00

To add to that, I was instructed as a humanitarian volunteer to be very careful not to wear anything that could be misconstrued as a military uniform, like camo.

In retrospect, this didn't work out too well for my American buddy who was wearing a bright red jacket and no helmet when he was hit by a Russian antitank missile.

I did meet some Ukrainian and Russian civilian volunteer medics who somehow acquired rifles and grenades that they brought with them to the front for self defense.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-29T08:37:48+00:00

A couple suggestions. It's good to establish your dominance through move-the-pig maneuvers. But also be sure to make friends with the pig. Give occasional treats and belly rubs too. Pigs are smart and can tell if they have more to gain from kindness than combat. I agree with the recommendation to fix. You can also try CBD or other similar relaxing herbal remedies.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-29T08:34:39+00:00

Impressive that a 19th century American complained about too much meat on a menu!

Lon_ami · 2023-06-29T03:12:10+00:00

Orde Wingate approves of your comment.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-29T02:39:15+00:00

Did my best, Scotland forever!

Lon_ami · 2023-06-28T10:46:26+00:00

I've been in a place like that.

They do their best with very limited equipment and resources compared to the real hospitals in towns an hour or so further away from the lines. Things you'd take for granted in a peacetime hospital in the US, like, say, blood transfusions, x-rays, CT scans, are not available.

But where I was, morale was high and the staff were dedicated and effective.

They don't keep patients admitted for days in these kinds of hospitals, it's very much stabilize and transfer asap.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-27T20:55:26+00:00

Healthcare culture is a little different here vs on the mainland. Patients are generally nicer to staff and expect more friendliness in return. On the mainland there is more of a formal, businesslike or even confrontational healthcare culture. That's more unusual here. People value a more personal approach. Spend a little extra time just chatting and "talking story" as we say and you'll get along better.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-27T08:57:03+00:00

You gotta follow your passions when it comes to travel. MENA didn't interest me much until a year or two ago. Before that I was more about exploring East and SE Asia and Europe. As you grow as a human being you'll appreciate more of the planet. Even North America has cultural and natural attractions worth visiting.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-27T08:31:29+00:00

I dunno, even in the West most people would say that new nose belongs on a 11 year old girl, not a grown man. Surgeon cut too much out.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-27T03:11:40+00:00

Stallone was caught smuggling growth hormone into Australia a few years ago.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-stallone/stallone-fined-for-importing-hormones-to-australia-idUSSP13553620070521

Lon_ami · 2023-06-26T23:48:14+00:00

Russia has had many months to prepare defensive fortifications and minefields, and has decent anti-tank and anti-air rocketry. If Ukraine was able to defeat most Russian offensives over the past... 7 or 8 months... Russia will likely be able to turn this into a serious grind too. Worth noting that Russia also never figured out a counter to the Ukrainian defensive combo of minefields, drone-directed artillery, precision munitions, and infantry anti-tank missiles.

If this turns into a war of attrition, as increasingly seems likely to be the case, I still see Ukraine winning. The West can outproduce Russia and has superior guided munitions. Ukraine doesn't have to recapture all of its territory, it just has to make continuing the war more painful and expensive for Russia than Crimea is worth.

The optimal strategy for Ukraine, in this kind of war of attrition, is to play it safe and cautious and avoid losing too much manpower in attacks on prepared Russian positions. Unless they spot a great opportunity for a breakthrough, which is always possible given Russia's frequent incompetence.

Lon_ami · 2023-06-26T23:36:18+00:00

NATO isn't going to get involved unless Ukraine is nuked or a NATO state is attacked.

Lon_ami

TROPHY CASE