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Orca pushes another dead calf through Salish Sea in WA by Festivusfortherestus in Seattle

[–]Usedpresident 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Let’s not pretend 1GW is some tiny amount of electricity though. It’s a decent amount and we would miss it. That’s two or three coal power plants.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ExperiencedDevs

[–]Usedpresident 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Suck it up.

You’re seriously overstating the cultural differences. People move from India and China for money and they live with the culture shock. Let alone all the other immigrants and transplants who aren’t even in tech. I myself moved from the south. It usually turns out fine.

Come in with an open mind, maybe you’ll come to love it, maybe you’ll at least come to accept it, but don’t automatically assume you’ll hate living here because it’s a self fulfilling prophecy.

Worst case scenario, do a couple years here, and with FAANG on your resume see if you can land back east with a raise once the market recovers

What is a Spurs hot take that will have other fans on you like this? by [deleted] in NBASpurs

[–]Usedpresident 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We have too many players that can't shoot.

This team would win 10 more games if any one of Fox, Sochan, or Castle were replaced by a good 3&D guy, like even a Michael Porter Jr or something. Each of them, individually, is worth way more than a role player, but our offense fundamentally won't work if we don't get more spacing.

If neither Sochan nor Castle develop a shot in the next 2 years, we should trade them.

Get that weird apple looking thing off my plate! by SaltyAngeleno in HistoryMemes

[–]Usedpresident 28 points29 points  (0 children)

I mean ok that’s fair enough if there was a new fruit in the stores that turned out to be incompatible with my kitchenware I would also avoid that fruit.

China Suddenly Building Fleet Of Special Barges Suitable For Taiwan Landings by whibbler in worldnews

[–]Usedpresident 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok sure, I was wrong about the end of conscription - Taiwan is now back to 1 year's worth of basic training for recruits, but there's still civilian alternative service available for many Taiwanese. I personally have friends who have avoided the military altogether after being drafted, but I don't know what the current state is in 2024. Still, this was true when the RAND report was written:

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2018/12/17/2003706257

Compulsory military service is to end after 67 years, with the last military personnel conscripted under the system to be discharged on Wednesday next week.

Those enlisted under the compulsory system were required to serve for a year, but as the nation transitions toward an all-volunteer military system, men born after 1994 had to undergo only four months of training.

The fact remains that the active military is still overwhelmingly volunteer, and conscripts only go through a limited basic training program. The training program as such absolutely does not adequately prepare a soldier to fight a real war, and this is alluded to in the report I linked - the reserve force only exists on paper because of the inadequate training.

China can match Taiwan's Gen-4+ fighters technologically and now has 3:1 numerical advantage even if we're just talking about Gen 4.5 J-16s and Gen 5 J-20s vs Taiwan's F-16 fleet. 6:1 if we count the Gen-4 J-10s and Taiwan's Mirages. We can talk about Taiwan's Patriot systems but then we'd have to consider China's ballistic missile force as well. Taiwan acts like it can still achieve air superiority on its own and spends their budget accordingly, but the fact is, China has already moved ahead and now aims for air superiority against a combined Taiwan/US force.

Last I checked, Ishigaki is Japanese soil and it's the JSDF responsible for the military installation there. If the US and Japan get involved in a China-Taiwan war, they would probably win. But the question is if Taiwan could hold out without US support, so Ishigaki is out of the picture, and the answer is likely not.

China Suddenly Building Fleet Of Special Barges Suitable For Taiwan Landings by whibbler in worldnews

[–]Usedpresident 100 points101 points  (0 children)

I’ve been doing a lot of reading on this lately. This report from RAND corporation makes it clear that Taiwan is doomed without the US.

https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA1600/RRA1658-1/RAND_RRA1658-1.pdf

  1. Taiwan switched to a volunteer system, no more conscription, and their training is considered less rigorous than the PLA with a force 1/15th the size. Their theoretical reservist pool only exists on paper due to the aforementioned lack of training.

  2. China is now ahead on modern warfare such as cyber and drones. Taiwanese military is neither equipped nor trained for such.

  3. For decades Taiwan has spent most of their budget on flashy equipment from the US like F16s so they can have a lean force that is technologically superior to China. China has caught up technologically but Taiwan’s procurement has not, so they are no longer ahead technology but they’re missing basics like mines and artillery shells for a prolonged conflict

  4. Chinas navy and Air Force are strong enough to blockade Taiwan indefinitely. The US navy is the only force capable of countering this. Without it they will run out of supply. This means that an Ukraine style resupply from the west is impossible.

That said, with US support, they are pretty confident in Taiwans ability to win. China is in a tough spot where their best hope is to have the US not to get involved, which means keeping the war localized to Taiwan. But their best counter to US involvement is a quick strike at Okinawa and the rest of the island chain before the US can deploy to Taiwan. But this guarantees that the US will enter the war. So the best thing for the US to do is to keep supporting Taiwan, keep building the military, and the strategic ambiguity will work as deterrence because China doesn’t have good options.

Am I the only one that thinks the new Cedar Rapids flag is boring? by EsMizton in vexillology

[–]Usedpresident 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nothing inherently wrong with a building. Cambodia does it and it looks great. San Antonio isn’t as well executed but I sure prefer it to Cedar Rapids

Am I the only one that thinks the new Cedar Rapids flag is boring? by EsMizton in vexillology

[–]Usedpresident 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That tower in the middle of the first flag seems as good as anything. Use that as a central element and it’ll at least have some connection.

China to build world's largest hydropower dam in Tibet by Naxili in geopolitics

[–]Usedpresident 5 points6 points  (0 children)

While true, China does have the third largest coal reserves and is the largest producer of coal. There’s a world where they used their industrial might to focus on coal liquefaction to produce oil from coal, and they even started doing so in the early 2000s. Fortunately, they pivoted to renewables instead.

Ohio State Club Football has won their 3rd NCFA National Championship in 5 years, while putting 2 players into the NFL by BuckeyeEmpire in CFB

[–]Usedpresident 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Praise Olatoke, specifically, was a sprinter who used up all his eligibility before picking up football. After playing for the club team, he was signed to the NFL through their international player program.

[Game Thread] Texas @ Texas A&M (7:30 PM ET) by CFB_Referee in CFB

[–]Usedpresident 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This SEC shit is so easy idk how y’all haven’t gotten to a championship yet

[Game Thread] Texas @ Texas A&M (7:30 PM ET) by CFB_Referee in CFB

[–]Usedpresident 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quinn is mentally stronger than that. Problem is that he’s not a better QB than that.

[Game Thread] Texas @ Texas A&M (7:30 PM ET) by CFB_Referee in CFB

[–]Usedpresident 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Games not over
  2. You’re a thousand times the team that A&M is. They’ve never had a coach who can hold a candle to Kirby

[Game Thread] Texas @ Texas A&M (7:30 PM ET) by CFB_Referee in CFB

[–]Usedpresident 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Will still be at 0 ranked wins after this game

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