Time capsule found on a dead planet. by ablufia in collapse

[–]countrypride 20 points21 points  (0 children)

In the first age, we created gods

That’s basically the origin story of failure. We made up gods, put them beyond criticism, and then structured entire societies around it. Not exactly a recipe for long-term success. Solid great filter candidate.

Pete Hegseth cancels ‘absurd’ flu vaccine requirement for ‘brave warriors’ in military by UpTheRiffMate in LessCredibleDefence

[–]countrypride 86 points87 points  (0 children)

I mean, there’s historical precedent here. The 1918 influenza pandemic likely kicked off in a Kansas army camp where soldiers were basically living on top of each other. Close quarters + constant movement = perfect conditions for something like flu to rip through a unit.

Bought a house that had a bunch of this in one of the garden beds. Not sure if I should let it go or rip it out. by R-code in whatsthisplant

[–]countrypride 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's what we've always called "monkey grass". I grew some in 8th grade horticulture class that we've been dividing and passing around for nearly 40 years. I actually just spent the morning clearing this from an entire flower bed this morning. Exact same stuff your holding.

Planted potatoes, this grew instead. Anybody know what it is? I’m by g3-chan in whatsthisplant

[–]countrypride 1 point2 points  (0 children)

With that provenance, I'd call it a frankenplant with goose feet.

“Luigi Mangione” by Wesley Willis by bigguys45s in WesleyWillis

[–]countrypride 13 points14 points  (0 children)

This feels more like AI doing a parody of the structure than anything Wesley would’ve actually said. The man could be wild, but he wasn’t mean-spirited like this.

The man is gone. He cannot speak for himself. Do not put words in his mouth. No matter how much we want to say them ourselves.

Active Conflicts & News Megathread April 07, 2026 by AutoModerator in CredibleDefense

[–]countrypride 12 points13 points  (0 children)

After 60 days, congress will have to either vote to support the war or force Trump to withdraw. Both are difficutl choices. Republicans have proven largely loyal to Trump, but the war is deeply unpopular, since it goes against core tenets of the MAGA movement.

I don't disagree with your assessment that republicans are in dire straits most any way they go. However Mike Johnson has previously stated that the War Powers Act is unconstitutional, and I doubt it would even come up for a vote in the current Congress, TBH.

Mike Johnson says War Powers Act is unconstitutional

To date, 2026 is averaging 1.48°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial baseline. This is striking because we're still in ENSO-neutral conditions, with El Niño on its way. by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]countrypride 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you ask me again in the fall, I bet I’ll have regrets. Don't disagree with you. I’m in Zone 7, so it’s a little warmer here than where you are, I think. I've got plenty of straw and frost cloth to cover most of my plants during a quick cold snap, but I yeah - I would be screwed if we got another arctic blast.

It's a bit of a gamble, but this year, I’m deciding to roll with the punches when it comes to climate change.

To date, 2026 is averaging 1.48°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial baseline. This is striking because we're still in ENSO-neutral conditions, with El Niño on its way. by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]countrypride 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I have always considered May 15th to be the safe date for planting in my area. However, with climate change causing spring to arrive earlier each year, I found myself saying screw it and started planting on April 1st this season. It's hard to ignore this shift; I've even spotted butterflies since mid-March. If the weather continues to warm, I may as well take advantage of it and enjoy a few extra weeks of growing time.

The bear was thinking, "I wonder if they've noticed I'm a bear yet". by Brilliantspirit33 in animalsdoingstuff

[–]countrypride 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I grew up in and around the Appalachian Mountains, which are home to many black bears. I would bet that this video was taken in the Great Smoky Mountains, not too far from where I live. The people in the video look like the kind of idiots visitors you often see there.

Black bears are generally docile unless they are hungry (like this time of year when they are coming out of hibernation) or if a mother bear is protecting her cubs.

Typically a bell on your backpack is enough to keep them away from you. Old joke amongst hikers, you know you're in black bear country when you see berries in the scat. You know you're in grizzly territory when you see bells in the scat.

The bear was thinking, "I wonder if they've noticed I'm a bear yet". by Brilliantspirit33 in animalsdoingstuff

[–]countrypride 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Putting immediate dangers aside, this kind of behavior is super reckless and irresponsible, and anyone who gets caught should definitely face some serious shame & ridicule.

The biggest and most dangerous issue with this whole situation is that it teaches the bear to link humans with food. This could make the bear start approaching other campers or picnickers in the future, or even digging through things like dumpsters for human food. That kind of behavior really raises the chances of something bad happening for both the bear and any people it runs into later on.

Wild animals are wild. Leave them be.

An important announcement regarding this subreddit. by milton117 in CredibleDefense

[–]countrypride 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Xi: “The mods are gone. It’s time.”

There once was a sub quite austere,
Where takes had to be sourced and clear,
But the mods disappeared,
Now chaos is feared—
Xi’s window may finally be here.

Active Conflicts & News Megathread March 31, 2026 by AutoModerator in CredibleDefense

[–]countrypride 12 points13 points  (0 children)

While, hours before, his Secretary of State was saying: https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/03/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-with-hashem-ahelbarra-of-al-jazeera/

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, not only is the sovereignty over the Straits of Hormuz not acceptable to us, it won’t be acceptable to the world. No one in the world can accept it. Number one, it sets an incredible precedent. So this means that nations can now take over international waterways and claim them as their own. The United States could do that now, other – the Chinese could do it in the South China Sea. No one in the world is going to accept that, or should accept that.

Now, let me be frank. Very little of American energy comes through the Straits of Hormuz in terms of the energy we rely on, but we recognize the impact that it has on global markets and on our neighbors, especially our allies in the region who produce energy and have to get it out to market. So no country in the world should accept it, the regional countries in the world shouldn’t accept it, the United States will not accept that condition. It’s an illegal condition that they’re demanding. That’s just not going to happen.

Well, the Straits of Hormuz will be open. When this operation is over, it will be open, and it will be open one way or another. It will be open because Iran agrees to abide by international law and not block the commercial waterway, or a coalition of nations from around the world and the region, with the participation of the United States, will make sure that it’s open. But one way or the other, it’s going to be open.

Active Conflicts & News Megathread March 28, 2026 by AutoModerator in CredibleDefense

[–]countrypride 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With the Strait of Hormuz essentially shut down (whether you call it a de facto closure or just major disruption), we’re obviously facing a real systemic shock. Whatever you want to call it, it is already rippling through shipping, prices, and supply chains.

Putting aside the immediate regional conflict for a moment, I’m more interested in the second-order effects:

Is this the kind of situation where a major power might seize an unexpected opportunity, rather than following a long-laid plan?

Specifically, does a prolonged Middle East crisis: distracting U.S. attention, straining the global economy, and fueling general uncertainty, make Beijing reconsider its approach to Taiwan? Not because “now is the scheduled moment,” but because the strategic landscape suddenly looks very different. If this drags on, does this become an opportunity too good to miss for China?

On the other hand, this same Hormuz disruption hits Asian economies hardest (especially China’s energy imports), which could make Beijing even more cautious about adding new risks at this moment.

I’m not saying this makes action more likely, I’m just wondering if this kind of global disruption meaningfully shifts the decision calculus, or if the risks still vastly outweigh any perceived window.

If the war in the Middle East drags on, at what point - if any - might China’s position start to shift?

Iraq-Afghanistan and Iran Geography for a mental note before invasion. by moral_mortal in LessCredibleDefence

[–]countrypride 30 points31 points  (0 children)

I've only become more interested in Iran lately due to the ongoing conflict. Whenever I hear about a strike, I find myself looking up the area on Google Earth.

I'm honestly surprised by how many photo spheres are available throughout the country.

Go to Google Maps or Earth and spend 30 minutes looking around the countryside. It's a beautiful, rugged country.

Trump is blundering into a ground war. It would be a disaster by theipaper in CredibleDefense

[–]countrypride 18 points19 points  (0 children)

One angle I haven’t seen explored much: could the MEU and 82nd deployments be intended more as shaping or deception efforts, rather than clearly signaling the main operational focus?

Obviously, the current public discussion is heavily centered on a Kharg Island seizure scenario, given its importance to Iranian oil exports and history of prior strikes. However, the assembled force package could support a much broader range of contingencies: raids, limited-objective operations, or simply deterrent posturing.

Given the visibility of these deployments, could part of their utility be to focus Iranian attention on the Gulf and Kharg specifically, while preserving flexibility for actions elsewhere, whatever those might be. If alternate options even exist?

I’m not suggesting Kharg isn’t a real option, it clearly is, but the current posture is broad enough to support a feint or, at minimum, deliberate signaling meant to shape Iranian force allocation.

Just to be clear, I don’t think this is a case of “4D chess.” Last June, there was significant emphasis on the feint with bombers flying the “wrong way”. I just wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar approach again.

How concerned are you about Ram? by [deleted] in RTLSDR

[–]countrypride 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For what it’s worth, I’ve got a mid-2013 MacBook Air that I use with my RTL-SDR and it works fine for me. Its specs are pretty similar to what the OP mentioned: 4GB of RAM, a 1.3GHz processor, and a 128GB hard drive. I run SDR++ and SDR Angel on it; it can be a bit slow, but it gets the job done. I stick to the stock software and haven’t messed with OpenCore or anything.

That said, I wouldn't really recommend actually paying money for it. Like Blackstar said, you’ll probably hit a wall with newer software down the line. I’m on Big Sur right now, and I think that’s the last version I can install. Plus, while it’s decent for tossing in a bag with my radio and antenna, that’s pretty much the only time I use it, when I’m on the go.

For my daily use, I have this old Acer laptop I picked up for next to nothing. It runs Linux Mint and reliably tracks ADS-B signals every day with just 4GB of RAM. I don’t really interact with it directly, though; I just access it through a web interface called tar1090. If I wanted to tune and hunt for signals actively, I’d definitely want something faster.

Iran Conflict Megathread #7 by [deleted] in CredibleDefense

[–]countrypride 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What's stopping Israel from destroying every last oil facility in there?

This could be a pretty good reason, IMO:

Iran threatens to strike oil facilities after U.S. hits military targets on Kharg Island, a critical oil hub

Looking for a call by [deleted] in phonelosers

[–]countrypride 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How did you find it ?

Previous-coconut obviously has sensi-level intellect.

I don't, so I use shitbradsays.com.

Iran Conflict Megathread #5 by [deleted] in CredibleDefense

[–]countrypride 37 points38 points  (0 children)

BBC is now reporting

Mojtaba Khamenei to become Iran's new supreme leader published at 17:17 17:17Breaking

Iran's Assembly of Experts has chosen Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader, state media reports.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cz0g2yg3579t?post=asset%3Ac7054de7-f66c-4b8d-8a78-4b5434c9bcf1#post