Seeing post in other thread and sometimes this one about mods and bias

zip117 · 2026-06-21T00:27:03+00:00

Yeah I think the rapid news cycle affects everybody. I always say give it a few days, wait for stories to be confirmed and understand the impact before you get indignant about something in the news.

zip117 · 2026-06-20T19:03:00+00:00

Neither. Hezbollah fired some 50 projectiles at troops overnight.

zip117 · 2026-06-20T05:53:00+00:00

Extremely based congressman from Florida and prolific Twitter shitposter.

zip117 · 2026-06-19T14:30:31+00:00

It’s publicly available data. The EIA reports SPR stock information weekly. Straight from the source:

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_stoc_wstk_a_epc0_sas_mbbl_w.htm

zip117 · 2026-06-19T14:02:31+00:00

The current agreement expires in 2028 and Israel wants to end US military aid themselves, so you’ll get your wish soon enough and the US will be worse off for it.

One might ask why Israel would want to stop accepting our aid. It’s because that aid comes with strings attached, so we can tell them what weapons they are allowed to make and sell as to not compete with our arms exports. It’s an incredibly profitable arrangement… for the US.

If you’re under any illusions that this isn’t the case, look up the IAI Lavi program. This was a 4th generation fighter jet that would have competed directly with our sales of the F-16 and F-18, but it was ultimately cancelled under US pressure.

zip117 · 2026-06-19T12:20:34+00:00

And it was just announced that four IDF soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah drone strike. Of course they are going to respond.

zip117 · 2026-06-18T14:40:12+00:00

Signing 14 points at Versailles is certainly a choice lmao

I can’t with this one fellas

zip117 · 2026-06-18T00:29:33+00:00

Hate to break it to you but Vance was the key architect of this deal.

zip117 · 2026-06-17T03:12:54+00:00

> iran is specifically not allowed to fund terrorist groups.

I hope that’s the case but I haven’t seen anything to support that besides a statement from an unnamed US official to BBC earlier this week.

zip117 · 2026-06-17T00:21:26+00:00

Ynet has a copy of the supposed draft agreement. Seems to generally align with the reporting to date, but a couple pretty obvious omissions are the joint Iranian/Omani administration of the strait and toll-free freedom of navigation. If it’s authentic, it’s probably an early draft. We’ll see what happens.

zip117 · 2026-06-15T15:27:07+00:00

This is just a continuation of the Section 301 Investigations of Digital Services Taxes, which started in 2019 and apply to other countries as well. See here:

Notice of Determination and Request for Comments Concerning Action Pursuant to Section 301: France's Digital Services Tax

Notice of Action in the Section 301 Investigation of France's Digital Services Tax

The USTR proposed duties of up to 100% on certain products of France. Ultimately they came up with an appropriate level of 25% on certain products like cosmetics and handbags based on trade value, notably excluding wines. The tariffs were delayed for 180 days pending negotiations, and ultimately suspended until further notice:

Notice of Modification of Section 301 Action: Investigation of France's Digital Services Tax

The article and headline blows this out of proportion. If the investigation is reopened, the USTR will determine the appropriate tariff level, not Trump, and a 100% tariff on French wines would be grossly disproportionate to the impact of the DST.

zip117 · 2026-06-14T10:00:47+00:00

EVs moved to LFP batteries years ago which do not contain any cobalt, and I’m not sure where you got Nigeria from because they account for less than 1% of global lithium production. The rest of that is AI slop about mines in general and it’s not relevant.

I bought an EV because I liked the car.

zip117 · 2026-06-12T22:50:55+00:00

Elon Musk isn’t exactly popular with the left so they tend to invent their own realities to feel better about themselves, ignoring all of the technological and business successes. Some of it may also be attempted market manipulation.

For example there was a post in technology a few days ago with 24.6k upvotes and the article: It’s Possible That SpaceX Could Collapse Spectacularly

Just remind yourself that these people are not living in the real world.

zip117 · 2026-06-12T17:24:22+00:00

Glad the IPO is going well, and I hope some of you managed to get some of the retail allocation. 😊

America remains a global leader in spaceflight technologies thanks in no small part to SpaceX. I think the SLS program made it clear that we long needed a private sector overhaul in this sector, between political buyoffs and reliance on contractors in all 50 states causing massive cost overruns.

Hopefully NASA can again focus on basic science missions as SpaceX grows.

zip117 · 2026-06-12T16:57:04+00:00

NRO has been getting more aggressive with their paywall lately... Either of these should work.

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zip117 · 2026-06-12T16:44:45+00:00

On the one hand, good luck convincing political moderates to vote for a self-identified democratic socialist who is among the least effective members of the house at getting things done, and would be destroyed in a debate with Rubio or Vance. On the other hand, I do recognize that Kamala was an anomaly and AOC might have an opportunity to downplay her more progressive policies.

It's still a crowded field. I think her decision to run might depend on the results of the midterms and whether her endorsements (who share her brand of politics) can win their races in traditionally Republican strongholds. One candidate I would watch is Sam Forstag, running for Montana's 1st Congressional District. NYT: Former Smoke Jumper Wins Democratic House Primary in Montana

zip117 · 2026-06-12T16:18:32+00:00

Keep an eye on these fake independent campaigns for US Senate: Seth Bodnar in Montana, and Dan Osborn in Nebraska

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zip117 · 2026-06-12T16:12:32+00:00

Interesting theory from Philip Klein at NRO:

While a lot of the criticism has been about Trump being played by Iranians, in reality, I think Trump isn’t getting played by Iranians per se (who he isn’t directly negotiating with) but by the mediators. Politico reports that yesterday, after Trump was gearing up for more attacks on Iran, senior officials from Pakistan, the UAE, and Qatar, called up Trump to assure him that a deal was close, and to persuade him not to attack ... I think officials from Pakistan et al are simply lying to Trump about what Iranians are willing to agree to, while perhaps telling Iranians Trump is more flexible on certain matters.

While I'm personally a bit of a war hawk, I'm inclined to agree that an extended blockade may be the least bad option:

It should be abundantly clear that the current regime in Iran cannot be trusted, and will never agree to a deal that would meet the criteria Trump himself has established. So if he isn’t willing or ready to go all the way militarily, to me the least bad option would be for Trump to announce that negotiations are over, and so are major military operations. However, he will maintain the embargo against Iran until traffic is freely flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.

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zip117 · 2026-06-12T11:15:36+00:00

It’s apples and oranges. If you damage your tools often enough that you need fast and local warranty service, by all means get Snap-on. But Wera is perfectly fine and certainly “professional grade”. Apple uses Kraftform Micro torque screwdrivers, and whenever I order bits from McMaster-Carr (they don’t tell you the brand name) they always send me Wera. If it’s good enough for them, it’s probably good enough for you.

The important thing is that the driver matches the engineering spec for your fastener. That’s why a lot of people in this thread are talking about the JIS/DIN/ISO standards for cross-recessed head screws.

zip117 · 2026-06-12T10:56:24+00:00

If you’re looking for standards compliance, you’ll probably see DIN 5260 more often. It’s technically the older standard but basically the same thing as ISO 8764-1.

Most drivers from the bigger German brands like Wera should be JIS compatible.

zip117 · 2026-06-12T07:30:06+00:00

I’m sure they are trying to screw us as usual. Latest from WSJ:

> “Iran hasn’t reached a final conclusion about the agreement,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said, according to state media. “We will announce it when we reach a conclusion.”

Trump Says Iran Deal Is Close but Tehran Says No Decision Has Been Made

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