Suscipiet

Speaking on the durability of Jaybirds, I've had my original Jaybird X's for 3 years and have had no problems, even after putting them through the washer and dryer 2 times! The sound quality is still great as well

Elon's track record of delivering on promises is solid considering the growth experienced at such a pace. Delivered on original Tesla framework to produce 3 models prior to introducing the Model 3. Delivered on repaying the first major loan from US govt plus principle. Delivering commitments to Puerto Rico, ISS, Australia, Tesla Supercharger infrastructure, megafactory, "the Boring company," etc. IMO although the Model 3 isn't being produced at the expected level, once those kinks are sorted out, the semi and roadster won't be an issue.

Things looked upon with suspicion often seem suspicious. I don't think so.

If this thread is a microcosm of how people really politically speak to each other in America, we really have dug ourselves into a hole. I should only hope the people posting in this thread hold a different tone and level of understanding in political discussion face-to-face. This really is sad. (Don't let my location fool you, I am an American)

"save the American people".... :rolleyes:

Can't help but admire the skill it takes to push a car that hard on that track, not to mention the balls. I would shite myself.

The Washington Post broke the story. Just thought I would clear that up. The questions I have are: did Sessions really communicate with Rus. ambassador? Is it common practice for a member (non-Chairman or Vice Chairman) of the Senate Armed Services Committee to communicate with a foreign country's ambassador, particularly a diplomatically hostile one? If so, what is the normal content or extent to communications? What was the context of this particular conversation? Did it involve SASC issues or was it, in fact, related to campaign policies? I could go on. Unfortunately I will likely not have the opportunity to see the contents and context of the communication. From my experience working on the Hill, I can say with reasonable certainty that it is less-than-normal for a member of SASC to communicate with a (hostile/adversarial) foreign ambassador one-on-one (if this was the context of communication). I sure hope this doesn't get too ugly. EDIT: I think the term 'fake news' is becoming too common. The vast majority of the time, news sources intentionally leave out bits of information, but that does not make the news fake. It makes it incomplete.

I do not have a problem with a *President-elect* seeking to solve domestic policy issues before inauguration. The incoming NSA contacting a foreign ambassador to speak about sanctions that the current administration had just placed on that country is a different story, but this does not relate to the thought I conveyed. I am genuinely wondering if you, personally (and others who have said they don't mind), would have a indifference towards the thought of the Obama campaign supposedly being in contact with Russian intelligence officials and former government employees during the *campaign*. Trump was not elected when the supposed communication occurred. My gut tells me many of the people who are saying 'big deal' about this would have blown a gasket if Obama had put himself in the same situation (I am not talking about a media reaction). This includes 99% of my family members, both liberal and conservative. However, if I asked family members this same question, they would gawk at the question because identifying their own bias is not in their interest. It is quite interesting to me to see if/when there is a switch in logic once a person's preferred candidate gets elected.

It would be very interesting to see how those who say they "don't care" about suspected communication between Russian intelligence and Trump's network would have reacted to the same information during the Obama administration.

I agree, Mattis appears to be a capable strategist, and well versed in the realities of conflict. This is why I sure hope that if he does respond to what we can assume will be repeated tests, it will not be kinetic. I believe a kinetic response, and even a well-executed non-kinetic response, runs the risk of creating enemies out of the largely western-supporting millennial generation in Iran. From what I have read, signs are pointing to a very different political environment in future Iran than with the old guard of hard-liners. If there is a response from this administration after repeated tests, I hope it does not disturb what I perceive as a change (albeit small) in the future of Iranian politics. In regards to the first quote, I believe Mattis stated either in an interview or his confirmation hearing that he did not say that. I don't think he appreciates his nick name, but it does give a lot of people a reason to cheer. Nevertheless, I think Mattis will be a great SecDef. (EDIT): I stand corrected. http://armedforcesjournal.com/fiasco/

Do you believe Mattis and the Trump administration will strike Iran based on ICBM tests? If so, why is this something to be supported or "bet" on?

There are elements of condescension in his post, as there are in the two you just posted. There are elements of truth in his post, as there are in yours. Unfortunately your response to Wheels displays the same logic that you mentioned - "everybody who disagrees with me is an X, Y, Z" This goes both ways. Instead of addressing Wheels' post with a reason why you thought NASA is useless, it was a "fcuk off" I understand that Wheels' posts have been excessive and annoying in the past, but how is this helpful? But you are correct, if I don't like what I see, I should ignore the thread. I shouldn't expect to see well formed arguments on a car forum. Shame.

Many of the contributors to this thread are smart and successful people, but the posts in this thread remind one more of a Facebook status comment-fest than an intellectual debate about issues. With exception of a few exchanges, the debates in this thread contain a large amount of ad hominem and little evidence based, well thought out and considerate responses. Unfortunately Roman, Hovik has a point. Too often I have read posts that do not even attempt to assume the role of "devil's advocate" and your response of "are you done yet?" is an example of exactly what he was pointing out. Debate in this thread has become a competition of attempting to knock the other off of their high horse rather than leveling with the other person, attempting to understand the merits of their arguments and addressing them one by one. Intellectual conversation should deconstruct logic and biases. I would also add that those that address comments like "Don't you know X works in the real world?" with something akin to "Don't you know how successful I am in business? Of course I know how this works" appears childish and thin-skinned. The people of this community are capable of far more fruitful discussion than the bile that is in this thread.

I believe he is a lawyer.

^ This isn't 1914. Turkey (the Turkish Air Force, mind you) shot down an SU-24 in November of last year, and the repercussions were virtually non-existent for a number of reasons, chief among them the fact that Moscow would rather Erdogan cozy up with them than with Europe and the US. I am confident that Moscow will use this to bring Erdogan's Turkey closer by some tough talk followed by a series of diplomatic meetings that will ultimately result in "restored" (or better) relations with Turkey. I do not buy in to the conspiracy theories of this being a government inside job; the signs that I have seen all point to a lone-wolf that reached the breaking point after seeing the treatment of civilians in Aleppo over the last week.

The 2016 election is a textbook example of campaigning on emotional sentiment and vague claims rather than specific policies. Trump has successfully gathered a cult following (I use this term loosely) by playing to the *existing* anti-political sentiment - a true opportunist, a true populist. An example of a successful campaign on emotional sentiment rather than specific policies: Cruz speaking to a Trump supporter recently, when Cruz asks the supporter what policies of Trump's he supports, he simply states "everything" and proceeds to call Cruz a liar. Unfortunately, this is indicative of all Trump supporters I have spoken with with one exception; not to say there aren't those out there who can articulate their support through specifics, I just do not believe that is the majority. On the other side of the coin you have various interviewers asking Sanders supporters on college campuses and at campaign rallys the same question, what *exactly* they support, the overwhelming answer is still "everything". President Obama defeated McCain on the same campaign tactic in 2008 - "Hope & Change". This is the campaign strategy that continues to prove its effectiveness, and it will mean Trump wins over Hillary in November.

Looks like I'm the only one who thought it was god awful I too had my fears about Affleck as Batman, and IMO he lived up to them. Maybe I'm still caught up in my Nolan trilogy obsession, but I really thought this movie's plot, special effects, and cinematography were absolutely awful.

Nothing but strong rhetoric will come of this.

Most people just stick to WhatsApp rather than have to deal with buying an international plan for a short time.

How did you do that? Did a quick google search and the sources I read didn't come up with the correct process. Windows 10 has made my computer 10x slower. Very disappointed. I've run every cleaning process, disabled unnecessary programs, deleted programs, yet I have gone from a 30 sec-1 min. start up time to 5 minutes.

Not a lot beats some classic Arty IMO

Was speaking to a former Foreign Service Officer in the State Dept who was stationed in Moscow for 2 years and he said the same thing. Russians are worried about the west creeping up on their borders, we have to look at this from their perspective in order to understand the motivation. Although it doesn't help that Russia only has one privately run news station. The area around Kiev is considered to be the birthplace of the Russian people; I would compare it to having Boston a part of another country. The word Украина, Ukraine, literally means "on the border". The "border" that a fair amount of Russians would refer to is the western border of the Ukraine, the proper ending border of Russia in their minds. Russians are a proud people who consider NATO and the EU's expansion east to be a threat to their security. The Ukraine is also a flat land that holds many oil pipelines that run to European countries, many of the pipelines ending up in Germany (although they are moving their dependencies off of Ukranian/Russian oil). This gives an economic incentive for Russia to hold those pipelines. I don't think that Putin is trying to recreate the Soviet Union, although he's gone on record saying that the end of the Soviet Union was the "greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century". He knows that the west wouldn't allow another Soviet Union; however, I think he's trying to play on the anxieties of the Russian people, the anxiety that the West is trying to push Russia back into the stone age through sanctions and the movement of the EU and NATO further east. It's a grab for the heart of the Russian people and their national and ethnic pride. What his end goal is, I am not sure, but I do not think it is to create another Soviet Union. If we really want to see some fireworks and paranoid Russians, have Finland join NATO and the EU. This thread seems a bit one sided, it's important to see both perspectives. The situation with Russia is much more complicated than Putin just being a jackass.

Said left his ID in the stolen car. Others identified through connections and witnesses to the police shooting I'm assuming.

Unfortunately not out everywhere until January 16th! It will only be shown in Hollywood, Dallas and New York tomorrow at a total of four theaters.

There are multiple Chinese students at the University of Nebraska that drive nice cars/exotics...two Maserati Granturismo's, an Audi R8 V10, Ferrari 360 Spider, a few BMW M6s, X6Ms, Audi S8s, Panamera Turbos. They come here and lease them for the four years that they'll be studying here.