Suppose WWIII has already started, how would we notice?
My (grand) parents saw the German tanks and troops pass by their door. The Vietnamese and Iraqis knew when the bombs fell that the Americans were nearby. But bombs and weapons have long ceased to be the most important ...

A few thoughts on belly loading. No, not our collective plans for the xmas period, a primer on the science behind allowing the belly of a vehicle to contact the terrain, and the implications therein to mobility (spoiler: its always bad) #AFVaDay #miltwitter #tanktwitter

Usual disclaimer - this is Twitter, I don’t have much space and so some things are simplified or omitted for simplicity. This is a hugely complex science; I’m just giving a flavour of the considerations inherent in AFV design. With that out the way…

Another outwardly unexciting concept, but actually quite critical to off road performance. Belly loading is the condition where the tracks have sunk in terrain to the extent that the belly of the vehicle is now partially or fully resting on the terrain

Belly loading is a cascade situation. With the belly only contacting terrain in a situation where mobility is already challenging and ground pressure/grip maybe be failing, contact of the belly begins to transfer load from tracks to hull, further reducing the tractive performance

Eventually, a vehicle can become entirely stuck where weight is fully loaded on the belly, or so much so that the tracks are fully unloaded and can gain no traction any longer. At this point there is little that can be done and it may need recovery or digging out by hand

1917 - Fully embroiled in the First World War #Halifax was quickly evolving into a world class port and major base of naval operations. #HalifaxExplosion

December 6, 1917, Railway Dispatcher Vincent Coleman goes to work from his home on Russell St in Halifax's North End. He left his wife Frances & their 2 year old daughter Eileen, dressed in a cheerful blue dress handmade by Frances.

#Halifax was a hub of activity. Troops bound for battle swept in & out of the city. The First World War brought activity & prosperity to the port

7:30 am Dec. 6, 1917 the French ship Mont-Blanc, loaded with a highly explosive cargo, moves to join a convoy in Bedford Basin #HalifaxExplosion

At the same time the Norwegian vessel Imo, in ballast, set off from the Basin bound for New York #HalifaxExplosion

#Iran #Iraq #USA
Exactly a year ago, at 17 minutes past midnight (12:17), an Airbus A350 belonging to Ajnihat al-Sham flight arriving from Damascus landed at Baghdad airport with 5 Iranian commanders onboard, including Sardar Qassem Soleimani A #US SOF team was waiting close by.+

#Iran #IRGC brigadier general booked his flight under a different name. He was the first to leave the plane followed by his close companions. Abu Mahdi, along with two of his close aid-de-champ and his security trusted man (Sayyed al-Jaberi) were waiting on the runway.+

As the two cars drove away, at 12:37 (past midnight) two US MQ-9 Reaper drones fired 230 mph laser-guided Hellfire missiles, incinerating the bodies of Soleimani, al-Muhandes and all their Iranian and Iraqi companions.

A team of #US SOF guided the drones and later collected samples from the scene and took close pictures. During that day, on the 2d of January 2020, the US took unusual measures around the embassy and had more flights in the sky than agreed with the Iraqi government.

The 31st of December 2019, Pr. @realDonaldTrump called #Iraq PM Adel Abdel Mahdi and asked him to intervene with #Iran to de-escalate following the US killing of 28 Iraqi security forces at al-Qaem and the reaction of their companions in arms against the US embassy in Baghdad..

“We’re stronger than things are terrible.”
-@jordanbpeterson

A thread on suffering, overcoming, and narcissism

//THREAD//

The reason that those born between 1900-1927 are “The Greatest Generation” is because of the characteristics they developed through suffering.

They were raised during the Great Depression, then were the primary fighters in World War II.

The hardships and suffering of the twentieth century was unprecedented.

To contrast, as we have entered the twenty-first century, we now experience unprecedented levels of comfort.

Our aptitude for greatness is directly tied to our ability to withstand suffering.

Comfort creates a society of unhappy narcissists.

Today we are trapped in loops of vanity based on minor empirical achievements over one another.

This achievement-based fulfillment is why we base our self-worth on our social and intellectual status over others.