Posts by frozendrifter7

I’ve noticed the exact same thing—honestly, just give me back my 60 posts per page already! 🙂

Frank Evans2 said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O4OX...VEgN7d40454CqA
And honestly, those local small-town politicians can just go ahead and shove their little traditions right where the sun doesn't shine!

🙏

I’m hearing this track for the very first time—is this some kind of regimental anthem or something?

Look, we aren't exactly sitting here glued to our screens 24/7—especially not during long, beautiful holiday weekends like this one—so we can't exactly jump on every reported post the very second it happens.

Trooly has been banned.

Gerald Reyes3 As requested:
Let’s just sit tight and wait for the District Court to hand down its verdict—then we'll finally see if those pilots are being held accountable for something legitimate, or if they're just being unfairly scapegoated.

I couldn't agree more. Absolutely.

I honestly can’t wrap my head around where exactly the issue lies with Thomascatov’s post—seriously, what is the actual problem here? From where I'm sitting, the guy was simply voicing an opinion he built using nothing but publicly available information. And frankly, he has every right to do so, provided he isn't breaking the general forum guidelines or the specific rules of the VPiT subforum. It shouldn't matter whether you, I, or some random third party thinks Thomascat is right or wrong; that's beside the point. In my view, his post wasn't an attempt to provoke anyone, and quite frankly, I don't see any reason at all to hand him a warning.

That’s all I have to say regarding that post—I'll leave it to the super-mods and the admins (keep in mind, I am a moderator here) to decide how we proceed from here.

I’d like to make a polite request to the mods—or the admin, if they’re listening—to please change the title of this thread to "Military history and technology moderation," or something along those lines... because, frankly, I don't believe we actually have a dedicated thread for this subforum yet.

Bryan Harris10 said:I realize it isn't easy to pin down exactly who started this whole firestorm, but honestly—is it really acceptable to let someone walk away without consequences? I’m talking about this individual going by the initials C. Đ. This person pops up in the thread regarding the US Air Force aircraft selection process and starts throwing around labels like they're candy. If you dare to hold a slightly different opinion than his little clique, suddenly you’re a Nazi, a fascist, a nationalist... I don't even know what else he's managed to spit out at this point. It's absolutely absurd.

Listen, Bryan Harris10—I’m going to pass on commenting on that specific file and the thread itself. To be perfectly blunt, I wasn't running the show as a moderator back when all that went down.

You actually stumbled upon a decent crowd here—truly. You've got pp5d6, 9aplus, Hawk75, and that walking encyclopedia of MiG-21 specs from Migac—plus Mikoyan himself, the pilot Sova77, and those rare breed military pilots who actually bother to write things down, like Castela72 and Gerald Reyes3.

And honestly—hats off to them—for all the contributions they've made across so many different threads. Truly. 👍

Let me make one thing absolutely clear to you and everyone else participating in this debate: it doesn't matter if you happen to be Chuck Yeager or Viktor Pugačev himself—and I am certainly not implying that you are—you have no right to resort to insults, throw provocations, or hijack topics that don't belong to you. Furthermore, suggesting that citizens from certain parts of America are somehow disloyal—I can't recall his exact wording, but it was pointed—or attempting to drive other forum members away from a discussion is completely unacceptable. Even if your views are 100% contrary to theirs, that isn't an excuse. If you disagree with someone, then fine—do it properly. Beat them with logic and arguments, not with petty behavior.

Look, if someone comes at you directly with some baseless provocation—and believe me, they will—just hit that little triangle icon next to the post to flag them for the moderators. Don't engage. Seriously. Whatever you do, don't bite the bait or start hurling insults back at them, no matter how much of an overwhelming urge you feel to tell them exactly where they can shove it. It’s just not worth the headache. Just a quick heads-up, though—reporting a post isn't a magic button that guarantees instant deletion. That's entirely up to the moderators' discretion (and I'm certainly not the only one pulling the lever around here). Most flagged posts end up getting scrubbed or resulting in a strike against the user, but that isn't a universal rule. Not everything gets nuked.

You also have the option to simply block XYZ. Honestly—if you add them to your block list, their posts vanish from your feed entirely, which means you spend way less time getting worked up over the nonsense they post. It’s a lifesaver for your own peace of mind.

Bryan Harris10 said:It really grinds my gears—I try to share some info and even go through the trouble of attaching a photo

and then this guy—who practically spits in my face, mind you, having not said a single word on this thread for three or four months, only to suddenly swoop in out of nowhere with this:

If I had pulled that stunt on him, or anyone else, over in the Politics section, I’d have been slapped with two red warnings for trolling and a seven-day ban, easy.

I suspect we're looking at a misunderstanding here—honestly, I think you might be misreading the situation. Even though eZec quoted your post, he wasn't actually targeting you personally; he was addressing the author of the text itself. And frankly, it doesn't seem like that was you.

True, his tone was a bit rougher than necessary—uncalled for, if you ask me, though still not quite enough to warrant a formal warning—but his core point stands. Your post is technically off-topic for this specific thread; it would have fit much better in the HEMS discussion. His post is also wildly off-topic, but I decided against issuing any warnings because, let's be real, handing out bans doesn't actually contribute anything to the quality of the debate.

I'll say it once more, as I've said several times on this forum: if you feel you've been unfairly penalized, you can file an appeal here where your grievance will be reviewed.

Best regards, and have a pleasant weekend. 👍

Bryan Harris10 said:Last night, they went ahead and banned a US Air Force pilot, while simultaneously trying to provoke another colleague with a promotion.

Go ahead—quote the exact post that earned him the ban.

We aren't just talking about some trivial nonsense here—this is about something far more grave than mere jokes, which is precisely why they’re facing criminal charges before the District Court.

Is he a die-hard fan of the Los Angeles Angels or the LA Galaxy? A football hater? Some kind of con artist? 😁

Look, I honestly don't know. I have no clue how she’d handle it, and frankly, I’m not sure how I’d react myself—though one thing is certain: she wouldn't be running toward a camera or pulling out her phone. In my neighborhood, people usually pull up in a car, hop out, walk straight into the driveway, and ring the bell for whoever they're visiting. To be perfectly blunt, I don't know if I'd even notice what they were wearing on their heads; if they've got the rest of the uniform on and show up in a marked Ford Crown Victoria, I'd probably just let them 🤷

Okay, so you live in a house, which makes it easy to spot an official vehicle. Personally, I'm stuck in an apartment building where I can't see the parking lot from my front door. For instance, if someone were to knock right now while I'm typing this—knock, knock—"We're here!"

They look exactly like I described above, and they want to barge into my apartment claiming someone was firing an air rifle near the neighboring building. I have zero intention of letting them in because, quite frankly, I don't believe for a second that they are actual LAPD officers.

Am I obligated to let them inside?

@ Eric Richardson49

From where I’m sitting—and I mean this quite literally—there was no actual, legitimate conversation taking place here. They failed to identify themselves properly, show any official credentials, or even state their business. That alone is more than enough justification to pull out your phone. Honestly, in certain parts of the country—or frankly, in most developed nations—people wouldn't just reach for a smartphone; they might reach for a shotgun.

Think about it: if someone knocks on your door dressed like a cop—but they have no badge, no hat, no warrant, and they’re just staring at you through sunglasses—what on earth would you do? Would you just... let them in?

You seem to be overlooking the obvious fact that practically every single smartphone out there nowadays comes equipped with a camera. Does yours have one, or am I just talking to myself here? It’s probably sitting right in your purse or tucked away in a pocket—standard stuff. Honestly, how much time does it actually take you to fish that thing out and hit two buttons?

James Mitchell11 said:Look, I get it—officers working without badges or warrants should face consequences. That’s just common sense.
But if some kids are aiming an air rifle at a neighbor, and that neighbor can't tell if it's the kids or their dad pulling the trigger, the police have to step in.
What was the alternative? Just let them keep shooting because they're on private property?

You seem to be overlooking the fact that the officer didn't even step onto the property because of the air rifle incident—he was there because a cameraman was filming him.

No badges, no hats—just sunglasses and an attitude. They wander onto private property without so much as a warrant, yet somehow, they can't even handle someone offering nothing more than passive resistance.

🙈 🤦

Larry Walker24 said:Thanks to the Non-Aligned Movement and Gaddafi, Americans were out there working the oil fields in Libya, so quit your whining if you don't know what you're talking about.

Half the world was working in Libya back then; the current crop of Non-Aligned countries had absolutely nothing to do with it.

rowdygull90 said:I don't see why we should avoid it. It’s not like joining the Non-Aligned movement means walking away from NATO or the EU, nor does it mess with what everyone in this country is actually chasing: full European integration. Honestly, just showing up could be a net positive. There's no downside here.

Oh, it absolutely jeopardizes things—it sends these wildly conflicting signals, as if our foreign policy is trying to decide whether to merely trickle or go full flood.

Look, building economic ties with those nations is essential—we definitely need to nurture them—but you don't do that at some political gathering of the Non-Aligned Movement. Besides, Stjepan Mason spent ten years doing exactly that. And well... we can all see the results of that little experiment. ☕

Larry Walker24 said:But funny how you stayed dead silent when those exact same countries handed us the votes to get into the UN Security Council.🙄🙄🙄

As a member of the NATO alliance and a nearly established part of the EU, the US—well, let's look at the US context here—an American nation in our position has absolutely no business hanging around at a political gathering for the "Non-Aligned."

Timothy Evans2 said:The concept of the Non-Aligned Movement isn't a bad one, though if we're being honest, everyone eventually had to pick a side anyway. The era of rigid bloc politics is largely behind us, which naturally means the Non-Aligned movement itself is losing its historical relevance.
Before long, we’ll likely see more major global powers emerging from within that very same circle.

The US should consider joining such a group, if only to bolster its own economic interests.
The Non-Aligned movement functions as its own sort of political club that somehow managed to survive some incredibly turbulent times. By all means, let the Non-Aligned exist, but they should serve a genuine purpose—focusing on development and global stability—rather than just existing as political folklore to give bureaucrats an excuse to feast and drink on the taxpayer's dime.

Honestly, there’s nothing left for America to gain from a summit like that.

1. I couldn't disagree more—that first post was completely off-topic, much like the last few entries we've seen here.
3. Wouldn't it be a lot simpler to just separate the threads and leave the close politics to the actual political forums?
4. It’s frankly bizarre that a discussion thread for one specific PDF is drifting into an entirely different territory.

But hey, I suppose that's just how you roll. ☕

Good day to you.

Why is it that... The origins of the American Civil War—it’s a subject that never fails to drag us all back into the muck, isn't it? It’s one of those historical knots that you just can't untangle without getting your hands dirty. People love to argue about the "why" and the "when," acting as if there was some single, clean moment where everything shifted. But history is rarely that tidy—it's messy, fragmented, and often driven by forces far more chaotic than any textbook would care to admit. I find myself constantly circling back to the sheer weight of the tension building up in the years leading up to the conflict. It wasn't just a sudden explosion; it was a slow, agonizing burn—a series of systemic failures and ideological clashes that made a collision almost inevitable. You look at the political landscape of that era, and it's clear that the fractures were deep enough to swallow entire generations. Some people try to simplify it, to point to one specific policy or one singular event, but that's a reductive way of looking at such a monumental tragedy. It was a convergence of pressures—economic, social, and deeply, painfully political. Linked to some random post from two years ago that has absolutely nothing to do with the actual topic at hand? I reported that—I flagged it, properly and formally—and yet, predictably, absolutely nothing happened. Not a peep. Just silence.

Why on earth are they all congregating in this same thread? It’s honestly baffling—just one big, messy pile-up of people talking over each other in the exact same space. I mean, really, does anyone actually care about the redundancy here? It feels like a crowded subway car during rush hour in NYC—everyone's packed in, nobody's listening, and the air is getting thin. Just a total lack of organizational logic, if you ask me. Up close and personal—right in the thick of it. Photos of mutilated bodies just... left there? I mean, honestly—no, they shouldn't be wiped from the face of the earth entirely. That feels a bit extreme, doesn't it? We should keep them, but at the very least, we need links protected by a clear content warning. You can't just let people stumble blindly into that kind of carnage without a heads-up. It's about basic decency, really.

Why on earth was the entire discussion regarding Hurricane Katrina moved from the political subforum over to the Civil War section—especially when there was hardly any substance in it that actually met the criteria for a Civil War thread? I mean, really—it’s baffling. It wasn't until post 328 that anyone even started discussing the actual operation itself. I’m sitting here thinking—I literally wrote the exact same thing in both places!—and yet, absolutely nothing changes. Why are the most recent posts from that thread being shoved over to the general chat? It makes zero sense.

The exact same logic applies when we start diving into discussions about other military operations—it’s a pattern, really.

Why on earth is the DR chat living under the Close Politics subforum? It’s completely nonsensical—frankly, a bit of a mess—to have it tucked away there. Honestly, I’m just sitting here wondering about the logic behind this layout... it feels like someone just threw everything into one bin and called it a day. It's baffling.

Absolutely brilliant cinema!

http://youtu.be/UX4b_rhT0nU
http://youtu.be/mA0nM8l8onE
http://youtu.be/-eREiQhBDIk

Betty Scott2 said:Where is the optimal location to acquire high-quality equipment?
Regarding essentials such as gloves, shin guards, hand wraps, and similar necessities.

First off—check with your club. You might get lucky and they order gear for members at wholesale prices, or maybe they hand out membership cards you can use to snag a discount at a local shop. It's worth a shot.