Felis_Catus_Domesticus

Isn’t that the sort of thing you should work out before starting a war ?

Isn’t that the sort of thing you should work out before starting a war ?

Clearly not for Republicans. But for sane people, yes.

and Kubota is an old establishedplayer in this space…

Indians and Chinese, less so.

love my kubota…

Caterpiller stopped providing truck engines for a decade rather than R&D a compliant motor.

Diesel is on it’s way out because of the particulates they emit. There’s no viable tech to reduce this, and national/state/regional/local regulations are all over the place. Too much chaos to bother investing the time and research. It’s not that diesels are expensive. They’ve been mass produced for 100+ years. The problem today is any investment in them is risky and companies don’t like/can’t afford the time + money + risk involved. DEF and particulate filters on the exhaust haven’t worked out well. Regulators want to keep throttling back emissions like they have done with gasoline engines already. There’s no way to win producing a “street legal” diesel. On the industrial/tractor/offroad front, little has changed really. Far less regulatory uncertainty there compared to the consumer space.

Diesel was great tech, for a time, but at this point all diesels are dinosaurs whose days are numbered. They simply pollute too much and in ways that are pernicious and harmful to public health.

Trump too… No need to be stingy. There is enough hot air for everyone. No side has got a monopoly on it.

Currently, actual deeds by the Iranian regime are weak sauce.

An old Arab saying that I first heard in the Gulf War 1 days, said about Saddam: “Even the dog is a lion in his own neighborhood”

Iranians right now are talking big, but judging by their deeds, they are jumpy. Nervous. Mercurial. Disorganized.

Sadly, much like the US in Iraq, we figured out after starting a war and destabilizing the region and the global economy, that Saddam had done his job too well in the 30+ years he was in power. There was no one to take over if we deposed him. All competent opposition had been eliminated years before, effectively and quite intelligently, by Saddam. We are starting to realize the same thing is true in Iran. No parties, no politicians to step in and fill the void if the current regime were to suddenly fall.

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Gives the interior back that new fighter smell…

It’s an offer Zelensky knows Putin will never accept. It’s a low key/high level trolling maneuver by Zelensky to bolster his public image internationally and make Ukraine look good. An empty gesture as far as the stated goal is concerned. Pandering to the EU, which Ukraine BADLY wants to join. Russia too, has floated peace talks in the past that were nothing more than empty gestures. It’s an Eastern Europe thing to do this sort of stuff. Just each side trying to “psych out” the other at various times. All empty gestures and hot air, much like the Iranians at the moment.

Japanese solutions to Japanese problems.

Something about this part of the world…