malkusm
Member

That's awesome news!

I am of the belief that it's very possibile that they let things happen in early October in order to do what they do now. I do not think they have control of Hamas at this time however. But controlling the situation might be the same thing in the end.

Are you claiming Hamas is run by Israel?

In nature you have two kinds of dangerous animals, one of them advertises their danger the other is aggressive. Israel in this case is the brightly coloured frog. Hamas is the banana spider jumping against the glass of the terrarium 20 times to attack someone on the other side. You are not far off, but I do think you are wrong about the intentions of Israel, they do not want to commit genocide, really, they want peace and stability above all, but they will try to get what they want in the most effective way.

I think the agenda depends on the group. I think I understand a little bit about the region, but I'm not the total expert. Let's start with that. I think the people in Gaza just want to be free mostly, and that's something I understand, you do not choose where you are born. So I think a major part of Hamas is wanting to be free. Now, the organization itself, is about more, about the destruction of Israel, but maybe people join it for other reasons, I think that's quite complicated. Now if we speak about Hezbollah or Iran, they quite clearly do not care about the Palestinians and use them in their (proxy) war against Israel. Syria and Lebanon, really do not care either way too much probably and mostly want to stay out. I think they would rather have a stable economy than another war. Egypt has been quite cool about the whole situation... For me it's simple, I wish the best to any good-willing individual on both sides but I do understand that Israel is trying to take Hamas completely out of the picture. If Hamas would have done strikes strictly on military targets, without executions and the like, I could have had some understanding for that too.

I wouldn't call it a scam. It's more of a worldwide Mexican standoff. Either we continue the standoff or we all die. I think that's the proper analogy.

It's not holidays. And the total trips cost quite a bit more than the plan tickets alone :). Hotels, rental cars, food, entertainment... All costs a pretty penny. It's a hard life traveling the world but it has it's perks sometimes.

As a frequent flyer I am quite happy with this. Flights are already too expensive, I easily spent some 20-25k this year on flights. The same I could have had for half price a couple years ago. Very unfortunate. I am trying to book in time for things so prices are not that bad but a long haul business ticket runs easily 3k these days. Even flights inside Europe. I do not fly the cheap carriers, pretty much only KLM, unless not available, they used to be around 100-150 EURO a piece, now they are usually EUR 250-350. Service hasn't become better. You still get free drinks incl. alcoholic ones, and more if you ask nicely, but on the shortest flight you do not even get a sandwich anymore, but a cookie, quite edible but still, you feel the savings... So yeah... Maybe I'm spoiled a bit, but flying frequently as a passenger, especially if you're a pilot yourself, is a horrible thing when you have zero comfort.

Hate to spoil your Trump slobberfest again but some of us were actually in the Middle East and watching troop concentrations as they moved into Syria to establish more prescence. Trump helped set that up. But continue with the horseshit.

What in the hell are you talking about?

Do they make a difference anyways ?

She seems a bit too happy in the video. I'm not buying it. I agree, they make the sandwich in front of you, it shouldn't be possible. She said in the video she had a bit in the parking lot so it wasn't a delivery. Also, it's a bit odd, not too odd, but odd, that she takes one bite, then goes home and finds out. Not saying it didn't happen but I do agree it's quite unlikely.

Lets just say I like to have interesting discussions. Of course it takes less time to fill up an ICE car. This is my point. If your car charges while you are at work, you don't experience the waiting for it. It's all very marginal to begin with and when you're a smoker you're likely to stop at a gas station anyway... But the same with the A/C on board you can run while the vehicle is parked, if you have it, you probably use it. This makes a vehicle use more energy than it otherwise would. But it's a lifestyle choice, not necessarily related to the EV technology itself but a consequence thereof.

If you stand and wait for it, the ICE car. But lets say my employer provides me with an electric car, which I can charge while I'm working. Provided I quit smoking, I would not have to stop at a gas station at least once a week.

It all depends on how you define and compare things. I think as long as you describe your comparison correctly it's fine. Mischaracterising something, no thanks. But I drive a diesel, my car is heavier than the equivalent gas car, but it consumes less fuel for the same distance. So I'm not entirely sure what the point is there. Container ships are extremely heavy, but just about the most efficient way to move stuff. IIRC they use something in the order of 1/4 gallon of fuel to move a ton of material a thousand miles or so...

I get the argument about fuel or energy. However I also understand what Gomer is saying. There's nothing wrong with the statement that (provided the numbers are good, I did not check); 1L gas - Camry 23mi (on average) 34kWh - Tesla does 122mi (on average) Let me know if you agree so far.

That's where a hybrid might even be an option for AF. (sorry AF, just teasing a bit) If the battery recharges from braking, you don't waste that energy, and you can use it after the stop to get back up to speed. Also, the battery pack doesn't have to be that big and expensive... I've driven a few of those cars and the extra power from the electrics is nice, and for a short hop to the store you don't always have to start the ICE. But I ended up not purchasing one, because they are way too expensive new. And second hand, they are usually sold right before they run out of warranty... And if anything related to the electrical system breaks, you it's expensive. My diesel is 16 years old now, has done 161kmi in that time, half of it in the past 2 years. It's very low in maintenance cost and at our current electricity prices cheaper in fuel as well as an electric car would be. I think over the lifespan of an electric car, maintenance might add up, of course, that's because the technology needs further development. Irregardless if the environmental concerns of ICE engines are correct, disel engines with virtually zero particles/NOx exhaust have been developed. There are many ways in which biodiesel can be made, that make it a closed loop. In that way, I do think there is a very good future for diesel engines. But to AF's concerns, probably more for rural and long range or heavy haul use... Inside a city with good charging infrastructure and short rides EV's make total sense. Less brake dust, less exhaust. Lastly, I do have to say that over here there are so many charging stations that pretty much everywhere you park you can plug in. That is kind of convenient.

Thanks. Are you actually reading into what I'm writing? I'm just saying that my car feels a lot more responsive and powerful when it's colder. I keep my tyres up to 2.6 bar in front and 2.5 in the back, year round, once a week. I also go through about 2 sets of tires a year. I do notice more fuel economy in winter, but I cannot put that on anything - there is much more traffic in winter, roads are wetter. Sometimes I may use winter compound. It's all very complicated. And there are so many factors that are hard to take into account. My Volvo has a preheat option, where you can burn diesel to preheat the car, many EV's also offer this... When you have something like that, you're likely to use it, does that make EV's use more power? I know many of my colleagues with EV's use the AC when they're not in the car to pre-cool.

Not just more efficiently, much more powerful too. I really notice my turbodiesel having increased performance when it's close to freezing or below. I would say there's an easy 20% difference between hot summer days and cold winter days. For me an EV would work, I drive a lot but generally not in stretches more than 100miles, my car isn't sitting around for days so drainage really isn't too much of an issue. Also, charging at work is free.