#2021 kia

[box-full-of-dolls]

Rainbow High Special Edition Kia Hart (2021)

[gaycarboys]

Top 20 LGBTI Gay Lesbian Cars for 2022-23

[incomplete-ruler]

Hold on a sec guys, I just realised it's been 7 years since I originally entered the BTS fandom 😭 (and kpop as a whole besides snsd)

[mostanimalshavearmsandlegs]

saw this one video on instagram and the voices reminded me of them. new update where the entities can come outside and get in their 2021 kia rio to run you over with

audio: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6DYmVftZNA/

[jc-martin-og]

Disney TVA Universe Timeline (Forever and Always)

⚠ Contains spoilers from: Gravity Falls, Amphibia, and The Owl House.

Summer 2012: Gravity Falls events take place. A division of the FBI is sent to investigate the location, but they come back with apparent amnesia. Bill Cipher is defeated

2016: In Amphibia, a frog finds 3 strange numbered diaries with golden marks shaped like 6-finger hands on their front covers near Wartwood, storing them in the local library.

2017: Dipper and Mabel Pines finish school.

2018: Dipper and Mabel start attending college. Dipper pursues a career in journalism. Mabel pursues a career related to tourism and business management.

May/June, 2019: Anne steals the Calamity Box during her 13th birthday. Anne, Sasha and Marcy are teleported to Amphibia.

October/November, 2019: Anne returns to Earth with the Plantars, escaping King Andrias.

January, 2020: Anne and the Plantars return to Amphibia and join Sasha and Grime in the Wartwood Resistance. They plan how to defeat Andrias and rescue Marcy.

April/May, 2020: Frog-Vasion to Earth begins in Los Angeles. The Core is defeated. Anne, Marcy, and Sasha leave Amphibia and return to Earth. The Calamity Stones are destroyed.

June, 2020: Amphibian technology remains are taken to Area 51 in order to be studied.

Summer 2020: Marcy Wu moves to Massachusetts.

2021: Due to his actions during Frog-vasion, as well as his actions in covering an event of such magnitude months after, Mr. X is promoted to Special Agents in Charge (SAC) within the FBI, taking command of the Unidentified Supernatural Affairs Division (USAD).

Summer 2022: Luz Noceda gets trapped in the Boiling Isles.

September, 2022: Luz and the Hexsquad try to stop Belos and the Day of Unity, but they are forced to escape back to Earth by the Collector.

November, 2022: Dipper and Mabel graduate from their respective careers. Mabel returns to Gravity Falls, Dipper moves to San Francisco. March, 2023: DARPA develops the first successful hybrid technology prototype derived from Amphibian technology.

Summer 2023: Mr. X and the FBI initiate an undercover investigation related to an unidentified wildlife virus in Gravesfield, Connecticut.

October 31st, 2023: Luz, Camila, and the Hexsquad return to the Boiling Isles Belos is defeated, and the Collector becomes an ally.

2024: Project "Amber Genesis" becomes operational.

January, 2025: The US government stablishes "Protocol Black Moonlight."

February 2025: The FBI is rebranded as the "Federal Bureau of Intervention" by the US goverment. Shock Force 51, or the "Shock Division Against Unidentified Treaths" is created.

2026: Luz starts a new life in the Boiling Isles.

May/June, 2029: Anne Boonchuy celebrates her 23rd birthday. An unauthorised failed portal attempt to Amphibia is carried by Dr. Terri and Mr. X.

May/June, 2030: "Operation Calypso" takes place in the Bermuda Triangle after a series of strange quakes. The Scatter is awakened. Mr. X and his division are considered KIA. Protocol Black Moonlight is activated. Anne Boonchuy Celebrates her 24th birthday.

Well everyone, here's a brief timeline of everything related to the crossover universe, all carefully pieced together! 🕰️✨

Took me a sweet time to put everything in order and make it feel connected, as well as to figure out when did some things happened, given how shows like The Owl House in particular don't count with canon dates, only a few clues to figure out when did some stuff took place.

I also used the so-called "Recovered Files" videos I made as a way to to promote the fanfic, which back when I was just starting helped me organize everything and tie it all together now 😊

This timeline was inspired by requests from readers who wanted a clearer picture of when the events of the fanfic take place, so I hope it helps you navigate the story’s timeline and enhances your reading experience! Let me know what you think! o(*￣︶￣*)o💬💜

[aurorialwolf]

REDACTED CHARACTERS AS CARS PART 3

Same stuff as the last two posts applies, tldr they wouldnt drive these necessarily these are just the cars i think they are

Elliott - Any car with this wrap. He would also totally drive this.

Avior - BMW i8 (I literally looked up "professor's car" and scrolled until i found a kind of cool one)

Guy - Pizza delivery car with a built-in oven (except w/ max's pizza on it instead of dominos)

Aaron - Sinister '69 Mustang Boss 600 (need I explain more?)

Geordi - Z31 Nissan 300ZX (because it looks sad :c )

Anton - Chevrolet Explorer Conversion Van (he is one of two characters that ive missed any audios from, but from the audio that i did listen to, he gives these vibes)

Blake - Toyota TRD Pro Series 4Runner (because, especially from the front, it looks angry)

Ivan - White van, need I explain?

Camelopardalis - Light Green Volkswagen Beetle (because it looks nice and calming and idk it just fits!!)

Brachium - McLaren 570 GT MSO Black (because it matches brachiums previous themes,, and it looks cool)

William - Penny-farthing. (I think plum gave me this idea?? sry if im wrong)

William's MODERN car, though: Bentley Flying Spur (although probably in red or black)

Gregory Keaton - 2024 Toyota Corolla (it's the first new car hes gotten in 15 years and his old one was a Jeep or perhaps a van if he was the one driving the pack around)

Ansel (from the Keaton pack, yes im sorry im not doing the rest of the keaton pack today) - Unmarked detective vehicle, Ford Crown Vic

Amanda - 2021 Kia Telluride (it's sensible, strong, and like. it gives her vibes im so sorry that i cant elaborate more on this. also i can easily imagine the visualizations of amanda that ive seen driving this car)

Christian - 2019 Honda Insight (he found it on a car advice article. idk why he just gives the vibes of a guy that looked up what car to buy for best social merit or best value)

Fred - BMW M3 E90 (just like. imagine him picking up Bright for a night out once they're all settled as vamps. it just feels like his vibes and its hard to explain)

Bright Eyes - Honda CBR650R 2023 (they would have this. adrenaline junkie vibes especially after becoming a vampire, also Fred is always worried when they go out on this)

Tagging folks who seemed interested (did i just remember i used to have a taglist. yes): @nevaroonie @vind3miat0r (sry for the tag but fred and bright are here so,,)

[electricbathsalt]

So real bro 😭 Rappa was a vibe honestly and I wish we got more on him. Or I hope we get more with him eventually 🥲

Chisaki but he literally doesn’t know how to have an identity without his quirk and who he uses it for!! 💕

Chisaki but he literally can’t function if he isn’t throwing all he is into insane projects that hurt both him and the people around him!! 🤣

Chisaki but his abandonment and self-worth issues go hand-in-hand and are so severe that he’s always worried the second he messes up or can’t prove his worth he’ll be tossed aside and that fear got triggered when Pops told him to leave the Shie Hassaikai!! 😂 Which he then redirected into anger and violence because he hates feeling afraid and was never taught how to process his emotions in any healthy way!! 🙌

Chisaki but he actually was an extremely tactile child before he got traumatized and it ruined it for him forever!! 🤪

[seat-safety-switch]

When I heard that California was experiencing a huge dump of weather, I didn’t delay. I didn’t sit around, tut-tutting about those poor dears. No. I took action. I got a flight right to Los Angeles, walked past the huddled, terrified masses, and walked right to the rental counter. And I got something with full insurance.

You see, I grew up driving in the snow. Because I’m too poor or maybe too stupid to move away, I still do now. It sucks, and it holds up traffic, and you have to shovel a lot. You get used to it, though, especially after a winter of bullshit white stuff falling from the sky all the time and covering your perfectly good crapcan cars. You also get very good at driving in it, unless you’re everybody else on my commute.

We all think we live in a world of rules and mores, but when something like this happens, everything changes. The people who can wield power – the people who can seize power – become as gods. Knowing that I need to slow down a little bit before trying to turn the steering wheel on the highway would make me unstoppable, a singular silver beam of pure id through the crippled cityscape. Capable of anything.

The cops were powerless to stop me. What were they gonna do, chase me in their patrol cars? They’d never seen snow, either. Their pilot had never flown a helicopter in the snow before. I tested this theory immediately by finding the nearest Krispy Kreme and repeatedly ripping handbrake turns in the parking lot until the cops came running out, then fell and ate shit in the snow. And then, not for the last time in my life, I outran the cops in a 2021 Kia Optima.

I laughed maniacally as I merged onto the highway and barked out a couple front-drive fishtails. The traction control light blinked, screaming at me that what I was doing was Highly Unorthodox and may actually be Injurious To My Person. I punched the traction-control defeat button and laughed harder as the low-speed skids continued. On the side of the highway, I saw a garbage truck crashed, split in two, spilling its contents across a rich man’s lawn.

Then I was hit by a ‘01 Alero driven by some asshole doing ninety miles an hour in a Walmart parking lot on bald tires while smoking crystal meth out of some kind of homemade contraption involving two semi-truck turbochargers. I watched in awe as he continued through the parking lot, over a small hill, through a fence, and directly onto the highway upside down. I felt small. In that moment, only he was truly free.

[captain-price-unofficially]

A Kachin Independence Army member with a KIA-made KA2-5 (Type 56) rifle and M203, several months after the Myanmar Coup. 2021

[lorysims]

2021 Kia K5 by LorySims

CAR POLYCOUNT: 39516 (midpoly, it should run smoothly on all PCs) DIRECT DOWNLOAD For more Kia models, or if the direct download link above does not work, CLICK HERE If you like my mods, please follow me and share them! If you want to support me, JOIN MY PATREON to get my content in early access and much more! Follow me on Instagram: @lorysims.official

[aerodaltonimperial]

the junglecorpse story primer

so i've been pretty obsessively cataloguing everything between them in my last year or so of being in AEW fandom, and since they are my Hyperfixation™️, i thought i would put together a little primer for the people who may not have been spending every waking thought thinking about the chemistry these two end up having with each other and how their story has played out. there's some videos in here that are fun watches and hopefully this adds a little bit to the knowledge bank!! (i love wrestling so much lol)

2019//

as far as we can tell, their first time ever wrestling was in 2019, which is what we like to call "the lost 2019 bar match," on february 24, 2019, at the high hat in los angeles. when we say lost, we literally mean lost. i would cut off my left arm to get a video of this damn match-up. the only video we have is a short bit from when they were hitting each other with empty water bottles, shown here. (tumblr won't let me embed these links without crashing.)

there's also one photograph of this match, posted on instagram, by a wrestling photographer:

according to cagematch, darby won this match. given how many people in that crowd have phones out, i cannot BELIEVE that we haven't been able to hunt down the rest of the videos, but here we are, crying into the abyss that we can't find this. someone has it. name your price lol. i'm very open to negotiation.

2020 //

the only thing that 2020 had in it was another "lost match," this time from the jericho cruise, so we hate jericho even more for refusing to video the matches there so we can see them when we do not have $5k to go on this trip. but this one is just a 3 v 3 match, where private party and darby beat jurassic express (jack, lucha, and marko). probably not life-changing, but i still want to see it, as a completionist.

2021 //

by 2021, they had both been in aew for several years and were settling in. darby had the TNT belt, and jack was working up through both the singles division on his own, and the tag division with luchasaurus. surprisingly, they never matched up on their own! but in april of 2021, aew asked twitter to pick darby's next opponent for the TNT, and twitter chose jack. this is where things get interesting.

darby makes a promo talking to jack about the match that gets posted on darby's twitter here and reposted to aew's twitter here. (the link doesn't work to the video anymore, but don't worry, i backed it up on my yt account because i knew twitter would implode eventually.)

this is the first time, that we can find, that anyone has gone after the "if you stop being such a goodie two-shoes, you could be great" angle with jack. this promo actually pre-dates christian cage even joining AEW (he would join in the next month or two)! but this thread remains pulled alongside jack's next several years of kayfabe stories, so it's worth pointing out that darby may have been the first person to use it.

video link to youtube

jack makes a follow-up video for this and it gets posted on aew's twitter, and as luck would have it, that tweet no longer exists. i'm not sure where it went, to be honest. it wasn't much except "i've proven myself" and "my record is great now." it's worth noting that neither of them tag the other in their promos, which makes me laugh. darby calls jack "jungle jack," which also makes me laugh.

they have their 2021 match, which is amazing, and don't worry, i also have that video link, so if you'd like to watch it, the full thing lives here. after this, darby loses the TNT belt to miro, and jack wins the battle royale after throwing christian cage out of the ring. important story beats for both of them.

2022 //

in 2022, they end up on the same side of a 6 v 6 match that i'm assuming was kind of just random match-ups, on june 1st at the kia forum. we've watched it, because of course we have, but it wasn't anything particularly interesting haha. however, in january of 2022, jurassic express wins the tag belts. they hold them until that summer, when they lose them, and christian turns on jack. lucha then also turns on jack. jack's heel turn gets majorly delayed due to christian's injury that takes him out through the whole end of the year. at the end of 2022, junglehook starts up after hook comes out to save jack from getting the shit beat out of him (this is the start of his heel turn).

2023 //

and then we get to 2023, the year that i was watching and promptly lost my mind, because we got the pillars storyline! right before this, jack beats christian in the coffin match, which finishes that particular aspect, but it butts right up to the pillars stuff. i've waxed poetic for like 4k about how jack was supposed to be a heel in the pillars story, but everything got delayed due to christian's injury, and they had to run him as a face for this because too many people were involved, and that's not really the point here, but it sure makes a lot of the decisions made in the pillars story fucking unhinged as shit lol.

i've made a video for the junglecorpse moments in the pillars storyline that is here if you have 23 minutes to experience the absurdity of what they chose to do here.

but abridged version is that jack and darby have to team up for the pillars tag match, and don't seem to get along well. they run a full thing where mjf asks jack to betray darby (so they lose) and jack gets up in his face, and then darby walks in to see it. after this, darby comes out for jack (and sammy comes out after) to save him from LFI killing him after jack beats rush.

prior to their tag match, they run this promo with the two of them, where darby references the lost 2019 bar match (DOES HE ALSO SIT AND THINK ABOUT IT FOR HOURS??? LIKE I DO???) and also mentions that they would probably be friends if they weren't wrestlers, which is worth holding onto lmao.

in the actual pillars PPV 4-way at double or nothing, they run a large segment of jack having the belt and a clear shot to take darby out with it (and win) and he doesn't end up doing it. they make a big thing out of it. this is insane given that a month later, jack turns on hook at forbidden door 2023 and eventually takes the FTW off him. i wish to speak to whoever thought this was normal. he couldn't cheat to beat darby, who he supposedly doesn't even like, for the world championship, but can betray his best friend for an unsanctioned belt a month later??????? this makes me insane. don't touch me chompie.

also worth mentioning is jack tweeting this during the storyline, with nothing else attached to it. merry early christmas to me. (jack tends to post a single photo for important story beats, with no text on it. he's done this for quite a number of things within the last few years. weird that he did that here, when they had one tag match together.)

2024 //

and that bring us to this year! jack is back in AEW after his unjust and sad-making time out. anarchy in the arena happens at double or nothing 2024, and jack and darby spend 75% of the match beating each other up alone backstage. jack hits darby with the bus, darby sets jack on fire. it's lovely.

if you haven't seen the video that leaked of jack preparing for the fire spot in the early part of 2024 with a stunt team, it's worth watching. (no sound)

darby is out again to recover since i don't know how he managed to get clear for AITA in the first place, and then he comes back with an obsessive single-mindedness to call out jack perry by beating up brandon cutler. jack then also beats up brandon cutler in the strangest mating rituals i've ever fucking seen lmao. INTRICATE RITUALS!!

that's all i've got right now, but hopefully this ends up being a decent overview of all the stuff i tend to reference in my fics. 💚💚💚 sorry tumblr won't let me embed these videos in here, but it kept crashing the draft, so i had to revert them all just to links. homophobia.

[driftwithme]

According to the pacrim wiki, Coyote Tango was the first jaeger the program lost. By that time, Pentecost and Tamsin were not piloting anymore. It was June, 2016.

The order of pre-knifehead fallen jaegers is:

- Coyote Tango. Destroyed in combat against Itak. On its second set of pilots. June, 2016.

- Victory Alpha. Destroyed in combat against Raganarok. The pilots survived. July, 2016.

- Tacit Ronin. Abandoned because its pilots died of neural overload. July, 2016.

- Lucky Seven. Abandoned because one of its pilots was decommissioned. 2019.

Following this pic from the wiki:

We know that the first jaeger was launched in 2015 (Brawler Yukon) and the last in 2019 (Striker Eureka).

The golden age of the jeager program was from 2017 to 2019, three years of gaining more than they were losing. The peak was in 2019, with 20 active jaegers. The bottom was in 2025, with no jaegers left.

2024 was the year with more deaths, with 8 j-pilots going KIA. Then 2025, with 7 deaths between the Double Event that killed both Cherno and Crimson, and Operation Pitfall, who claimed Pentecost and Chuck.

Between 2019 and 2023 there were 9 KIAs.

Which means Yancy was the first jaeger pilot to die on combat. It makes sense, given the reaction of Penecost to hearing that they had lost Gipsy's signal (and Yancy was dead).

It marks:

- 2019-20: 1 lost jaeger, 1 pilot KIA.

The list of fallen jaegers Post-Knifehead:

- 2020-21: 2 lost jaeger, 1 pilot KIA.

- 2021-22: 3 lost jaegers, 2 pilots KIA.

- 2022-23: 2 lost jaegers, 3 pilots KIA.

- 2023-24: 8 lost jaegers, 2 pilots KIA.

- 2024-25: 0 lost jaegers, 8 pilots KIA.

- 2025: 4 lost jaegers, 7 pilots KIA.

Let's compare all this info with the following Kaiju War Timeline from the wiki:

A) 2013-2014: The Feral Burst. There were no jaegers yet to defend humanity against the 3 kaijus that invaded the world.

B) 2015-2019: The Long Game, Part I. There were 24 jargers up around this period, with a total of 13 kaijus making contact.

Special mention to the Beckets, who got an impressive mark of 5 kills during those years. It means they helped killed more than a 1/3 of those bastards during the golden era of the jaeger program. For what I see, Raleigh is the only pilot who had ever abandoned the jaeger program because he wanted to, not because he was hurt or kicked out.

C) 2020-2023: The Long Game, Part II. The amount of kaijus who invaded in those three years equals the amount of kaijus who made contact within the first 6 years of the war. It means the precursos sent as many kaijus in half the time. Humanity went into this phase with 19 jaegers. By the end they had 4.

2024 reports 13 kaiju attacks. It makes sense that they lost 8 jaegers and 10 pilots more or less in that year. With 12 jaegers active, it is more than a 1vs1 situation. Something tells me that most of Striker Eureka's kills were during this phase.

Special mention to the Hansen, btw. *During Chuck active years, he participated in almost third of the kaiju killings that happened then. I don't know Lucky Seven's score in this race, but *Herc's win amount to a 1/4 of the whole kaiju fights during his active time.

*The count stops at Mutavore. It does not include the Double Event or Pitfall.

If we include Post-Mutavore but not their participation/assistant at killing Leatherback:

- Chuck: 11 kills, 35 kaiju appereances during his active career (almost a 1/3).

- Herc: 12 kills, 44 kaiju appearances (not counting 2016 and adding at least 2 kills of the Lucky Seven era; around a 1/4).

Yet again, if by statistics alone, Mako is the most winning jaeger pilot of the movie. In her active years there had been 5 kaijus and she has helped kill 4. It's worth mentioning that her debut was on a double event followed by a triple event, with the only Category-5 ever saw. Impressive, to say the least.

On the other hand, Raleigh has helped kill or killed himself almost half of the kaijus that had appear on his active years.

Here: (ratio is 19-20 kaijus, 9 kills).

- 2025: 6 kaijus, 4 kills.

- 2015-2019: 13-14 kaijus, 5 kills.

The Hansens record is impressive just in the sheer size of their killing count, which is still not complete given I don't have the info on Lucky Seven. Meanwhile, Raleigh and Mako are impressive for the efficiency record.

Of the 51 kaijus that invaded the Earth, Gipsy and Striker combine to 20 kills. That means 2/5 of the total.

The last three j-pilots hold the best or most insane records of the program. Herc with the most wins, Mako with the best efficiency and Raleigh fucking Becket who had solo piloted twice and explode a jaeger in another world.

[usafphantom2]

I flew the most secret MiG fighter in the world for the US Air Force: Red Eagle pilot gives the low-down on America’s MiG-21 ‘Fishbed’

Hush KitMarch 16, 2021

Name: Brian McCoy

Rank: Captain

Service: United States Air Force

How did the MiG-21 differ from the F-5E?

The biggest difference for the pilot would have to be familiarity. The F-5E is essentially a beefed-up, fighter version of the Northrop T-38 Talon … an aircraft every USAF pilot had experience in during basic flight training.

First Impressions?

Small airplane! Small cockpit, archaic instrument panel, high canopy rails.

How would you rate the cockpit for the following:

a. Ergonomics?

Ergonomics wasn’t yet a thing when the ‘Fishbed’ was designed.

b. Pilot’s view?

Outward visibility contends for the worst single problem encountered by the Fishbed pilot during air combat manoeuvring. Fighting the MiG-21 required deliberate manoeuvring simply to keep the adversary in sight … regardless of the tactical advisability of such manoeuvring.

The blind zone behind the pilot (due to the ejection seat and structural members behind the seat) extends at least 40 degrees either side of the tail. The wings are not visible to the pilot – neither is the vertical tail.

The blind zone under the high canopy rails extends about 70 degrees either side as measured from the pilot’s butt centerline (aircraft structure).

The blind zone out front is about 10 degrees either side of the nose (tall instrument panel; poorly-placed gun camera; combining glass supports; thick, translucent Pexiglass sheet placed in front of pilot as protection from B-52 tail gunner).

c. Comfort

i. While not really a concern for the designers, it’s not any more uncomfortable than other fighter designs from the era. And they did paint the instrument panel a soothing shade of green specifically to calm the pilot.

d. Instrumentation

i. Primarily the instruments we used were factory-installed … with Cyrillic characters and metric system measures and graduations – neither of which were familiar to the average American fighter pilot. Luckily our outstanding maintenance professionals placed green arcs for normal operating ranges and red radials for system limits. At some point, numbers are numbers.

Our jets had American altimeters, airspeed indicators, radios, transponders, oxygen regulators and drag chutes (for the Soviet jets … F-7 jets came from the factory with drag chutes).

Yes, the ejection system was factory installed. For the older Soviet jets, that meant a 57mm mortar shell fired to propel the ejection seat (and pilot) from the aircraft. It also brought along the forward-hinged canopy which attached to the headrest of the pilot’s seat and then folded down in front of the pilot as a shield from windblast. (The canopy and related support members probably weighed 250 – 400 pounds!) The later F-7 jets featured a rocket-propelled seat that had nearly 0/0 capability (the pilot was on his own against the breeze). The fabulous ACES-II ejection seat installed in the F-15 and F-16 aircraft (among others) used similar rocket tubes that fired sequentially to keep the G-loading associated with riding the seat during ejection down to a maximum of about 16 G’s. The F-7 rocket tubes fired all at once … giving the ejectee a spine-compressing 21 G “boost” from the aircraft.

Against the F-16?

a. In WVR: Which aircraft would have the advantage and why?

i. The F-16 holds every advantage: Higher thrust-to-weight ratio, vastly better outward visibility, higher instantaneous turn rate, much higher sustained turn rate, better weapons, much better cannon and gunsight, better man/machine interface, better acceleration … the only potential advantage the ‘Fishbed’ pilot might enjoy is if the speeds in the fight slow below 250 KIAS – well below. The slower the fight gets, the more the advantage swings to the MiG.

b. Which set-ups and altitudes would the MiG-21 favour?

i. Offensive perch at 1,000 foot range in solid gun tracking solution … LOL.

ii. Side-by-side, line-abreast 500’ spread, 150 KIAS (or less), 20,000 feet MSL.

c. How should the MiG-21 pilot fight?

i. Call for help, stay close to the Viper, get slow (and hope the Viper follows suit), keep pointing the nose at the Viper to threaten him, call for help, look for any opportunity to leave the fight, consider pre-emptive ejection, call for help!”

d. Who would you put your money on?

i. It might be obvious that I’m leaning toward the F-16.

ii. But this question opens a line of consideration I’ve encountered several times on related FB posts … the idea that the superior aircraft always �� and almost automatically – wins. For nearly eight years I flew nothing but air-to-air in engagements ranging from 1v1’s to Red/Green/Maple Flag exercises. I’ve led small missions and those Flag exercises. Debriefed both using high technology or chalkboards in as much detail as the situation required to illustrate the learning points involved. I estimate I’ve been in 4,500 engagements during those years. As I learned more and more about air combat and experienced varied tactics, aircraft capabilities (or lack thereof) and the occasional imposition of simple luck … the more I came to realise the skill, daring and bravado of the pilot in that other airplane was far more important in determining an engagement’s outcome than the type aircraft he was strapped into.

iii. But I’d rather be in the F-16 for such a fight.

About 60 – 70% of our ‘adversaries’ paid attention in our pre-mission briefings and avoided fighting in such a way as to maximise our limited list of potential advantages. They kept their energy up, kept their distance, threatened us enough to force us to bleed energy and then killed us quickly and cleanly. We lost nearly all of these sorts of engagements – just as intended!

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20 – 25% of our adversaries either ignored our briefings or intentionally sought to see what happens when they ‘stepped into the phone booth’ with us. We’d win well over half of such fights … pretty good considering we almost always started out defensively.

The rest either had a bad day, didn’t have a plan, or were so overcome by the situation that they forgot what to do. We knew what to do.

iii. We normally started on the DEFENSIVE perch, allowing frontline pilots the opportunity to watch the threat aircraft do it’s thing while they were looking out their front windows … much easier than assessing performance while looking over their shoulders.

iv. I had memorable engagements against F-15’s, F-16’s, A-4M’s … but perhaps especially against the original F/A-18.

Best thing about the MiG-21?

a. Simplicity

Worst thing about the MiG-21?

a. Toss-up between abysmal outward visibility, incredible susceptibility to battle damage and astounding energy bleed-off during heavy manoeuvring.

How would you rate the MiG-21 in the following areas:

a. Instantaneous turn rate

i. Totally dependent on airspeed. Nothing special until below 250 KIAS – then it became startling. The rate did not increase at the lower speeds … it simply did not fall off as much as expected.

b. Sustained turn rate

i. Woeful. A 4+G level turn in full AB bled a bit over 1 knot per degree of heading change. Impossible to assess a “sustained turn rate” with bleed off like that.

c. Weapons platform

i. Keep in mind we flew very early export model ‘Fishbeds’ – MiG-21 F-13’s and F-7’s. Not the most advanced Fishbeds built.

ii. We simulated carriage of the IR-guided AA-2 Atoll … a direct copy of the AIM-9B Sidewinder. Not an impressive missile. Fishbeds also carry the AA-8 Aphid IR missile … a short range missile with impressive cornering capability.

iii. As a gun platform the Fishbed suffers from an incredibly unstable gunsight … useless above 2.5-3 G’s. The gun itself suffered from poor rate of fire and low muzzle velocity … but at least it didn’t carry many rounds.

d. Acceleration

i. Acceleration of the early-model Fishbed was actually quite good. Less than late- model F-16’s but on par with F-15C’s.

e. Top Speed

i. We lived with a self-imposed limit of 600 KIAS … enough for perhaps Mach 1.3 at altitude. It’s reportedly a Mach 2 capable airframe. I see no reason to doubt that capability.

Read what fighting these MiGs was like from an F-15 pilot here

f. Take-off characteristics

i. Tonopah Test Range Airfield sits at about 5,600 feet above sea level – enough altitude to seriously reduce takeoff performance. We never flew the Bandits from a lower field elevation.

ii. Temperature varied considerably at TNX – also effecting flight performance drastically.

iii. Taking the runway, I’d lock the nosewheel in the straight-ahead position and select nosewheel braking to aid in any abort situation. Once cleared for takeoff (except for that ONE time!), I’d run the power up to MILITARY while holding the brakes. When prepared to launch, I’d simply release brakes and note the acceleration sensation at the small of my back. After perhaps 2 seconds of acceleration at just MIL, I’d thumb the release and select MAXIMUM power. The afterburner lightoff process took a few seconds (and featured a very good opportunity for the engine to cease operating altogether), caused several expected engine instrument fluctuations and normally resulted in much higher thrust output. (Sensing the differing acceleration rates of the two power settings gave me another check for normal engine operation.) Once lit, the afterburner made things happen much more quickly.

iv. The MiG-21 typically rolled about 3,500 to 5,000 feet before attaining takeoff speed at about 150 KIAS. Climbout was always in full afterburner until reaching 10,000 feet MSL. (This was to get us as quickly as possible out of the more dangerous low altitude ejection envelope.) We typically climbed out at 300 KIAS with a very steep climb angle.

v. The aircraft was designed to takeoff from even unprepared fields, climb quickly to high altitude, accelerate to supersonic speed … and run down attacking B-52 bombers. I never took off from a plowed field, so I can’t verify that specific capability – but the airplane’s delta wing made it very capable of quick climbs and rapid acceleration.

g. Landing characteristics

i. Oh, boy! Do we have to do this?

ii. First of all, refer back to the section where I discussed the limited forward visibility. Nowhere is that more relevant than during each mission’s landing phase.

Pilots had to fly the overhead traffic pattern looking obliquely forward during the final turn. This is completely natural and how every final turn is flown in every fighter jet.

When rolled out on final, that same oblique viewpoint (out both sides now) has to be used to fine-tune runway alignment … and it works okay. But the normal down-the-runway cues most guys use for rounding out and flaring to land are hidden, so peripheral vision has to substitute perceived sink rate to help ‘feel’ for the runway. This skillset needed some development. (It wasn’t as bad as the wall in front of Charles Lindbergh in the ‘Spirit of St. Louis’ … but it wasn’t as good as looking through your car’s windshield, either.)

iii. The engine’s extremely slow windup makes the landing pattern the most dangerous phase of flight for the unwary or careless ‘Fishbed’ pilot.

Idle to MILITARY power took as much as 13 seconds … almost a quarter of a minute!! Imagine a ‘Fishbed’ pilot allowing the engine’s rpm to decay all the way to idle while at low altitude, low airspeed and high sink rates – as normally occur during any routine traffic pattern.

One of the signs of low thrust availability came anytime engine rpm dropped below 80% N1.

a. The extended windup time was less than the 13-second Idle to MIL marathon … but even 5 or 6 seconds waiting for useable thrust could be critical.

b. The exhaust nozzle opened fully right around that 80% N1 reading, dropping the effective thrust to nearly nothing. That was the true danger of allowing the engine rpm to decay.

c. Instructor pilots flying chase aircraft (AT-38B’s) could visually monitor the exhaust nozzle during traffic patterns with new pilots so as to provide warning and guidance in case of decayed engine rpm … or other issues with transitioning pilots’ traffic pattern work.

An AT-38B Talon aircraft flies over the plains during a 479th Tactical Training Wing Lead-In Fighter Training (LIFT) flight near Holloman Air Force Base. Training on the Talon, LIFT pilots and weapons systems officers become familiar with fighter tactics and maneuvers which they will eventually use tactics and maneuvers which they will eventually use when flying more technologically advanced aircraft.

d. While potentially dangerous, this condition was easily avoided by simply not allowing the engine rpm to slow below the 80% N1 level. As a result, we flew wimpy wide traffic patterns with very gradual turns and descents.

iv. The Fishbed was actually easy to fly through it’s landing pattern … so long as the pilot was aware of and prepared for the unusual and potentially dangerous pitfalls unique to the aircraft.

v. Being a single-engine aircraft, we spent a lot of time thinking about and training for flameout recoveries. Our glide profile was flown at 250 KIAS … the same speed we used for other emergency recoveries.

vi. While TNX was our prime recovery field, flight conditions at the time of the emergency could make landing there impossible due to distance. There were several contingency landing possibilities in the area – like old, inactive runways or dry lake beds. (Necessity is the mother of invention.)

vii. We used drag chutes on every landing to extend brake and tire life.

Read what fighting these MiGs was like from an F-15 pilot here

h. Climb rate

i. The aircraft could climb rapidly and steeply to whatever altitude was required. Once level, the Fishbed could quickly accelerate to supersonic speed.

i. Range

i. This is an astonishingly short-ranged aircraft … even for a fighter. I’ve taken off from TNX, climbed to meet an adversary almost directly overhead the runway, fought three engagements and left the range with need to land immediately due to fuel considerations … ten minutes after takeoff!

ii. I flew 287 ‘Fishbed’ sorties in my Constant Peg career – logging 134.5 hours … a bit under 0.47 hours per sortie. We weren’t trying for long sorties and made liberal use of afterburner, so your results may vary.

iii. We never flew the Bandit jets with external fuel tanks or in a cross-country fuel-efficient mode … at least not while I was there.

j. Sensors

i. Mark-1 eyeballs were our best set of sensors – by far! Our best-in-the-business GCI controllers were a close second.

ii. There was no onboard Airborne Intercept search-and-track radar.

iii. There was no IRSTS.

iv. There was a range-only radar system that displayed information on a meter equipped with lights to indicate “In Range.” It was a pathetic system useful only when I pointed the jet straight down to get altitude verification. I suppose it may have been effective against relatively cooperative, bomber-sized targets.

Biggest myth about the MiG-21?

a. That it is not an effective combat machine. With well over 11,000 copies built over a very long production run, it remained deadly due to sheer numbers for decades.

What should I have asked you?

a. How many times did the MiG-21 try to kill you? [Tried hard only once]

b. Would you willingly fly the MiG-21 into combat? [No.]

c. Was the MiG-21 easy to taxi? [Not Day One … or Day Two]

Describe you most memorable exercise in the MiG-21?

a. Describe a typical MiG-21 fight

b. How did the Soviets fight and where did this knowledge about their tactics come from?

i. I’m unsure of the remaining classification status of some aspects of this sort of information and not comfortable discussing it. It’s probably now unclassified since the USSR is out of business but I’d prefer to leave this topic alone.

c. Which model of MiG-21 was it and where did it come from?

i. We flew the MiG-21 F-13 (an early export model best known for combat operations versus United States aircraft in Southeast Asia.) We also flew later license-built (?) F-7 aircraft. Where these aircraft came from is frankly more than I personally know or am willing to discuss.

d. What was life like between missions? How did the desire for secrecy change things in your life?

i. We left Nellis AFB every morning via MAC-owned/operated C-12 executive transport aircraft (Beechcraft King Airs). We returned almost every evening after the day’s flight operations were complete. This travel was required to enable face-to-face debriefings with our adversary aircrews. Non-pilot personnel typically traveled to Tonopah on Monday mornings and returned to Nellis Friday afternoons. There were adequate dormitory, mess hall and recreational facilities to accommodate all assigned personnel. Pilots each had a full-time dorm room in case they needed to remain overnight.

ii. Details of our squadron’s operations were classified – but the fact that something special was going on was not a closely-guarded secret. We were treated with something like lofty respect by the Nellis fighter community – and granted unquestioned ‘expert’ status in matters regarding adversary aircraft.

iii. I could not share specific information with my family. If I’d been killed while flying a MIG – my family would have been told a cover story.

iv. One night at home my heart nearly stopped during a local news broadcast clearly showing a MiG-21 taking off at Tonopah! I couldn’t say a word about what I’d seen on the TV … thankfully my young family couldn’t tell a MiG-21 from a B-29 … but my jaw dropping to the floor might have drawn attention.

Tell me something I don’t know about the MiG-21

a. It accelerates right with the MiG-27 … knot for knot!

Describe the MiG-21 in three words

a. Surprisingly nimble $hitheap!

Quickest way to lose a fight with a MiG-21?

a. Failure to pick him up visually before he’s in firing position. With a wingspan under 24’ … it’s very hard to see!

b. Slowing down with him (assuming he’s willing and able to fight at very slow speed)

Against the F-15

a. How does the MiG-21 compare to the F-15 in WVR?

i. Each of the advantages enjoyed by the F-16 in the previous discussion also apply to the F-15’s advantages (except that acceleration is basically a draw) – with the additional factor that the Eagle is even better than the ‘Fishbed’ at slow speeds. The MiG is considerably smaller and much harder to see and perhaps keep track of in a visual fight.

b. What was your most challenging opponent in BFM/DACT and why?

i. Not really a definitive single answer to this question – owing to the pilot skill factor brought up above.

ii. Need to mention that most Constant Peg engagements went according to plan.

In a 1v1 between an F-5E and a MiG-21 which aircraft would you rather be in and why?

a. If life and death is not on the line, I’d prefer to be in the MiG-21. Knowing what I know, I can control the fight, bring it to a situation I can completely control and confidently maneuver to win the fight … decisively.

b. If life and death is on the line … give me the F-5E. (Damn few ‘Fishbed’ pilots realise they can fight that jet down to 30 KIAS. The better survivability of the F-5E can’t be denied.)

What was Constant Peg and how did it work?

a. Constant Peg was a flight program utilising actual threat aircraft to expose frontline American fighter crews to the sight of an aircraft they’d expect to kill. There was some exposure to fighting that aircraft – with the expectation that they would not encounter more skilled pilots anywhere else.

b. Normally selected units deploying to Nellis for Red Flag exercises were given the opportunity to spend part of their time with us.

i. They would operate out of Nellis – just as they did for Red Flag.

ii. We’d inbrief them into our program – usually on a Saturday.

During this inbrief each pilot would sign a sheet informing them of the penalties for divulging information about our program.

We’d also brief them about the aircraft they’d be flying against. (This was when we’d tell them not to go into the phone booth with the ‘Fishbed’!)

iii. We would wait on the ground until GCI told us our adversaries were inbound to our operating areas at the extreme northwest corner of the vast Nellis airspace complex. Our flight time was extremely limited, so saving fuel was a primary … and constant! … concern.

iv. Immediately after takeoff (we most often took off in pairs), we’d run a Soviet-style tactic for our adversaries to practice their radar work. They’d also run a stern-conversion on us to get us quickly together to get on with the meat of our mission.

v. Participating pilots had to first experience a Performance Profile mission with one of our pilots. This was a sophisticated ‘show and tell’ mission where the Red Eagle pilot described identifying features of his aircraft (without actually naming the aircraft … never know who’s listening!), coordinated a drag race to compare acceleration capabilities and led an advanced-handling demonstration.

vi. Once completing a PP with a ‘Fishbed’ pilot, our adversaries normally got a second PP with a Flogger pilot.

vii. After flying a PP with both aircraft, they were cleared to fly BFM missions with us.

BFM missions with the ‘Fishbed’ were full-up fights. We’d normally begin out front in the defensive position … allowing our adversary to watch us do our thing out their front window. Most of the time we’d start at about 20,000 feet, with about 400-450 knots on both jets and the adversary about 9,000 feet behind at the MiG’s 4:30 or 7:30 position. We’d usually get two long or three short engagements before the ‘Fishbed’ was out of fuel.

Who would win Eurofighter Typhoon versus Dassault Rafale? Analysis here

BFM missions with the Flogger were not very challenging for our adversaries … the Flogger couldn’t turn well at all. But seeing that in person was an important thing to learn.

viii. Once completing BFM missions with both aircraft, adversary pilots moved on to DACT missions – normally against one ‘Fishbed’ and one ‘Flogger’. (We rarely flew DACT sorties since so much emphasis was put on the BFM missions.)

c. We also participated in actual Red Flag missions – either with the Bandit aircraft or our AT-38B’s … or sometimes with both! (Our participation limited the Red Flag scenario to American participants only – due to the classification of our program.)

Why were you chosen for this effort and how would you describe the other individuals in your team?

a. I sometimes wonder why I was selected for this program. I volunteered, had built a solid reputation within the USAF fighter community and had appropriate experience that allowed me to be considered. Only Aggressors, Fighter Weapon School graduates and former Topgun Instructors were considered to become Bandits! I was an Aggressor. Bottom line? I got lucky!!

i. Even with those prerequisites, a prospective Red Eagle had to pass muster with the current Red Eagles. One vote, “No” … and you were out.

ii. Three personal interviews took place: two with individual General Officers – in their offices. Not intimidating at all! The third … and most important … was with the Red Eagle Operations Officer. Fail that one – and the outcome of the other interviews didn’t matter.

iii. Needed a security clearance a notch above Top Secret to play. Not routine.

b. Everyone that wore a Red Eagle patch was absolutely top-notch! The pilots I flew with – USAF, USN and USMC – were extremely skilled aviators. I’d go to war with any one of them … or all of them! Red Eagle GCI controllers were the absolute best. Our maintenance folks were beyond comparison … best in the business! They could build an airplane from spare parts without any problems – or they could fashion parts if none existed! We pilots routinely placed our lives in their hands without batting an eye. We also entrusted our lives to the Life Support technicians that worked directly for me (I was the Squadron Life Support Officer) but needed no direction from me. (There were two ejections while I was there … both pilots survived without meaningful injuries – thanks in part to the efforts of my guys.) We had dedicated professionals manning the firetrucks, security posts, refueling trucks, cooking our meals, cleaning our rooms, filling out our paperwork … at every level of effort – amazing, hand-picked personnel volunteered to pull classified duty at a classified location for several days each week away from home. I’m still impressed by the numbers of highly-qualified people that supported our unique mission. And kept it all secret until the program was declassified in 2006!

[stickyalpacablizzard]

Монгол — Солонгосын диваажин

Монгол Улсыг дурдахад, хүмүүсийн санаанд хамгийн түрүүнд их талууд болон мал сүрэг орж ирдэг. Гэвч одоо цагт, бүх зүйл өөрчлөгдсөн, одоо мал биш, харин Солонгос эрчүүд байж магадгүй.

Монгол Улсын аялал жуулчлалын газраас гаргасан статистик мэдээллээр, 2015 оноос хойш өдөрт дор хаяж 100 Солонгос эр Монгол Улсад орж ирдэг. Хоёр улс хэдэн мянган км зайтай байхад, явган нислэг хоёр өдөрт нэг удаа л болдог. Ийм их хөдөлгөөн, яагаад гэвэл тэдний зорилго нь эмэгтэйчүүд юм. Нэгдсэн Үндэстний Байгууллагын Хүүхдийн Сан 2012 онд тусгай судалгаа явуулсан бөгөөд Монгол Улсын нийт хүн ам 280 мянга байсан ч, эмэгтэй биеэ үнэлэгчид 20 мянга орчим байсан. Тэдний үйлчлүүлэгчид ихэнхдээ Солонгос эрчүүд, Монголд ирж биеэ үнэлүүлдэг.

Энэ өргөн уудам газар нутагт Чингис хаан шиг агуу удирдагчид төрж, хурдан морь, хунтайжийн зэвсэгтэйгээр дэлхийд алдаршиж байсан, яагаад ийм байдалд орчихов?

Мянга мянган эмэгтэйчүүдийн нэр төрийг орхих шалтгаан нь Монгол Улсын ядуурал юм. 150 мянган км² газар нутагтай боловч, Монгол Улсын географийн байдал үнэхээр хэцүү. Өндөр өргөгдөл, өндөр өндөрлөг, далайгаас хол, дотоодын гүн рүү оршиж, энэ нь тодорхой континентал уур амьсгалыг бий болгодог, эсвэл сар гаруй хугацаанд бороогүй, эсвэл хүйтэн хүйтэн, Нингутад гэмт хэрэгтэн ирвэл явах аргагүй.

Ялангуяа жил бүрийн 10-р сард өвөл эхэлсний дараа хагас жил энэ газар хуурай, хүйтэн хоёрын давхар шалгалтыг туулна, хүн төрөлхтний там гэж нэрлэгдэнэ. Хамгийн хүйтэн үед Монгол Улсын температур -50℃-д хүрдэг, Улаанбаатар хот "дэлхийн хамгийн хүйтэн нийслэл" гэж нэрлэгддэг. Хэрэв хүйтэн байшинд тэсвэрлэх боломжтой бол, хуурай газрын мянган км улаан газар нь хүн амьдрах газаргүй болгоно.

Илүү аймшигтай нь, жилд 200 мм бороотой Монгол Улс борооны тархац маш тэгш бус. Борооны ихэнх нь зүүн хойд хэсэгт төвлөрдөг, үлдсэн 90% нь дөрвөн улиралд ч цөлд байдаг, бороотой өдөр тоолохоор цөөн. Ийм газар нь хүн амыг тэжээх хангалттай нөөцийг хангахгүй.

Хэрэв ядуурал нь Монгол Улсын эмэгтэйчүүдийг биеэ үнэлэх салбарт оруулах шалтгаан бол, Солонгос соёлын хүчтэй нөлөө нь тодорхой каталист юм. 21-р зуунд орж, зугаа цэнгэлийн хээрийн газар Монгол Улс ухаалаг Солонгос бизнесмэнүүдэд боломжийг олгосон. 2002-2021 онд Монгол Улсын хэмжээнд Солонгос KTV, пабууд 300 гаруй болсон.

Зугаа цэнгэлийн соёлын нөлөөгөөр, улам олон Монголын охид уламжлалт урт хувцаснаасаа салж, Солонгосын драмын загварын охид болж, цоорхой жийнс, гэдэс харуулсан хувцас, чихний бөгж, богино юбка өмсөх болсон; орон нутгийн телевизээр байнга Солонгосын драмуудыг тогтоосон; гудамжинд хамгийн их явж буй машин нь Hyundai, Kia; оюутнуудын хамгийн их хүсдэг нь Солонгос руу суралцах... Солонгосын соёлын урсгалын хамт, дунд насны Солонгос эрчүүдийн бүлэг ирж байна. Тэд бараг бүр сарын турш Улаанбаатарт очдог, зорилго нь тодорхой. Орой болохоор Улаанбаатарын гудамжинд гэрэлтсэн неон гэрлүүд, пабууд нээгдэхийг илтгэдэг. Пабын үүдэнд, тэрхүү сайхан, секси охид, хүмүүсийг таних чадвараа хөгжүүлсэн, тэд халуун дотноор Солонгос эрчүүдтэй ярих бөгөөд ихэвчлэн нэг стакан архи ууснаар тэдний зорилгыг тодорхойлж чаддаг. Архитай болсны дараа, туршлагатай эрчүүд охидыг KTV эсвэл диско руу аваачдаг, шөнө дунд хүртэл. Харин доод түвшний эрчүүд нь хашааны дэргэд тойрон эргэлдэж, үүдэнд ганц эмэгтэйн гутал байвал, дотогш орж болно. Мөн зах дээр адууны сүүний архи зарж буй эмэгтэй худалдаачид ч биеэ үнэлэгчид байж магадгүй. Тэдний гарт байгаа адууны сүүний архи зах зээлийн үнээс өндөр, учир нь "онцгой үйлчилгээ" үзүүлэх боломжтой. Үйлчилгээний агуулга, та ойлгож байгаа. Илүү итгэмээргүй нь, өвөл ирэхийн өмнө орон нутгийн дулаан хангалтгүй, амьдралаас шалтгаалж эмэгтэйчүүд хил дээрх жолооч нарыг үйлчлүүлэгч болгон сонгодог. 2019 онд Британийн "The Daily Telegraph" сэтгүүл Монгол Улсын эзгүй хил дээр эмэгтэйчүүд жолооч нартай наймаа хийдэг, төлбөр нь 40 эсвэл 50 литрийн дизель гэж мэдээлсэн.

Тэдний хувьд, дизель нь дулаан авахад ашиглагдахаас гадна, зарж борлуулах боломжтой, мөнгөний үнэ цэнийг давж гардаг. Хямдхан наймаа Солонгос эрчүүдийн тестостероныг идэвхжүүлдэг. Монголд үлдсэн Солонгосчууд, биеэ үнэлэх аялал жуулчлалыг дэмжих үүрэгтэй. Нэг туршлагатай Солонгос биеэ үнэлэгч, "Улаанбаатарын шөнийн амьдрал, Сөүлээс илүү хөгжилтэй, бас хямд!" гэж ил тод бахархаж байжээ.

Хэт их донтон сексийн худалдаа нь Солонгосын бэлгийн ажилтнуудын дэмжлэггүйгээр явагддаггүй. Японы цагийн мэдээгээр, Солонгосын эрэгтэйчүүдийн бэлгийн салбарт зарцуулдаг дундаж зардал 527 доллар бөгөөд энэ нь Японы 370 доллароос ихээхэн давж байна. Азийн болон дэлхийн хэмжээнд тэргүүлж байгаа энэ мэдээлэл нь бусад 200 гаруй орныг гомдоож, бүх Солонгос улсыг ичгэвтэр байдалд оруулж байна. "Солонгос хүн болохоор, бэлгийн хомсдолд орсон Солонгосчуудыг нэг дор бөөгнөрч байгааг харахад надад маш их ичгүүртэй санагддаг" гэж Вьетнамд амьдардаг нэг Солонгос хүн шүүмжилжээ.

2021 оны 12-р сарын 17-нд, нэгэн эмэгтэй сурагчийг Солонгос хүн дарамтлахад, 5 Монгол залуу Солонгосын иргэн рүү дайрсан бөгөөд олон иргэн Солонгосын элчин сайдын яамны өмнө жагсаал хийж, олон улсын мөргөлдөөн үүсгэхэд ойрхон байсан. Бодит мөнгөний уруу таталт дор, Монголын засгийн газар энэ үйлдэл нь олон улсын нэр хүндэд сөргөөр нөлөөлнө гэдгийг мэдэж байсан ч, дотоодын эдийн засгийн хямралын байдалд хариу арга хэмжээ авах боломжгүй байсан. Учир нь энэ ажил нь үнэхээр их ашигтай байсан. Сүүлийн хорин жилийн хугацаанд, Монгол улс бэлгийн аялал жуулчлалаар 50 тэрбум тугрик хууль ёсны орлого, 800 тэрбум тугрик хууль бус орлого олж, 100 сая гаруй юанийн эквивалент болсон.

Нэг улс дэлхийн хүндэтгэлийг хүлээхийг хүсвэл, технологи болон соёлд найдах ёстой бөгөөд бэлгийн салбараар эдийн засгаа дэмжих нь үхлийн усаар цангаагаа тайлахтай адил.

[ralfmaximus]

Apple made the disclosure internally Tuesday, surprising the nearly 2,000 employees working on the project, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the announcement wasn’t public. The decision was shared by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, a vice president in charge of the effort, according to the people.

Did you know Apple had been working on an autonomous EV?

Between 2014 and 2018ish it was impossible to escape the news. Concept art, breathless reporting, the inevitability of Apple simply crushing the industry because Apple could do no wrong. Just imagine a world where Apple fanboys line up to buy a new ridiculously expensive iCar blob every four years, regular as clockwork. Forever.

But for the last five years or so? Not much. In 2021(?) I remember hearing about Apple's partnership with Kia to actually build the things. But then nothing.

So why, after 10+ years and unfathomable sunk capital, quit now?

Most recently, Apple had imagined the car being priced at around $100,000. But executives were concerned about the vehicle being able to provide the profit margins that Apple typically enjoys on its products.

Ah.

Well of fucking course. At $100K per vehicle Apple can't make any profit. And since the Apple car was supposed to be 100% self-driving (not even a steering wheel in the concept art!) it's easy to imagine Apple execs sweating Tesla-sized stains through their $8000 suits. Because we all know how easy & safe self-driving technology is, right?

An end of an era. But honestly? Huge sigh of relief.

I was not looking forward to battling smug Apple drivers on the road.

[comeonamericawakeup]

After being hit with a crime wave during the pandemic, America is "experiencing a peace wave," said David Graham. A new survey of crime statistics from 175 cities by independent criminologist Jeff Asher has found that violent crime has plummeted in 2023 to one of the lowest rates in 50 years. That includes an "astonishing" 13 percent drop in the murder rate-one of the steepest drops on record. FBI data for the third quarter show that every category of crime is down except for motor-vehicle theft, which rose primarily because of easy-to-steal Hyundais and Kias. These declines come on top of a 6 percent drop in crime in 2022, according to FBI data.

The reasons for the steep decline are as complex and murky as the reasons why crime spiked in 2020 and 2021, which include the massive societal disruption of the Covid pandemic and a police backlash to the George Floyd demonstrations. Most Americans still believe crime is soaring because of media focus on lurid crimes and the daily insistence by Fox News and Republicans that cities are hellholes overrun by violent criminals. But the statistical evidence of "the 2023 drop is distinct enough to trust-and celebrate."

THE WEEK December 29, 2023