Sean McCormick

Musketeer d'Artagnan's remains believed found under Dutch church bbc.in/4d5wmpn

@RKelanic @lylegoldstein @defpriorities I think the British expedition would have gone quite a bit better with air supremacy.

Per @lylegoldstein: “Gallipoli is the most classic case of expeditionary littoral warfare gone wrong.” The similarities to Hormuz, and challenges facing US forces operating there, suggest ground warfare in Iran is best avoided. 👇 @defpriorities usni.org/magazines/proc…

@ZackBlatt He seems a little small for Reich's offense.

This will be Zach Wilson’s third team since he left the Jets. (And for the Jets: Spencer Rattler would be an interesting option for QB2 at the right price.)

Very few people who agree with both of these correct claims: A) The settler movement in the West Bank are modern-day fascists, and the Netanyahu government's implicit endorsement of the recent rein of terror there against Palestinians is not only morally repugnant but potentially catastrophic for the future of Israel and the region. B) The IDF did not systematically target civilians in the Gaza Strip and I still have no idea why that became consensus when it's pretty obvious to me that, even if the IDF were simply *indifferent* to civilian loss of life, they would have easily killed orders of magnitude more people than they actually did kill, and in a much shorter time frame. And it would not even really be that unusual for urban combat.

@DavidAstinWalsh It's really not.

I mean, they are correct in that this *is* our Suez moment.

@Clint_Davey1 @gmtgames Also very clever to have resources be available to you in peacetime but to lose access once the shooting starts.

One thing I really like about Triumph and Tragedy, by @gmtgames, is the economic system. Each faction has 3 variables: Industry Population Resources Your income is the LOWEST of these three numbers. So if you have lots of industry and population but no resources (like Germany), you need to trade or conquer to get them. Likewise, you might be high on population and resources but low on industry (like the Soviets). This little juggling act basically represents bottlenecks on your production and the need to match up workers and factories with raw materials. It's a very elegant mechanic.

@EmmaMAshford It's a terrible analogy, and it's embarrassing to watch educated reach into the historical grab bag and pulling something out that so obviously is there to confirm their priors. (Though to be fair, at least it's not Munich.)

I’d also push back on all the Suez analogies floating around. It’s not a good comparison! In 1956, British power was in terminal decline. American power is not. The Suez crisis was shaped by US policymakers bringing Britain et al to heel. There’s no comparable actor here. wsj.com/opinion/americ…

Another insane oped from the Wall Street Journal: Trump must put American boots on the ground or it will cause “American collapse.” I’m sorry, what?

imo, I don’t think the first question you have to ask is “who needed to do more to carry their football team” I think the first question is “who do you envision taking a hit from Myles Garrett and not instantly turning into pink mist”

@anmhouston @MattGlassman312 All of this.

@MattGlassman312 The difference here is unlike other TACOs he doesn't fully control it. Iran would have to agree to stop blocking the Strait of Hormuz and they have no reason to right now since they think they're winning. It's really lose-lose. Either Iran de facto wins or prices surge.

It is relevant right now that Trump's main political superpower is the ability to declare victory about anything at any time. That level of shamelessness makes TACOs/deescalation easier, and right now that's almost certainly a good thing.

@ewong @nytimes It's strange that there hasn't been more effort to get the internet up. Seems like a precondition for organizing popular opposition.

NEW from @nytimes: Netanyahu embraced a plan by the Mossad chief to ignite a regime change uprising in Iran for a quick victory. He used it to help convince Trump to start the war — despite doubts among some senior US and Israeli officials. It was a critical flaw in war plans.

@whsieh @varadmehta Hamas' entire strategy was built around winning the information war, whereas I don't see any evidence that is the case for Iran.

@varadmehta Iran IMO doesn’t have the same omnicause status as Gaza. I think social media also inherently diffuses political energy in a way that wasn’t the case in 2003, and only Gaza still has the ability to motivate the street.

Why haven’t there been any antiwar protests against the Iran strikes? There were massive rallies in 2003 in the lead up to the Iraq war, and obviously afterwards. Now, there’s nothing going on at all. Did ANSWER dissolve? Where’s Code Pink? What’s the deal?

Watching Chris Rufo get absolutely defenestrated by the online right for not being antisemitic enough, after he spent all of 2024 claiming that Haitian immigrants are eating people's cats

@BambotPiotr Would think the block density would be significantly deeper than for any of the LC games.

My dear colleague Konrad Idzik and I have completed the first phase of testing Joint Commander: Poland. We played through the full campaign scenario to test the initial assumptions and concepts. You've seen the actions of both sides so far in individual partial reports. Today, the photographs show the final result of this bloody struggle. Ultimately, the Polish Army managed to hold the capital, but at the cost of very heavy losses. The 9th Braniewo Armored Cavalry Brigade and the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade were practically non-existent as tactical units. The remaining Polish brigades were at this point on the verge of exhaustion. Although the Russian divisions, thanks to their mass and firepower, managed to reach the outskirts of Warsaw, they by this point lacked the ammunition to do much more. The final result was significant for us only insofar as it verified the initial concepts for depicting a potential confrontation between the Polish Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces. It must be admitted that this is a truly good and engaging game. The kinetic combat engine works as it should. Sometimes you have to throw a small bucket of dice, but this solution is lost in the incredibly interesting competition contained within the JCC and their proper use. They offer enormous possibilities: they support attacks, boost statistics, allow for spectacular strikes, air raids, interceptions, and so on. This eliminates the feeling of overwhelming randomness. There are so many variables influencing the game's final outcome that players can't dwell on individual battles, but must instead focus on the broader concept of conducting individual operations. I don't know about Konrad, but I had a phenomenal time playing. Every test session was an adventure, and a very satisfying one at that. We managed to create a clear and logical game model. However, JC: Poland can be tiring. Mastering the entire front and the abilities assigned to individual formations is quite a challenge. Above all, the game is somewhat dangerous. It forces you to ask difficult, sometimes uncomfortable questions. Furthermore, it also generates very interesting discussions. Now it's time to make adjustments, incorporate the new rules, verify the cards, and then we can start a new round of testing.

@DGisSERIOUS @FinanceLancelot Also overrepresented in the German army during WWI, as it happens.

@FinanceLancelot lol Jews were overrepresented in the U.S. military in both WW1 and WW2

@Connor_J_Hughes Makes all the sense in the world. Very much in Frank Reich's mold, and would not preclude you from going QB next year.

The #Jets had a number of Penn State players at the facility for private workouts this weekend, with the pro day circuit set to begin, per sources. QB Drew Allar was among them. Team decision makers watched him throw on Friday. Benefit of having him with a number of other: They could see him throw to his guys

@whsieh @IVMiles @DastDn One of these things is a whole lot more prevalent than the other.

@IVMiles @DastDn Both parties can’t adopt the obviously popular paired positions of restricting sports gambling and keeping boys out of girls sports.

When I was a kid AOC’s position was right-coded, and it’s telling that the new Atlantic City version of the GOP has no interest in legislating on this.

@yeselson It's honestly a fair point, though I don't think it's unique to the Times. I can't imagine how exhausting it would be to take in World War II with social media-shaped sensibilities.

This is….something.

@agraybee The unit of monetary exchange in the Star Wars underworld is spice, for...reasons.

As an aside, it’s telling that public concern about TSA wait times focuses on the inconvenience it causes travelers. Concentrating a bunch of people outside the sterile area of an airport is a huge security problem. It shows how people don’t take airport security seriously.