partial_accumen

No, I wouldn’t call that diplomacy.

This is why you and I aren’t diplomats.

If the head of NATO is dependent upon the USA for lots of support to NATO, then it is in NATO’s interest for the head of the USA to like NATO. If you know the head of the USA is incredibly shallow and you can achieve that support simply by sending an email/text message which requires zero dollars, and at best, a bit of political capital, then its a good deal for the NATO head to do that.

This is what is both fascinating and horrible about diplomacy and geopolitics. Its not about being “right” or “moral” in the moment. Its about getting what you want hopefully in service of the overall goal of of your interests. Sometimes that overall goal is “right” and “moral” in the case of NATO usually.

Why would billionaire MAGA pay? We were told many times that the insurrectionists were antifa. So this guy must be antifa too.

Are you citing something specific, as in a toolset that has been leaked that the government is known to use with what it can retrieve or do you mean theoretically? I mean, sure, if an organization went to the extremes and desoldered the NVRAM from the phone and dumped the contents from an external reader they could likely get much more than fragments.

not a “wiped” old smart phone.

Why not a “wiped” old smart phone? What isn’t wiped at a factory reset?

Iran, take a good look at the amount of military support Armenia received when reached out to Putin after an attack by Azerbaijan:

"Despite Armenia’s appeals for assistance from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and Russia during Azerbaijan’s incursions in May 2021 and September 2022, both entities declined to assist, leaving Armenia on its own.[62][63] "

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And Armenia was a signatory on a mutual defense agreement CSTO. Iran isn’t.

Tangentially, I was chatting with the owner of my local pub in Boston recently, and apparently it’s become something of a game (?!?!?!?!?) to try to slip people mickeys around here.

In some time periods in some places in the world, getting a hand cut off was punishment for theft. While that is a bit extreme, maybe assholes convicted of this should lose the final knuckle of their pinky finger as punishment for drugging people at bars.

Is it possible that Home Depot’s supply chain is contaminated with knockoff parts? I guess.

I never suggested anywhere that knockoffs were the cause.

The idea that there exists some lesser standards for home builds is a myth I’ve seen repeated over and over again and it simply is not true. But the idea that there are somehow separate standards for home and commercial electrical fixtures, and that home Depot is selling people the former, inferior standard is absolutely, 100% nonsense.

There are absolutely mechanical difference in residential and commercial constructed receptacles in general. Hospital grade being even higher.

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Is it your belief that Home Depot and Leviton are simply fleecing uneducated buyers by charging more for “Designed for EV charging” NEMA 14-50 outlets?

Leviton “Designed for EV charging” NEMA 14-50 receptacle

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…vs the cheap contractor grade outlet?

Leviton contractor grade NEMA 14-50 receptacle

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How about Enphase/Clippercreek including their own NEMA 14-50 outlet which is a $60 Bryant receptacle? Why isn’t Enphase putting a $10 NEMA 14-50 in the box instead?

Here’s the official Enphase Training Installation video from the company (timestamped to the NEMA 14-50 receptacle instructions)

Enphase Training video timestamped to the NEMA 14-50 comment

“Even if you have a NEMA 14-50 already, Enphase is requiring you to replace that as we’ve seen some overheating from some older receptacles”

Is your assertion that Leviton and Enphase are just scaremongering unassuming consumers?

This is complete nonsense.

You don’t need to take my word for it. Simply search “ev outlet melted” and you’ll get piles of results showing the gory melted results (just equipment, not people gore).

Charging a Tesla:

Charging an Audi:

Charging a Rivian:

People are finding the cheap NEMA 14-50 outlets just can’t handle the high current EV charging long term. The recommendation is for a Commercial grade NEMA 14-50 outlet instead of the cheap residential ones. Keep in mind the cheap ones work for weeks or months. Sometimes years, but this is the result of many of the cheap ones eventually.

Enphase/Clippercreek chargers actually ship with the high quality Commercial grade outlet specifically for this reason because they don’t want you buying one from Home Depot for $10 and damaging the charger or your home.

Any UL listed plug will sustain a load indefinitely. There are millions of them running dryers in the US for hours at a time already.

Home clothes dryers aren’t drawing 40A continuous current for 5-6 hours. Even when a clothes dryer is running for an hour its not drawing the full wire rated current. It cycles on and off the heating elements during the drying cycle.

Citation needed. Where does one buy an outlet like this? Certainly not from the big box store.

Yep, Home Depot, Lowes, etc is where you’ll find them. They cost about $15 each.

These cheap outlets are okay for 240v loads that are only on for short periods of time at lower current, say 20A or maybe 30A. This would be fine for an electric clothes dryer for example. However, once you start pulling 40A through it for 5 or 6 hours, the minimal metal in the construction of the outlet can handle it, and they will literally melt from the heat. When they melt, they can cause fires.

The outlets that are built to handle the heat and current do exist but they cost $60 to $100 each. Also, putting an outlet in the garage requires GFCI. The cost of a regular 50A breaker is about $20. The GFCI version of the 50A breaker is $120. So folks looking to go cheap will buy the $15 outlet and the $20 breaker and set themselves up for multiple problems.

All of that plus any “Punisher” logo on clothing or vehicles.