This is a video of interviews with three men who grew up in North Korea and are now living outside their home country. While it does not go into their personal journeys, it does give us a little insight into the people of North Korea, and their perceptions of America. Considering recent events with that country I thought it might be of interest.
Sunday, 3 September 2017
Voices from the Dark
For the past few weeks we have been seeing missiles flying from North Korea in some kind of desperate attempt at intimidation. The Trump administration has responded with an escalation of provocative rhetoric. So what are we to make of this? Are we on the verge of war because of the impulsive acts of two leaders who are intemperate in nature? How do North Koreans see the situation? How do they see us?
This is a video of interviews with three men who grew up in North Korea and are now living outside their home country. While it does not go into their personal journeys, it does give us a little insight into the people of North Korea, and their perceptions of America. Considering recent events with that country I thought it might be of interest.
This is a video of interviews with three men who grew up in North Korea and are now living outside their home country. While it does not go into their personal journeys, it does give us a little insight into the people of North Korea, and their perceptions of America. Considering recent events with that country I thought it might be of interest.
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«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 352 of 352The U.S. government had never taken them up on the offer.
No, and I don't know if they normally would have or not. But it should have been acknowledged and Mexico should have been thanked. That is simple courtesy.
Hopefully we have offered our assistance to those in the Caribbean who have been affected by the hurricanes. We are, after all, a close neighbor.
"Why Don't Facts Matter"
I read an article the other day that claimed that fact-checking "news" and political statements doesn't seem to have any beneficial effect for our conservative friends and indeed appears to be counter productive. They assume any finding by a fact checker that the original article was materially false is merely the result of ‘liberal bias’ and doesn't count. And they further assume that articles that haven't been fact checked at all are somehow thereby proven to be true. (Never mind that they'd be flagged as true if they were fact-checked and were true--they assume the failure to check them at all means they're true.)
"I don't know if they normally would have or not."
Normally no. Normally, by the time the federal government has identified a need it's quicker to fill the need than to ask a foreign government for help with it. However, it is customary to say, ‘thank you, if we can think of anything we need we'll be in touch, meantime thank you for the offer and we'll keep you in mind if…’.
In a move that will cause great consternation among the Republican establishment and, to a lesser extent, also among the dedicated Trumpkins, Chuck and Nancy have announced they've made a deal with Trump to legalize the young immigrants previously protected under Obama's DACA Order, and to spend some money for border security to placate Trump's people, but not to fund Trump's Wall. Associate Press, not WaPo
DACA survives; no money for the wall. Trump will pronounce it a win for his side.
Trumpkins are probably not ‘so tired’ of winning yet as Trump promised, but may get there fairly soon.
Post Script:
Trump spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders (née Sarah Huckabee) has said that it was not yet agreed to exclude Trump's Wall from this deal, but that's looking like just another instance of Trump's people again not knowing what the hell Trump's up to. Maybe she's right, but probably not.
Speculation runs that Trump is tired of not getting any deals done and is now willing to go the bipartisan route to score something. His reputation at a great deal maker is at stake. I won't hold my breath that this will hold true, as he changes with the wind, but at least there is hope.
There also appears to be some speculation in certain circles that the next Russian "war games" in Belarus may be cover for an invasion of that country. Apparently the current dictator is not remaining on Putin's good side.
"…cover for an invasion of [Belarus]"
I hadn't heard that. I had read speculations that maybe Putin was actually thinking of invading one of the Baltic countries. Belarus makes more sense to me than him taking on NATO frontally, and all three of the Baltic countries are already NATO members. It never made sense to me that he'd push it far this soon, but Belarus makes more sense.
"Trump spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders (née Sarah Huckabee) has
said that it was not yet agreed to exclude Trump's Wall…"
Third round of explanations on this subject appears to center on explaining Sarah Sander's statement away without somehow confessing that she didn't know what the word ‘excluded’ means.
Forth round of explanations: Trump weighs in. TrumpTweets: No deal on DACA! (Chuck and Nancy are gonna be pissed; very unlikely they went out and announced without clearing the announcement with Trump.)
And another piece of news, turns out Trump's Wall is already being built, in Trump's mind anyway; he thinks it's ‘already under construction’. More TrumpTweets
Okay, so, he starts out saying there is no deal, then goes on to seem to support a deal on DACA with his sympathetic sounding tweets for those who were brought here as children. Odd, but probably typical of him.
..They have been in our country for many years through no fault of their own - brought in by parents at young age. Plus BIG border security
Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!.....
The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built.
No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent. Would be subject to vote.
Btw, some of those tweets on the feed that was superimposed on his twitter account were rather hilarious.
I kinda liked the imaginary wall. An imaginary wall to stop the imaginary hordes of Latinos streaming northward. It fits. I can go along with Trump having himself an imaginary wall. It doesn't waste any money, which is my main objection to his desire for a real wall (secondary objections being that it'd be an environmental disaster and it's bad PR).
Lee & Lynnette:
" "…cover for an invasion of [Belarus]"
I hadn't heard that. I had read speculations that maybe Putin was actually thinking of invading one of the Baltic countries. Belarus makes more sense to me than him taking on NATO frontally, and all three of the Baltic countries are already NATO members. It never made sense to me that he'd push it far this soon, but Belarus makes more sense."
Yeah, because EVIL Putin is always looking to add more lands to the already by a factor of 2 largest land in the world. And destitute Belarus is in his sights because... because... because he's EVIL and always needs to invade someone.
C'mon. Really?
The ONLY scenario Putin would consider moving against Belarus is if he thought there was one of 'em "colour revolutions" aimed at getting Belarus into the NATO sphere and thus landing an enemy just at Russia's doorstep.
But that's not the case in Belarus. You have Lukashenko in firm control there and Putin is likely fine with that.
In fact their ongoing military exercice is a joint one with Russia and Belarus playing the same side.
The truth is that Putin moved against Georia in 2008 only after Saakhasvili sided with yall's Neocons and got hubris. He moved against Ukraine after a CIA/State Department instigated coup in Kiev that ousted Ukraine's elected government.
Before that he cruched Chechen separatists he inherited from the Jetzin years.
He has, to date, never acted first with aggression, but only responded to percieved threats.
Putin won't attack Belarus. And not the Baltics either. What need does he have of more lands? What need of angry new populations to control?
Seriously, ya'll are so into this whole Russia=EVIL stuff you seem to have lost all your marbles.
Cartel Operatives Move Freely Across US Border:
http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/09/13/exclusive-leaked-images-show-armed-mexican-cartel-smugglers-crossing-u-s-feds-confirm/
You know what would help stop that?
A wall. A goodest to honest freaking WALL!
"You know what would help stop that?
"A wall. A goodest to honest freaking WALL!"
It may come as a surprise to Swedes, but the Mexican drug dealers know about ladders. What we need is border guards making patrols. If we mount adequate patrols across the back country, then we don't need the wall. If we don't mount adequate patrols across the back country then the wall won't help.
Where we need wall we already got wall. It was put up by Dubya and Obama.
"…and always needs to invade someone."
He needs to invade someone occasionally to keep his population behind him. It satisfies their itch to believe that Russia has become a superpower once again.
Lee: "What we need is border guards making patrols. If we mount adequate patrols across the back country, then we don't need the wall."
You need BOTH.
You could ask the Israelis bout this. They have a wall, and they have patrols guarding that wall. Proven very efficient. Not completely foolproof but close to it.
Take the wall away OR the guards away and of course the situation would be very different.
So, yeah, you need that wall.
Lee: "He needs to invade someone occasionally to keep his population behind him. It satisfies their itch to believe that Russia has become a superpower once again."
Really. Do you really think russians at large believe that their well being (which is what ALL people strive to) is linked to them invading other countries?
Also: Russia already HAS become a superpower once again. It really only momentarily sieze to be one for a few short years.
Hell, they bested ya'll in Syria for one, and to best the mega-power in the world you'd at the very least have to be a super-power. Right?
"You need BOTH."
We've been over this before; you're just being stubborn, purposely dense. No we do not need both. Even Trump won't try to sell his wall as an anti-drug smuggling measure.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
"Russia already HAS become a superpower once again."
That's too stupid to bother with. I'll just leave ya out there on that limb.
Post Script:
At least the Russian population has an excuse, they're behind Putin's propaganda wall, PLUS they really, really WANT to believe that Russia is a superpower once again.
You have no excuse. You're just being stupid.
It's beginning to look like Trump's most avidly anti- supporters are going to put up a fight about him making a deal on a DACA replacement. They don't want one; they don't want him to agree to one. They think they can drag him into an effort to forge a Republican solution to his problem. (That effort will most likely bog down and come to nothing, which is what they'd most like to see.) They very well may be correct in their guess that they can get him to back away from his deal with ‘Chuck and Nancy’. Then they get him stuck in the Republican infighting while the six months runs out.
May work.
" No we do not need both."
On the brighter side, there's every indication that Trump will be willing to eventually settle for an imaginary wall (his dedicated Trumpkins will likely soon follow suit). And perhaps even the right-winger Swede can be made to believe in the imaginary wall in due time.
Quick drive by ... warning: I am pleasantly inebriated.
[Chumpy]: "In round ten of Mayweather vs McGregor they called the fight because Mayweather (the American) was pounding McGregor (the Irishman) pretty much at will.
This time the Irishman threw in the towel during the ninth. Didn't make it to the tenth. Ring the final bell (ding, ding, ding); it's over. We should perhaps refer to this in the future as The Great Petes' Chaos Construct. Has a festive ring to it, doncha think? N.B. Afterwards McGregor complained that they'd stopped the fight too early, said he still had fight left in him. Obviously that was not true, but bein’ an ego-driven Irishman; he pretty much had to say that."
As often, apart from yer cussed orneriness, I am more on y'all's side. McGregor is a blot on the arsehole of humanity. Was cheering for Mayweather all the way. Would prefer if McGregor got his wish to go a round or two more and got smashed from here to kingdom come. His brand of Oirishness turns my stomach.
Re: Putin etc., apart from "Putin, Russia and the West", a chilling portrayal from a couple of years back, I have been alerted to Oliver Stone's "The Putin Interviews". Haven't caught up with them yet, but on my "to see" list in short order. Already know that Stone has been criticised for the soft focus on Putin, but probably worth a look. Putin's Russia is both a gazillion miles from the standard western portrayal, and still totally scary ass.
Movies: I haven't an artistic bone in my body, so wouldn't pretend to know "the greatest movie of all time". But the greatest sequel of all time without doubt is Terminator 2 and the 25th anniversary release (probably my dozenth time watching) in 3D on the big screen was awesome.
To end on a depressing note, and remembering the genesis of this blog: the attacks on Nasiryah, in the corridor between al Fallujah, the Shia pilgramage towns, and Basrah seem like a tragic return to the episodic violence of a decade or so ago. A stark reminder that he demise of IS does not necessarily mean tranquillity for Iraq.
Ok, one more upbeat point. I may be ignoring yore asses for a while if a current plan to get on a masters degree in astrophysics comes to fruition.
[Marcus]: "Also: Russia already HAS become a superpower once again. It really only momentarily sieze to be one for a few short years."
Nope. Russia is a busted flush. It is facing demographic disaster, and will go down in flames before the rest of Europe, to be followed by the US. Although I won't swear as to the timing for any of those three: each of them is squandering their money, their empire, and their soul, at different rates.
[Marcus]: "Hell, they bested ya'll in Syria for one, and to best the mega-power in the world you'd at the very least have to be a super-power. Right?"
Nope. They just chose to dance with a different devil. Whichever one wins out in the long run is still a devil. The US, for all its faults, is still churnin' over the moral implications. Russia ain't so troubled.
I missed this earlier this week, watching the latest hurricane fade away inland I suppose.
We have a NATO member purchasing high-end military hardware from the Russians.
Turkey has finalized a deal to buy the Russian S-400 SAM missile system. NYT, not WaPo
This may trigger automatic sanctions against Turkey under that Russian Sanctions bill passed over Trump's objections about a month ago.
Hmmm...I put up this new post and forgot to look at the comments from the last one after it flipped at the 200 mark. So, to catch up:
Petes: "Was that the one you told us about that got relocated due to the quest for fracking sands? The one with all those cringey costumes? ;-)"
Nope, you're thinking of the Renaissance Festival. This is the one with all the weird food and cringey rides that make you want to throw up. :)
So you're basically saying the reason there are no ways towards progress in Africa is becuse the Africans intelligent and educated enough to create that progress leave their brethren behind in sqaulor and aim for the shores of the white man's lands?
That's NOT an argument in favour of immigration. Just so you know.
Kind of depends on how you look at it. I really have no problem with people trying to better themselves and make a good life for their family. It is those who arrive only to commit crimes that I am not a fan of.
As for "white man's lands", that is really kind of a fallacy, since the white man was kind of late to occupy the lands upon which the United States was built.
As often, apart from yer cussed orneriness, I am more on y'all's side.
I'll say he was inebriated. lol!
You will have to remind him of that statement, Lee, the next time you get into a fight. Assuming he comes back between classes.
Russia is a busted flush. It is facing demographic disaster, and will go down in flames before the rest of Europe, to be followed by the US. Although I won't swear as to the timing for any of those three: each of them is squandering their money, their empire, and their soul, at different rates.
There, there, Petes, you can take comfort that climate change will probably get us before we all do ourselves in.
"You will have to remind him of that statement…."
I don't think I'll need to remind him that he was inebriated when he wrote that.
Here's the second part to that article I posted earlier.
Recently Andreas Kappes and I, together with others, conducted a study to try to understand what goes on inside the brain when people are confronted with opinions that contradict their own. We recorded the brain activity of pairs of individuals who were making financial decisions together, and found that when a duo disagreed, their brains immediately became less sensitive to the information presented by the other person. However, when they agreed, each person's brain activity reflected precise encoding of the information provided by the other.
What this implies is that to elicit change we must first identify arguments that rely on common ground.
I don't think I'll need to remind him that he was inebriated when he wrote that.
lol!
Two interesting videos here. The first one is about the filmmaker's trip to North Korea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMoSyk0rK9s
The second is his trip to South Korea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJUSIWSaQX4
I got lazy. I didn't do the automatic link.
The White House has ‘called on’ the Iraqi KRG to ‘call off’ their referendum on independence from Iraq. dotGov, not WaPo I think this was a mistake. If there's going to be a moderate form of Sunni Islam develop it'll be in places like Kurdistan. We should be supporting those folks when we can.
Just started watching Oliver Stone's Putin Interviews. Putin is quite charismatic, though -- it seems to me -- still pretty scary under the surface. I've nearly finished the first episode (of four), a lot of which is devoted to Putin's background, though it also looks at his relationship with GW Bush and with NATO. He makes some surprising points about Russian assistance to the US in Afghanistan post-9/11. There are also a few personal points that will raise western eyebrows ... such as that he never has bad days "because he is not a woman".
Theresa May has labelled Trump's tweets about yesterday's London tube bomb as "unhelpful". He says that the "loser terrorists" are "in Scotland Yard's sights". He seems to have pretty much pulled that factoid from his ass.
"He says that the 'loser terrorists' are 'in Scotland Yard's sights'."
‘Were’ in Scotland Yard's sights, implying that they were previously known radicals already under at least periodic surveillance.
Correction noted. I guess he's saying "we know who the baddies are" ... which dovetails with the other half of his Tweet -- a call to expand his travel ban.
Finished the first Putin Interview. Compulsive viewing, will definitely watch the rest.
It looks like they have made a "significant" arrest of at least one person in connection with the bombing. Hmmm...it seems there might be a connection to France.
‘Were’ in Scotland Yard's sights, implying that they were previously known radicals already under at least periodic surveillance.
No, probably not helpful. All that does is make others think that they may be under some kind of surveillance. And, true or not, it can be difficult to follow every suspicious person out there. There is just not enough man power for that.
... a call to expand his travel ban.
Yes, that tweet is just another attempt to fire up his base to support the Great Wall of Trump. Not helpful to the UK and not helpful to those who really are fighting terrorism.
Just started watching Oliver Stone's Putin Interviews.
That does sound interesting, is that on YouTube? Oh wait, I'll go look. Hmmm...can't seem to find a full video, just clips. But, yes, from what I have seen Putin is very charismatic. And seems to be very good at what he does.
"That does sound interesting, is that on YouTube?"
No, it's on a slightly naughty combination of Kodi + Covenant. Uh, I'll leave the rest to your Googling skills ;-)
I see Hillary's memoir of the election has been published. From the extracts I've seen, What Happened? is a whingefest that her supporters everywhere will lap up. The main review I listened to -- on BBC's Newsnight -- was rather dominated by former campaign managers for Hillary and Bernie slugging it out with each other. I'd say "get over it already, you lost" except I don't think there's any prospect but more of the same for the next four years from a bunch of people who are never going to actually figure out What Happened?.
My mistake. There's no question mark in What Happened. It seems Hillary is even more certain in her diagnosis than I realised. In the process of checking the title, I ran across a Slate article about it, which refers to What Happened, i.e. Hillary's electoral collapse, as "an epic civilizational disaster". The author betrays no hint of irony, leading me to believe that the whingers have definitively lost the plot at this point.
I'd have to question the wisdom of reviewing a book I hadn't read.
Pete: "Nope. Russia is a busted flush. It is facing demographic disaster, and will go down in flames before the rest of Europe"
Why is that? I see it the complete opposite way myself. Yes Russia has problems but it's an age old entity and makes changes slowly. So reason has it it will look much the same for a long time to come.
The rest of Europe however, I am nos so positive about. One or two more of those mass refugee streams (and they are in the pipeline) and I think it'll all crash.
Pete: "[Marcus]: "Hell, they bested ya'll in Syria for one, and to best the mega-power in the world you'd at the very least have to be a super-power. Right?"
Nope. They just chose to dance with a different devil. Whichever one wins out in the long run is still a devil. The US, for all its faults, is still churnin' over the moral implications. Russia ain't so troubled."
What are you blatherin' bout here Pete? You're usually at least coherent. Russia sided with Assad from the get go, and Assad seems to remain and win. How is that not a win for Russia?
"How is that not a win for Russia?"
Iran.
Just watched half of the second Putin interview. This one is about nukes, and the evolution of the various missile treaties. (We also get to see Putin playing ice hockey and working out). Putin claims the Cuban missile crisis was sparked by the US stationing missiles in Turkey. There are a number of things Putin is very pissed about. He says Russia actively helped the US war on terror in Asia, and was assured by Bush that the US adventures there would last years, not decades.
He complains that the ABMs that the US stationed in eastern Europe were claimed to be a "defense against Iran" but now there is a US nuclear treaty with Iran and the ABMs are still being developed. He questions why NATO still needs to exist in the post-cold war era. He sees all pro-Western sentiment and activity in Ukraine as the work of "radical nationalists" (I would guess he means fascists). It seems clear that he thinks Russia's satellite states -- at least the ones containing ethnic Russians -- should remain Russian.
On a lighthearted note, Stone asks him if he's seen Doctor Strangelove and when he answers in the negative arranges a viewing of a version with Russian subtitles.
[Marcus]: "I see it the complete opposite way myself. Yes Russia has problems but it's an age old entity and makes changes slowly. So reason has it it will look much the same for a long time to come.
I'd say it has changed quite rapidly in the last hundred years, and especially in the last thirty. It was completely on its knees in the nineties. It still has a long way to go to combat rural poverty. It is unduly dependent on oil and gas revenues. Putin himself acknowledged the demographic issue in a circuitous way when Stone asked him about gay rights in Russia. He says his interest is in promoting Russian families.
But regardless of what Putin wants, Russia's impending demographic cliff is the result of its scandalous abortion stats. Two in three pregnancies are aborted, which is actually way down on certain periods of the Soviet era. Every year, one in thirty women of childbearing age has an abortion. Survival rates for children in Russia were probably better in the Stone Age than now.
[Marcus]: "Russia sided with Assad from the get go, and Assad seems to remain and win. How is that not a win for Russia?"
Even if Assad remains in power, Syria will not be a democracy. How is that a win for anyone? Will Russia stay in Syria as long as the US stayed in Iraq? What are the chances hostilities will erupt again? I don't think Russia can do a "Grozny" on every troubled region.
Second half of second Putin interview covers the early 2000s conflict in the Caucasus, the security services and surveillance, the Snowden affair, Orthodoxy and Islam in Russia, democracy and elections, the US presidential election and more.
Stone's access to Putin seems unprecedented. They meet at sports games, on Putin's plane, in his car with Putin driving, at his state residence, in the Kremlin, and elsewhere. I've no idea how much you can trust Putin's answers but it's hard to imagine any more intimate interviews.
In interviews taking place in February 2016, Stone asks Putin about the US presidential race. In the light of subsequent events the answers are ironic. Putin says he will deal with whoever wins and that pre-election rhetoric can be broadly ignored. He recalls Obama promising to close Gitmo, which he believes Obama meant sincerely, but he failed to do it.
Stone laughingly suggests that anyone Putin gave his support to would tank in the US elections and if he said he disliked Trump that Trump would probably win. Stone asks about interference in the elections by Russia (which seems rather prescient) and Putin says that Russia would never do that, unlike the US. His expression while saying this is somewhere between an enigmatic smile and a knowing grin.
Ken Burns (this time giving Lynn Novic co-billing) opens his series on PBS on ‘Vietnam’ starting tomorrow night. Eighteen hours spread over ten episodes. Most of Ken Burns' stuff is worth watching. (I've got my DVR set to record already.)
I'm watching the CNN special on North Korea that's on tonight. So far interesting. I'm seeing some of the rehearsed behavior that was also in those videos I posted earlier. Everyone seems very intent on hating the US. They are well taught and don't stray from the party line.
CNN is cable. Don't got cable. Perhaps others will have access.
I see Hillary's memoir of the election has been published.
I don't think I'll be buying that one. Hillary tends to be too serious. I did buy Al Franken's though. Sometimes politics need a dash of humor.
Oh my, those hats! Looks a bit like he has a plate on his head. Hmmm...maybe a bit like someone's hair style.
I came away from that special on North Korea feeling that I had visited a cult. They seem to have deified Kim Jong il, whom Kim Jong Un seems to resemble quite a bit, and not just because of the hair style.
None of the people that actually would talk to CNN expressed any unhappiness with their government or their lives. One of the women expressed a desire to visit the US, but only to be able to "destroy our lands". The boys that were filmed playing video games with guns said they were practicing killing the supreme enemy, America.
It was sad.
So, North Korea collapses somehow and South Korea decides the time is right to reunify their nation, and, against all conventional wisdom, China allows that to happen for some reason….
Are the South Koreans actually gonna let those crazy people vote?
[Lynnette]: " Everyone seems very intent on hating the US."
From what I can gather, Americans are never referred to as Americans in everyday North Korean speech, only as "American bastards". Young children are taught arithmetic with questions such as "if you have 6 American bastards and you kill 4 of them, how many are left?".
[Lynnette]: "I came away from that special on North Korea feeling that I had visited a cult."
I recommend watching some of the youtube videos of North Korean escapees. The brainwashing is incredible. Even after leaving, some of them have difficulty shaking the belief that Kim Jong Un can read their every thought and will still exact punishment. Surveillance in NK is such that parents instill these beliefs in order to protect children and themselves.
I knew that -- incredibly -- shootings in the US equalled car crashes as a cause of death. I hadn't realised they'd both been overtaken by another cause of accidental death: overdoses. It's no consolation that a large increase in car crashes has nudged gun deaths into third place among those three.
"Overall, overdose deaths rose 11 percent last year, to 52,404. By comparison, the number of people who died in car crashes was 37,757, an increase of 12 percent. Gun deaths, including homicides and suicides, totaled 36,252, up 7 percent... As part of its annual report, the CDC also found that rates for 8 of the 10 leading causes of death rose last year, causing the nation’s life expectancy to go down for the first time in more than 20 years". (CBS)
Heroin deaths alone outnumbered gun homicides, while overdoses of synthetic opioids were up an incredible 73%. But prescription painkillers were the most lethal drugs.
"Are the South Koreans actually gonna let those crazy people vote?"
People tend to know what side their bread is buttered on. It ain't crazy. Before German reunification there was a surveillance state with lots of informants. Every apartment block had a Hausbuchbeauftragter who tracked all movements. Leaders of youth organisations, school principals, voluntary helpers of the Volkspolizei, and many others, were potential informants. All quietly forgotten about after reunification.
"People tend to know what side their bread is buttered on. It ain't
crazy."
"The brainwashing is incredible. Even after leaving, some of them have
difficulty shaking the belief that Kim Jong Un can read their every thought"
Pick one.
I actually knew in advance y'all were gonna juxtapose those exact two quotes. Being brainwashed != being crazy. Y'all probably know that. No surprise y'all didn't let it get in the way of a good bitchin' opportunity.
The question I put was whether the South Koreans would want to let the North Koreans vote in what will essentially be South Korean elections (North Korea having no electoral tradition and taking on virtually no risk considering that the question assumed the prior collapse of North Korea).
You have no answer; you want to argue semantics instead. I have no time for you on that argument. Pick a side or don't; but the distinction you want to argue has no relevance to the question.
From what I can gather, Americans are never referred to as Americans in everyday North Korean speech, only as "American bastards".
It does permeate their entire society. In this show they stopped at a gift shop, which sold the usual postcards, except these postcards depicted hands crushing America or missiles crashing into our Capitol.
The children playing the video games, when told that the person interviewing them was an American, still responded "yes" to the question of whether they would shoot him. Although after some thought they did say "no", because he seemed like a "good" American.
Surveillance in NK is such that parents instill these beliefs in order to protect children and themselves.
You saw the same in Saddam's Iraq. Children, for the most part, tend to be honest. So to make sure they don't accidentally let slip information that could get them, or their parents, in trouble they are taught things to prevent that from happening.
On Fareed Zakaria's show they had in the past interviewed a young woman from Iraq, who had fled to Syria, and then on to Turkey, after the Syrian civil war broke out. She had told them then that she wanted to immigrate to the US with her family. Apparently they applied twice and were rejected both times, for "security reasons". Fortunately they were subsequently accepted into Switzerland. Our loss, Switzerland's gain. This is the era of Trump.
"Our loss, Switzerland's gain."
How do we know that?
The question I put was whether the South Koreans would want to let the North Koreans vote in what will essentially be South Korean elections...
Your concern being what choices would people who have undergone such mind control make?
The thing is, while such brainwashing has occurred, leading to what is almost a cult like following, if given the opportunity there is the possibility of reversing this. To assume that they will make choices that would lead to something similar occurring in South Korea, such as another dictator, is to give up hope of helping people learn that there is more to life than what they have been taught.
True democracy is a freedom to choose. If the choice is poor, like we have seen recently here (IMHO), we still have to have faith that it will be corrected.
Btw, one thing that was not shown in this program, or any other that I have seen, are the people who have opposed the NK regime. They exist, but are out of sight. So not all of the people there are really brainwashed. And even those who appear to be may not actually be. Some people are very good actors.
How do we know that?
lol! I knew you would say that.
Even if those people do not turn out to be an asset, or worse, turn out to be a security threat, we have shown that we are exactly as our enemies say we are. People who are conducting a war on Islam, and the people of the Middle East in general, rather than a war on terrorism.
I would argue that this is a greater threat to our security than taking the chance on these people entering the US.
Now I have a date with some leaves. It is fall here and they are starting to fall.
"Your concern being what choices would people who have undergone
such mind control make?"
It occurred to me that a demagogue would find a ready population for his demagoguery.
Pete: "I recommend watching some of the youtube videos of North Korean escapees. The brainwashing is incredible. Even after leaving, some of them have difficulty shaking the belief that Kim Jong Un can read their every thought and will still exact punishment."
I watched one where a young man, 25 or so, who had fled NK told a story of when he was a kid and his parents had accidently bought him a T-Shirt with "USA" printed across the chest at a second hand marketplace. They could not read the latin alphabet and had no idea what the T-shirt said so he wore it to school. His whole family had to come in and apologise and burn the T-Shirt in front of the entire school, and they considered themselves lucky no further punishment was meeted out.
[Chumpy]: "The question I put was whether the South Koreans would want to let the North Koreans vote in what will essentially be South Korean elections"
You included the qualifier that the NK'ans were crazy. If that wadn't relevant to yore point, ya oughta have omitted it.
"... the distinction you want to argue has no relevance to the question"
Acshully, I don't particularly wanna argue anything with you. Y'all brought it up yoreself. I notice when Lynnette addressed the self same point ya decided to stop bitchin' about it. A bit of consistency would help allay the suspicion that y'all plan to be ornery about pretty much anything and everything. In that case my friendliest advice would be to STFU if it would help cure whatever's eatin' y'all... with the added bonus for y'all's self that y'all would lose far less arguments too ;-)
Lynnette. "Btw, one thing that was not shown in this program, or any other that I have seen, are the people who have opposed the NK regime. They exist, but are out of sight."
Yeah. They're in camp 14.
[Lynnette]: "Now I have a date with some leaves. It is fall here and they are starting to fall."
That's a pretty short summer! I noticed the leaves starting to turn last week for the first time. But I wouldn't expect much leaf fall before at least the middle of next month. Even then, maximum colour is likely to be after that, possibly as late as early November. Depends on whether we get enough autumn sunshine to mature the leaves, and whether we get enough autumn storms to strip them before they reach their best. Seasons here often melt into each other in a bit of blur without much showiness, though we were lucky a couple of years ago. In the mildest winters the trees aren't bare until mid-December and are budding again by mid-January.
"I notice when Lynnette addressed the self same point
ya decided to stop bitchin' about it."
Actually, Lynnette addressed the real point. So, we had further conversation on the subject.
You did not address the real point. I have no reason to want to argue your semantic argument, i.e. ‘brainwashed ≠ crazy’. Your dedication to the subject does not make it interesting to me.
Correction, you did briefly address the point (i.e. the analogy with the East Germans), but only after making the North Koreans out to be exceptional (‘The brainwashing is incredible.’), suggesting at the start that the East German analogy is inapplicable.
Now you want to argue about whether you were right the first time or the second time.
As usual, you manage to have no firm position on the subject, but manage to argue your lack of position bitterly anyway.
I'm not interested in getting involved in that argument today.
Trump points and says "frog"; the dedicated Trumpkins jump in whatever direction he points. NYT, not WaPo According to the article the dedicated Trumpkins aren't polarized at all, they're instead intensely partisan.
"I'm not interested in getting involved in that argument today"
Little tip for y'all -- ya don't wanna argue, the best policy is to say nothing. Ain't nobody forcin' ya to respond. People who know yore M.O. might suspect nitpickin' arguin' is exactly what y'all wanna do. Me, I reckon ya just can't help y'all's self.
"ya don't wanna argue, the best policy is to say nothing."
Yeah, we've noticed that. Anything I say will bring on an argument if you're around. Often, as here, it's not even about what I said.
But, I wanted you to clearly have several opportunities to take an actual position on the point I originally made. I've mentioned it every post, you've continued to decline to take a position on it. You do, however, keep on making personal attacks on me.
I think your tactics are fairly clear now. The argument for its own sake--no real point to it, other than that I posted something; from there you're on the argument for its own sake.
Post Script:
"…you've continued to decline to take a position on it."
Taking both sides, or even multiple sides, as you sometimes do, doesn't actually count as taking a postion.
[Chumpy]: "Anything I say will bring on an argument if you're around. Often, as here, it's not even about what I said."
My comment at Sun Sep 17, 08:08:00 am was an observation -- not a question, and definitely not an argument. Similar in vein to Lynnette's at Sun Sep 17, 11:13:00 am, except she did ask a question. Your response to me at Sun Sep 17, 09:10:00 am was the sort of nitpicky shite that you are famous for. Jesuitical, unnecessary, and wrong. You don't want arguments? -- stick to substantive matters and try making sense.
You're arguing about arguing.
Well, do carry on then. We'll all just watch for awhile.
Side note to Marcus and Lynnette:
He never was able to pick one. (Sun Sep 17, 09:10:00 am ↑↑) It's just not in him to do that.
That's a pretty short summer!
I know! It seems I blinked and summer was gone. *sigh* I'm not really looking forward to winter.
I noticed the leaves starting to turn last week for the first time.
Yes, where I am they are just starting to turn as well. The ones that have fallen are mostly my neighbor's leaves, although some of my black walnut trees are shedding as well. Usually it is the trees that are distressed that fall early. That would be my neighbors. The black walnuts usually fall early as a matter of course. These leaves are a dusty yellow.
It is really the maples that put on a show, with bright orange, gold or reddish leaves. They will come shortly.
Here is a guide to dates for peak color here in MN. I live in the yellowish area.
And here are some lovely pictures a photographer took. They really are a good representation of color here in the state. Color watching is a favorite day trip for some people here.
Yeah. They're in camp 14.
The special I watched the other night did make mention of one of the detention centers in passing. They were not allowed to go there, obviously.
I watched the first part of the Vietnam War series by Ken Burns tonight. It was very good. I will not say too much as I don't want to spoil it for Lee, but I did think what he did with the film work in the beginning was strangely evocative.
It was also a good refresher on events leading up to the US involvement.
"If the choice is poor…we still have to have faith that it will be
corrected."
All very idealistic (perhaps one might even say naïve, although I'll forgo the opportunity to go there). It may very well be that the South Koreans, with their asses on the line, might not be all that interested in idealism for its own sake. It's one thing for you to want to risk their asses for your principles; it's quite another thing for them do it to themselves.
"It was also a good refresher on events leading up to the US involvement."
I was aware that Ho Chi Minh had tried to make nice with America during his rebellion against the French. I wasn't aware of how persistent he'd been on that front. He apparently couldn't quite get his head around the paranoia in the American government towards all things ‘communist’.
He apparently couldn't quite get his head around the paranoia in the American government towards all things ‘communist’.
His focus was in liberating his country from the colonists. He didn't consider other country's internal politics.
He also didn't see that he was just exchanging one master for another.
"…he was just exchanging one master for another."
Maybe not so much. (There's 16½ hours yet to go.)
"Well, do carry on then. We'll all just watch for awhile."
"Side note to Marcus and Lynnette..."
Pick one.
[Lynnette]: "It is really the maples that put on a show, with bright orange, gold or reddish leaves."
I agree. They really put the finishing touch to fall colours in the US. The European maple (which we call sycamore) just doesn't have the same pizzazz. We get plenty of soft yellow and gold but apart from the ornamental Japanese acers in the odd garden we see never the huge swathes of vibrant yellows and reds that I've seen stateside.
We have a few compensations. Right now, hills are purple with heather and we have a late flowering native variety of gorse which produces a beautifully contrasting deep yellow. Next month we will have holly berries and almost luminously bright red rowan berries. It's not all about the leaves you know! ;-)
New rule announced by the Red Queen, no talking in the grandstands:
"Pick one."
Petes @ Tue Sep 19, 12:59:00 am
Quaere then: ‘Does the Red Queen get to impose new rules’?
Hmmm...I fully expected Marcus to be here saying "I told you so".
It seems that the people who have been arrested in connection with the London bombing on the tube were refugees, one from Iraq, the eighteen year old, and one from Syria, in his 20's. They had actually stayed at the same house after they first arrived in London, with a well known couple who were known fro helping refugees.
*sigh*
"fro" should be "for"
"I fully expected…"
There's still time.
(There's 16½ hours yet to go.)
Yes. But I am finding that the time goes by quickly. The splitting it up helps.
Maybe not so much.
Ahhh...a cliffhanger.
Anyway, I am seeing similarities to our involvement in Afghanistan, unfortunately. Oh, not so much communist sympathizers but more in the difficulty of finding good people to work with. They haven't even gotten to the real issue of the large amounts of dead and injured that were a result of the war. I think they will tonight.
Lee, are you watching this in real time?
It may very well be that the South Koreans, with their asses on the line, might not be all that interested in idealism for its own sake.
Maybe not. But I wonder how many, on both sides, really would like reunification? If they want that badly enough they would have to find a way to work together. I suppose it would be up to the "winning" side to choose that way, such as the Vietnamese or the Germans did.
Right now, hills are purple with heather and we have a late flowering native variety of gorse which produces a beautifully contrasting deep yellow. Next month we will have holly berries and almost luminously bright red rowan berries. It's not all about the leaves you know! ;-)
That sounds lovely. When I have traveled in the past I have always preferred to view the outdoors and all of its splendor, as opposed to a more urban environment. It is hard to beat what nature creates. :)
"…are you watching this in real time?"
I caught last night's episode in real time.
Appears Trump is using his U.N. appearance to threaten to ‘totally destroy’ North Korea. I'm thinking most of his intended audience is gonna discount his threats. That's too bad, especially if he's actually serious about it.
How do I dislike Donald Trump? Let me count the ways.
I feel like I've stumbled across a bad remake of Adolf Hitler. And I'm not usually one to lean toward the dramatic in my assessments.
On the bright side, Americans in the future, post-Trump, will be able to blame the Trump Presidency on Vladimir Putin. (He's actually more the product of Rush Limbaugh, but most foreigners won't know that--not to discount Putin's contribution.)
Re: The Vietnam War
Ken Burns' treatment of Lyndon Johnson and the Johnson administration was none too deferential.
I'm guessing that when he and Lynn get to Nixon and Kissinger there's gonna be lots of dirt on display.
Trump is on Twitter this morning blaming the Clintons, Bill and Hillary both, for the North Koreans getting nukes. TrumpTweets Later he (or somebody on his behalf) adds Obama to the list of people to blame. TrumpReTweets
I'm reading this as Trump getting the rest of the world ready for that big moment when he finally gives up on the idea that more threat and bluster is gonna get the North Koreans to disarm. Rather than deal with that he'll just blame it on somebody else and move on to something else.
I don't think he's got the balls to start a war on the Korean peninsula. I don't think Kim is afraid of that either, nor are the Chinese. So, eventually he's gonna havta give it up and move on.
Ken Burns' treatment of Lyndon Johnson and the Johnson administration was none too deferential.
No, I noticed that. But he made some bad choices. Although some of those were based on poor intelligence, such as the non-existent attack from the North which precipitated some of our actions.
Yet Johnson apparently was instrumental in ushering in some valuable domestic policies.
Looking back it appears that we have learned nothing from the Vietnam War. But I suppose we are not the only ones who suffer from amnesia in that regard.
I don't think he's got the balls to start a war on the Korean peninsula. I don't think Kim is afraid of that either, nor are the Chinese. So, eventually he's gonna havta give it up and move on.
Agreed. And in listening to his remarks regarding North Korea, while he was extremely bellicose in tone, the substance should have been a given. That is, if we or our allies are attacked we will respond. It's just his way of putting things really doesn't help much, IMHO.
"…the substance should have been a given."
It has long been the position of our right-wingers that bellicose language was going to be the silver bullet for solving all our foreign policy problems. (They don't actually want to get involved in foreign wars, most especially they don't want to pay for any wars; they want to talk tough and then have our ‘enemies’ back down, is what they want to happen.)
That's been a guiding principle of right-winger Republican foreign policy for years. They'll do much the same sort things that Obama was doing, only they'll do it LOUDER, and that will make our enemies tremble in fear--that's been their theory.
Unfortunately for them Trump is unschooled enough in foreign policy to actually believe this bullshit theory might work. It's gonna give ‘em a fair degree of heartburn when it's finally proven otherwise. More experienced right-wingers have known enough to not discredit the theory by actually trying to make it work in the real world. But, Trump doesn't know what he doesn't know, to paraphrase an old neo-con.
"They'll do much the same sort things that Obama was doing, only they'll do it LOUDER"
Uh, no. The Trump admin may turn out to be as spineless as Obama, but it hasn't happened yet. Obama did actually back down, with his so-called "red line" in Syria. I somehow doubt that the US would back down in the face of aggression from North Korea (I mean more aggression than just lobbing a few fireworks over the heads of the Japanese). That would make a bad situation very much worse. I don't think Trump would even get to make that decision, except in name only.
Although none of this excuses Trump for acting like a total dickhead in the UN. "Unpresidential" doesn't begin to describe him.
The BBC just had a professor of geosciences from Oxford on, talking about hurricane Maria. He's the umpteenth expert that've had who said we can't connect hurricane occurrences to global warming. This one went as far as saying we'll probably never be able to. I guess he understands his chaos theory, unlike Chumpy (who's still putting up a wall of bluster to cover up the fact that he still hasn't come up with a scintilla of supporting evidence for his silly assertion).
"Obama did actually back down, with his so-called ‘red line’
in Syria."
Actually, no. He said he'd ‘rethink’ our position on Assad if they took to large scale use of chemical weapons, or large scale mobilizations of same. (Or, words to that basic effect; I could go look it up if I were all that interested in the exacts, but I'm not; I'm right and that's good ‘nuff.) When the Syrian government forces began small scale use of chemical weapons he requested authorization from Congress to take military action against Syria, as contemplated by the War Powers Act, and Congress refused to authorize it. He did the part he said he'd do. And he didn't even wait for large scale usage by the Syrian government forces.
And that's only part of the story.
Obama's actual mistake was in making an off the cuff remark in response to a reporter's question, using the ‘red line’ terminology. It allowed people like you to pretend he'd promised military retaliation when he had not done so. That was definitely a mistake. Obama needed to always be aware that folks like you would intentionally misrepresent what he actually said in order to float their own faerie tales. He let the one get by him, went off script and used a term he should have scrupulously avoided on account of folks like you, living and breathing distortions.
We are lucky he did not compound that error by allowing himself get stampeded into military action that would have been unwise.
"…he still hasn't come up with a scintilla of supporting evidence…"
I have your admission, I don't need anything else. Hell, I don't even need that. I'm right, and that's enough.
"Obama needed to always be aware that folks like you would intentionally misrepresent what he actually said in order to float their own faerie tales. He let the one get by him, went off script and used a term he should have scrupulously avoided on account of folks like you, living and breathing distortions."
LOL. Just thinking of the multiple hissy fits y'all have had when the same sentences are trotted out about Trump.
"I'm right, and that's enough."
That's enough FOR YOU. Back in the real world I got two dozen experts say yore wrong, versus yore zero. And just remind "yore audience" -- how many professorships in geosciences do y'all hold? LOL.
…when the same sentences are trotted out about Trump."
Trump doesn't have to be careful of what he says; the man is an apparently compulsive and quite probably pathological liar, and everybody knows it, including even his dedicated Trumpkins.
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"…I got two dozen experts say yore wrong…"
No, you do not. You have precisely none.
I'm thinking that Trump is going to be more likely to abandon the Iranian Nuclear Agreement (JCPA in acronym) on account of he's having trouble getting ObamaCare repealed, he's not gonna get the North Koreans to disarm, and he's unlikely to get a large tax cut passed either.
He'll be looking for something he can call a ‘win’ and that's the low-hanging fruit.
He's liable to pull out of that just to be able to tell his base he's actually done something serious and irreversible.
Lynette: "The special I watched the other night did make mention of one of the detention centers in passing. They were not allowed to go there, obviously."
You can just Google "camp 12" or "camp 14" and chances are some of the first links are to articles about NK detention camps. They have some of those in remote areas of the country, much like the Soviet Gulags.
Over-work, under-feeding, torture to change the mind, torture for fun, punishing family and relatives for something one person said or thought - just your ol' basic Communism.
... he's having trouble getting ObamaCare repealed...
They haven't given up yet. They are floating another horrible proposal on which they supposedly are again going to vote on.
Trump doesn't have to be careful of what he says; the man is an apparently compulsive and quite probably pathological liar, and everybody knows it, including even his dedicated Trumpkins.
Probably the only thing saving us when he goes off on his rants, in various forums, including the UN. People at least understand that there are still rational people in the US, just not in the Oval Office.
Lynnette: "Hmmm...I fully expected Marcus to be here saying "I told you so".
It seems that the people who have been arrested in connection with the London bombing on the tube were refugees, one from Iraq, the eighteen year old, and one from Syria, in his 20's."
I think you've all got it by now. Or you never will. I've told you "told you so" so many times that if you didn't get it by now you won't get it at all.
Not much more to add. And from your comment you KNEW already what my position would be. Therefore there's no need for me to comment on isolated mass-migration consequences, as we all can identify them.
Pete and/or Lynnette:
Could we have a thread in the near future where we discuss the viability of electric cars/trucks and share thoughts?
With this whole Tesla hype and seeing as Tesla has a stock value greater than GM and Ford combined I think we might discuss electric cars.
Or would that be "off topic" here?
Marcus,
You know I have always believed in the free flow of ideas and discussion. If there is a topic of interest that you wish to discuss then please be my guest.
I have been considering various ideas for a new post, but have not decided on anything yet. I have been watching that documentary of the Vietnam War by Ken Burns.
You mentioned Tesla and the technology for self driving cars. I know that has been getting a lot of play recently. There are some bugs to be worked out though, I am thinking.
I actually do like the idea, though, especially for those who for some reason or another can't drive. To be able to hop in your own car and let it take you wherever you need to go gives people a measure of freedom and control that they may have lost.
"You mentioned Tesla and the technology for self driving cars."
I think he was into the electric power angle more than the self-driving technology.
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On the Vietnam series: We're rapidly approaching 1968 with that. In '68 candidate Richard Nixon sabotaged the Paris Peace Talks. He went behind President Johnson's back and told the South Vietnamese to not make any deals, and he'd get them a better deal after he was President. So, they dug in their heels and the Peace Talks were non-productive. (He later pretty much sold out the South Vietnamese.)
After being elected President he and Kissinger finally agreed to a deal they knew was going to result in the North overrunning the South, and they forced the deal on the South Vietnamese anywya. But, Nixon had extracted a promise, under-the-table, for the North Vietnamese to wait ‘a decent interval’ before taking over in Saigon. The North Vietnamese kept to their end of the deal until Nixon was forced from office by the Watergate affair, but they figured the deal was with Nixon personally, being as it was an under-the-table deal, not with the United States, so when Nixon was driven from office they decided the ‘decent interval’ had expired and they were free to take the South, which they promptly did.
Should be interesting to see how Burns and Novick handle those matters.
Marcus, sure - EVs are an interesting topic.
Lynnette, the Guardian came up with a list of places to see Autumn colours. It confirmed my impression that Europe is generally lacking the vibrant reds of fall in North America (and even my point about imported Japanese acers ;-) Some nice pictures though I'm not sure they caught any of the places at their absolute best. One of the commenters thinks it's condescending to suggest Krakow is "doing its best impression of New England". I suspect they may not have been to New England ;-)
Lee: "I think he was into the electric power angle more than the self-driving technology."
Correct. Self-driving tech I assume is a given in the near future, for some parts of our transports (let's say the long-haul trailers in Australia bringing ore from their mines to their ports, just a example - why do they need a human driver if the tech exists to replace that driver). That's a given, and it's being tested right now and will of course be implemented.
We COULD debate that, but I think we're all on the same side already: it is happening.
But Self-driving tech is completely independent of what power source propells the vehicle in question. That was my question.
Will vehicles with electric motors take off and be the new norm in trasports?
I drove a Tesla just the other day and from a drivers POW it's a great car. And it should be cheaper to maintain too.
The think I'm questioning (without having an answer, which is why I asked for a discussion) is mainly the battery. What does it contain? Do we have the raw materials to boost battery production on a global scale? Can we re-cycle those batteries? Etc.
I think it's a VERY importat question since a shift from fossil fuels to electricity in transports would have VAST implications.
I drove a Tesla just the other day and from a drivers POW it's a great car.
The IT guy who does work for my company owns a Tesla. It is a nice car. Also, verrry quiet. :)
I think he was into the electric power angle more than the self-driving technology.
Ahhh, and I was thinking about the AI angle.
Yes the power source is critical, especially for long distance travel.
And it handles soooo well on the road. It's a heavy motherfucker but the weight is in the batteries and they and located at the bottom plate of the car. So it has a lower weight-point than regular cars and you can take curves at a much faster speed - if you want to.
I was seriously impressed (and I got into it being a sceptic), so IF electric cars take off I am sure they will take over.
Which is why I want a debate on whether it's feasible to churn out all the needed batteries for a global electric car fleet.
I suspect they may not have been to New England ;-)
lol! Those pictures were beautiful, though. I still think you can't beat nature for inspiring beauty or artistry. They can keep their skyscrapers, I'll take a mountain any day.
Which is why I want a debate on whether it's feasible to churn out all the needed batteries for a global electric car fleet.
That is a good point. That would depend upon the material needed, perhaps. Some of the components in electronics, for instance, are made from minerals only found in certain places, aren't they? So, if there is something that is critical but only found in, say, Afghanistan, do we just trade one problem, an oil trading block, for another? So, it is not just enough to create a battery that works, but to create one from material that is readily available to all.
"The think I'm questioning…is mainly the battery. What does it
contain? Do we have the raw materials to boost battery production on
a global scale? Can we re-cycle those batteries? Etc.
Teslas currently use lithium ion batteries (the kind that catch fire). Lithium is a fairly common element in the universe, but not so common on earth (ranks 25th), so raw materials might be a problem. The batteries are rechargeable and recyclable.
I do expect they'll change battery types if electrics ever become common.
Post Script:
As best I recall, there are unexploited deposits of lithium in Afghanistan.
Brief side trip from lithium ion batteries and such subjects.
TrumpTweets: He's pushing back again against the Russian election meddling idea. Opened with that this morning. That one makes him nervous somehow, or so it seems.
[Lynnette]: "They can keep their skyscrapers, I'll take a mountain any day."
Ditto, definitely. But I'd like a telescope on top of my mountain ;-)
P.S. Lectures on my new astrophysics MSc start on Monday. Can't wait. The students have been getting to know each other ... I recognise some of them who did the same astronomy degree as me but we also have engineers from both the European Very Large Telescope in Chile and the Hubble Space Telescope. Not having any other day job (once I get some charity gigs off my plate), I've decided to do it full time, which means finishing in half the time of most of the others.
Looks like the eighteen year old Iraqi refugee is the would-be bomber on the London tube. He's been charged with attempted mass murder. Some details emerging on the failed bomb. The explosive was TATP which would imply a home made IED, and it was packed with nails and shrapnel. Sounds like there are several dozen people who owe their lives to the shoddiness of its manufacture. The fact that the kid was an Iraqi orphan taken in by British foster parents is not going to do much for ethnic tensions in the UK.
Re: EVs, I think they are better in almost every way than ICEs... fewer moving parts, cheaper maintenance, much longer motor life, better acceleration, more torque at low speeds. What's not to love?
Well, first of all, I think range is still an issue albeit one that seems to be steadily improving. And we're constantly told that the overwhelming majority of drivers don't need much range for their daily commute. That's all very well until you need more. It's a pity Project Better Place went bust; it was probably before its time. That was a venture by an Israeli entrepreneur to set up battery hot-swapping stations instead of charging points. It makes eminent sense. Meantime I think I'll be sticking with my 1,000-kilometre-to-the-tank diesel.
Next problem is the availability of materials. Current global lithium production is sufficient only for a million or so Nissan Leaf / GM Volt type cars, and far less high end Teslas. Production would certainly increase if demand were higher. Current reserves are good for maybe one to two hundred million vehicles. That's not nearly enough to replace the world's car fleet. But mineral reserves have a habit of expanding along with demand.
On the other hand, what about competition from other uses like Musk's PowerWall? Stationary power could be as big an application as automotive power, as utilities try to balance intermittent renewable sources. Some people see a match made in heaven between the two, using new smart grids. I don't know enough about the subject to know.
But it brings me to what I think is the most important point. Where is all the electricity going to come from? I've only recently seen this question starting to be asked. In developed countries the fossil fuels burned in just light vehicles with ICEs are at least equal in energy content to all the electricity generated. (Here in Ireland it's a factor of two greater than electricity generation).
So to replace ICEs with EVs you need to double or triple electricity output, and that's just to replace light vehicles. Some people will point out that EVs are more energy efficient than ICEs but that's not true if your electricity is generated from fossil fuels: the well-to-wheels efficiency is about the same.
I don't know about you, but we're just about keeping up with a 20% per decade increase in output just to keep up with increasing electricity demand without EVs. The UK National Grid recently warned about the implications for energy policy if there was a massive adoption of EVs. They're unlikely to be able to cope. Most European countries have commitments to reduce carbon emissions, and nuclear plants like the new Hinkley Point C in the UK take about 20 years to come online.
Are renewables the great hope that people think? Concentrated Solar Power and Solar PV certainly look to be coming into their own. That's great for places like Arizona and Morocco. But Ireland, the UK, and I suspect Sweden, simply don't get enough sunlight to power a converted vehicle fleet year round.
So, I dunno. There is a lot of information and misinformation floating around about this stuff. As well as technology, it depends on policy. In Europe, petrol taxes make a significant contribution to government revenue, which would have to be replaced. In fact, the money issues with EVs go much further and include: direct subsidies, sales tax subsidies, road tax subsidies, foregone fuel taxes, free charging, building and maintaining charging infrastructure, building generation infrastructure, and so on. When governments realise they can't foot the bill for all that, costs of buying and running EVs will rise to absorb any likely price falls due to mass production.
It's a fascinating area though.
‘Hot swapping’ is never going to work for home useage. Batteries weigh too much and are too integral to the automobile they serve (and cost too much to replace) for "hot swapping" to become an accepted practice for home use vehicles. (Folks would drive in to swap a failing battery and then never be seen there again until the round trip distance on that battery began to diminish also; good batteries they'd charge at home and keep using; failing batteries would get swapped.)
The battery is still the problem though. I think lithium ion batteries will have to give way to something else before there's widespread use of electric vehicles. A lot of people are working on the next generation of battery technology. Lithium ion batteries do have that fire problem, they make a hell of a hot little fire just in a smart phone. Plus lithium is too hard to get, batteries will become too expensive when people start wanting lots of lithium.
I'd currently bet on the salt water battery a/k/a sodium ion battery to be the coming thing in battery technology for vehicles. They still need work, but they solve both of the problems I mentioned above. Seem promising to me.
Post Script:
I do anticipate there might be a developing market for rental of mobile auxiliary battery packs--perhaps a small trailer stuffed with batteries and ready to turn that occasionally desired run to that city 500 miles away into a reality for your usually back-and-forth vehicle. Somebody'd have to figure out how to handle the jackknife and backup problems for idiots, but I think a double hitch (both sides hitched between auto and trailer and steering linkages and a limited slip differential axle on the trailer) could probably solve most of that problem.
I can tell you right now that I wouldn't be swapping batteries in my car. I can see driving into a station and doing so, though. As for swapping out bad batteries for good ones, I should think whoever is running a swapping station would be able to tell bad from good and charge accordingly.
Hmmm..the Vietnam War documentary is not on tonight, instead we have President Trump on CNN at another campaign rally. (I turned that off right away.)
McCain is going to vote "no" on that new repeal and replace bill they are floating. They have apparently added a nice bribe for Alaska's Murkowski though. I hope she is better than that.
Lectures on my new astrophysics MSc start on Monday. Can't wait.
You are lucky you can pursue areas of study that you enjoy, Petes. :)
I hope you still have time to drop in here once in a while too. After all you can't study all the time. The brain starts to freeze. lol!
They'd still have to get Susan Collins. She's harder to bribe.
It's a fascinating area though.
It is.
I will see if I can dig up something that may be of interest to everyone. :)
"I can tell you right now that I wouldn't be swapping batteries in my car. I can see driving into a station and doing so, though."
I probably omitted some of important details ;-)
You wouldn't personally be doing any swapping. The idea was that Project Better Place was liaising with the manufacturers to standardise the swapping mechanism. The actual swapping would be done by a robot as you drove over a ramp or trench, the same way a mechanic accesses the underside of your car in a repair shop. A minute later you are driving away with a replacement battery.
You would never buy or own car batteries -- you would lease them for a monthly price which covered all the swapping and charging. This would have the advantage of dramatically reducing the up front cost of an EV as the battery cost is amortised over the vehicle lifetime, and you would never face the dreaded large bill at end of battery life.
"…you would lease them for a monthly price which covered all the
swapping and charging."
I can immediately see problems for that business model. A guy who drives 100 miles a month isn't gonna be willing to pay the same monthly price as a guy who drives 1,500 miles a month. Alternatively, trying to sell them on the idea that they could only drive however many miles they'd agreed upon in advance in their lease is gonna be a hard sell too.
Not much of a surprise he went bust. I don't think there'll ever be a time that business model.
Another idea, they might come around to selling both short-run and long-range versions of vehicles, kinda like they sell some vehicles today in a both basic and a high-performance editions. Basic difference would be the capacity of the battery packs.
Side note for Lynnette, back to politics:
Just saw a guy on PBS who was saying the Republicans lost this last round of ‘repeal and replace’ to Jimmy Kimmel. He was on it for three nights straight, and they had nobody willing to take him on in front of the cameras.
He was on it for three nights straight, and they had nobody willing to take him on in front of the cameras.
He had a nuclear weapon. A sick baby.
Not much of a surprise he went bust.
With all new technology there will be trial and error.
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