We've heard so much about the wall that
President Trump keeps touting as the solution to all of our security
woes. The big, beautiful wall that he will build to keep us safe. I
wonder, has he ever visited the southern border of the United
States? Does he know of the terrain and the people who live there?
Does he even care about whether or not this will work?
I found a nice BBC video documentary of
the border that samples various areas of the region, giving us an
idea of the enormity of the task, as well as possible insight as to
whether or not a wall would help, or hurt.
Take a break, put your feet up, and
visit the US-Mexico border.
161 comments:
[Lynnette]: "With the scrapping of the deal with Iran oil prices are going up, hurting American drivers, but benefiting oil produces like Russia. "
I'd say that's the least of your worries. The US is getting close to oil self-sufficiency. Higher prices are no longer (much of) a net drain -- it will generate more profits and employment elsewhere in the economy.
The Iran fiasco is more unnerving for other reasons. Who the hell's gonna trust the US to be a straight player in international negotiations any more? And us Euroweenies are no longer on board with the US position. In the past, the US could enforce sanctions by coercing foreign banks who didn't play ball. Is it gonna deny operating licenses to European banks now? Not to mention that Trump sounded like a petulant child when he was making the announcement.
"In the past, the US could enforce sanctions by
coercing foreign banks who didn't play ball. Is it gonna
deny operating licenses to European banks now?"
That's the stated plan. All sanctions to be reimposed, including secondary enforcement against European entities. Theoretically he will allow a ‛winding down’ period of up to maybe 180 days for Europeans to pull out of currently inked contracts. New contracts are to be sanctioned immediately.
Higher oil prices will indeed be a problem for most Americans, whether or not you inexplicably happen to consider that additional profits for the multi-national oil corporations should somehow be counted as an offset to that financial hit.
Turns out Trump lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen was taking fairly large sums of money from questionable Russian sources. Seems that an uncommonly high percentage of Trump's campaign had financial support from questionable Russian sources.
TrumpTweets: Three Kims on the way home with Pompeo says Trump. That leaves him up a net of one, as two of them were grabbed after he started ragging on the Kim that stayed.
Not to mention that Trump sounded like a petulant child when he was making the announcement.
Very frequently that is his persona.
Higher prices are no longer (much of) a net drain -- it will generate more profits and employment elsewhere in the economy.
Weeelll, that Chevron stock I bought may do quite well, but I will be paying more for gas for my car, and food, or anything else for that matter, that needs to be shipped.
Who the hell's gonna trust the US to be a straight player in international negotiations any more?
This is a valid point. No matter how much we may say that Trump is an aberration, he does represent a certain portion of the US population who don't seem to care about foreign relations.
And then there is that other matter of the Middle East and its stability, or lack thereof. The Syrian civil war was bad enough, but drag in other players like Israel or Saudi Arabia against Iran and Russia and you might very well have the beginnings of WWIII.
Yet Trump will MAGA!
It's like fingernails on a chalkboard every time I hear that man speak. Worst president ever.
Seems that an uncommonly high percentage of Trump's campaign had financial support from questionable Russian sources.
Yes, indeed.
Those treason charges are looking better and better.
Three Kims on the way home with Pompeo says Trump.
A bone thrown by North Korea to make Trump and this possible deal look good.
So far I'm still thinking it's espionage related (failure to register as a foreign agent).
"Weeelll, that Chevron stock I bought may do quite well, but I will be paying more for gas for my car..."
Swings and roundabouts, as they say ;-)
In the bigger picture, though, the US has gone from importing 13 mbpd at a price of $90/bbl in Summer 2006, to 2.7 mbpd @$70 in Spring 2018. That's over a billion dollars a day of trade deficit saved, down over 80% from $1.2 bn/day to under $0.2 bn/day. That's not chump change, even to the US, and even if the resident troll considers it inconsequential :)
Uh oh, more jobs being replaced by robots and exported across your southern border. I hope Trump doesn't hear of this! ;-)
... I'm talking about the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) operated at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico. It's been continuously mapping the sky since 2000. Since its fourth iteration started a couple of years back the survey has been split between two 2.5m telescopes, at APO and at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Now, for the fifth survey starting in 2020 they are changing the way the spectroscopic part of the survey works. Instead of drilling hundreds of holes in aluminium discs (a.k.a aluminum disks :) and plugging them with optic fibres by hand, the fibres will now be positioned on the fly by hundreds of little robots on the scope itself. No more discs, no more drilling, no more plate pluggers.
Here's some cool vids: plate plugging time lapse, short SDSS overview (plate swapping dolly at 1:00 and plates at 2:15-3:30), plate manufacture, a recent U.Va graduate working on the spectroscope setup at Las Companas. Plus an article on the instrument created at U.Va for Las Companas.
"That's over a billion dollars a day of trade deficit saved…"
Okay, who wants to point out the flaw in his logic here? Who wants to explain how his example (and his math) is totally irrelevant to his prior argument for the proposition that: "Higher prices are no longer (much of) a net drain --"
LOL. "♩♩♪♫♬ I was trolling on the moon one day, in the merry merry month of May... ♬♫♪♩♩"
Trolling. Well that explains it. And here I thought you might have been serious.
Rockets sent into the Golan Heights. Speculation is that they may have been Quds Force revenge.
I hope Trump doesn't hear of this! ;-)
Perhaps what he should here of is this. But I suspect it wouldn't sink in.
Doyle McManus in the L.A. Times. Note to Trump: They ain't gonna give you a Nobel Prize; ain't gonna happen.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Israel is claiming that the rockets were from the Iranians. CBSNews
Israel has launched widespread follow-up strikes against Iranian positions in Syria overnight. NBCNews
Well, it does appear that Iran and Israel are on a collision course. Although I suppose that has been true for some time now. Also interesting is that KSA will probably be on Israel's side, if only through a back door.
We have the makings for a region wide mess.
While I can't necessarily blame Trump for this, I don't think he has been of help.
"While I can't necessarily blame Trump for this…"
I can think of a couple of arguments for pinning this directly to Trump.
A WH aide jokes about John McCain dying when he comes out in opposition to a pick for CIA director, the Orange one talks about TV ratings during a photo op of American prisoners being released from North Korea and also blows up at his Homeland Security director saying she is not doing enough to secure the borders.
If Trump and his circle are the embodiment of current American culture then I think I am starting to get very disgusted with my country.
I can think of a couple of arguments for pinning this directly to Trump.
Well, I was trying to not blame Trump for everything, but feel free to state your arguments. At the moment I can't express how sick I am of the man and how he is handling policy. A recent poll seems to suggest that the country is blaming both parties equally for the things that are going wrong, which doesn't bode well for the upcoming mid-term election. I realize that both parties have done poorly, but to suggest that the Republicans and Trump may stay in complete control is a horrible thought.
On a different topic, it seems that the current eruption of Kilauea in Hawaii may not dissipate mildly. They are suggesting that a more extreme eruption could occur. Not good news for those living in its shadow.
"… but feel free to state your arguments."
Okay short version is:
1. Trump contradicts himself, manages to be on almost every side of every issue at some point.
2. Folks tend to hear what they please.
3. Netanyahu hears that he's got a Likud paesan in the White House.
4. Suleimani hears Trump talking about getting out of the Middle East ‘very, very soon’.
5. Both of them want the fight.
3. Netanyahu hears that he's got a Likud paesan in the White House.
4. Suleimani hears Trump talking about getting out of the Middle East ‘very, very soon’.
The infamous "green light" scenario.
Trump is now expounding on how he is going to lower drug costs. Hmmm....count skeptical.
"The infamous'green light' scenario."
I would say rather that Trump provides insufficient disincentives to two people with regional power who both want the fight.
[Lynnette]: "If Trump and his circle are the embodiment of current American culture then I think I am starting to get very disgusted with my country."
That White House comment about McCain was pretty disgusting alright. Don't worry, there are other disgusting things going on in your culture. Here's another one that claims "this is America". For me it crosses a line that should not be crossed, though there's no doubt it's powerful and artistic (and has been getting 12 million views per day since it was released a week ago). Some people advise to focus on the background.
"On a different topic, it seems that the current eruption of Kilauea in Hawaii may not dissipate mildly. They are suggesting that a more extreme eruption could occur. Not good news for those living in its shadow."
Could be a very long shadow in the worst case. Flank collapses and long-runout undersea landlides can do a lot of damage to an entire ocean rim. Kilauea could do for the Pacific what Etna has done for the Mediterranean and Cumbre Vieja might do for the Atlantic.
For me it crosses a line that should not be crossed, though there's no doubt it's powerful and artistic (and has been getting 12 million views per day since it was released a week ago).
Gun violence itself crosses a line that shouldn't be crossed. It's a powerful video. One can only hope that it will reach out to those who need to listen.
Back in Prague again. I Love it here. Might even move here in the future. I know most rightwing rads Love and praise Hungary, and Orban is totally Boss, but I like Prague way better than Budapest, even If Budapest is awesome too.
Only problem is the damned language. Czech is completely impossible to understand and their english is often very limited. On the other hand, only whites here so that trumps any language issues. A nice big european family.
Kilauea could do for the Pacific what Etna has done for the Mediterranean and Cumbre Vieja might do for the Atlantic.
Our lives are so disconnected from the natural world that we tend to forget that we live here only on sufferance.
A nice big european family.
Sometimes those perfect families have skeletons in their closets.
"Back in Prague again. I Love it here."
Presume you don't mean Wenceslas Square and the touristy hangouts, unless you enjoy getting propositioned every five paces. Seedy kip of a place. The Staré Město's tolerable alright. My pal got married in a monastery across the Karlův most, and we had a reception in a boat on the Vltava, which was nice. Have you tried Becherovka? ... bit of an acquired taste, but I invented a desert of bananas sauteed in it with ice-cream. Yums ;-)
Have I tried Becherovka? Really? You should know me well enough after all these years to know full well that I finish every lunch with a Limoncelli and every dinner with a Becherovka. C'mon.
Also the touristy parts of Prague are quite relaxed and I cant even think of one single time I have been "propositioned" here. Maybe you look like a mark? Or something. Anywho it's very far from seedy. Nice and clean and honest, no rippoff joints apart from the currency exchange places.
Possibly a skeleton or two Lynnette. IDK. But at least folks are not blowing eachother up or go shoot or knife people at random. And the beer come in one liter glasses, how bout that!?!?
Another knife attack in Paris last night. One killed and 4 injured.
I suppose if I lived in Sweden, or other places, where such attacks are common I too would long for some peace and order.
It's just that you have to be careful about where you find it. The grass is always greener elsewhere. But once you get there you start to see some of the bare patches.
And the beer come in one liter glasses, how bout that!?!?
lol! Well, there are priorities and there are priorities.
The headline this morning reads that 60 people were killed in Gaza protests. I wonder, does Trump even notice?
If he did notice the Palestinian uproar, it didn't make it onto his morning tweets. There's been no other explicit reference to it that I know of coming from the White House.
Early yesterday the White House was preparing to take a victory lap over what they expected was going to be a fairly low-key Palestinian response; their expectations in that regard weren't met, so they fairly quickly kiboshed the victory lap.
I think this story's gonna get considerably bigger before it goes away:
"The White House and the Environmental Protection
Agency under Scott Pruitt sought earlier this year to
stop the publication of a study on toxic chemicals that
have contaminated water nationwide…. The effort to
block publication came after a Trump administration
aide warned the study would spark a 'potential public
relations nightmare.'"
CBSNews
"The White House and the Environmental Protection
Agency under Scott Pruitt sought earlier this year to
stop the publication of a study on toxic chemicals that
have contaminated water nationwide...
It seems there is little this administration won't stoop to.
They also appear totally clueless, not just about the Palestinians, but about the North Koreans, who have threatened to cancel any talks after the US/South Korean military exercise. Did they not think the North would suddenly be okay with that? Don't get me wrong, I don't believe it should have been canceled, but the WH should have been aware that it might throw a money wrench into the works.
The North's reaction also doesn't bode well for future relations in general. It is a sign that they will use any bullying tactic to get their way.
The US/South Korean military exercises started Friday. The North Koreans waited until today to cancel meetings with South Korea scheduled for tomorrow (and issue the threat against the June meeting with Trump). Seems to me that there's some games afoot here.
Maybe a little game of chicken?
The stupidity of Donald Trump, Jr.
The author is probably sadly right that this will not affect the Trump administration at all. It has been obvious for some time that the Trump group has very close relations with some not so good actors in Russia. But there are many in this country who really don't care as long as their agendas are followed.
This is not a right or left thing, this is a do you support those who put their relationship with a foreign entity before the good of the country thing.
The Senate Intelligence Committee came out today with a finding that the Russians did indeed support the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump (in express contradiction of the House Committee which couldn't seem to believe that the combined assessment of all our major intelligence services might perhaps be correct).
Rex Tillerson - gone but not forgetting
Rex Tillerson may be gone, but he hasn't forgotten.
Speaking to soon-to-be graduates of the Virginia Military Institute on Wednesday, Tillerson dropped this truth bomb:
"If our leaders seek to conceal the truth, or we as people become accepting of alternative realities that are no longer grounded in facts, then we as American citizens are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom."
Woof.
Double woof.
I have, on occasion, traced more than one of America's current ills back to the Presidency of that cherished right-winger legend, the Blessed Saint Ronald of the Ray Guns. Krugman concurs, with charts.
Uh-oh!
"A law enforcement official took the risky step of leaking
Michael Cohen's confidential banking records over fears
that additional information about the embattled attorney
to President Trump was being withheld, according to
an explosive report.
"The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity over
fears of serious legal repercussions, told the New
Yorker on Wednesday that two so-called 'suspicious
activity reports' issued about Cohen's financial dealings
are missing from a top-secret Treasury Department
database called the Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network, or FINCEN.
"'I have never seen something pulled off the system...
It's a stockpile of information,' the whistleblower told
the magazine. 'When something's not there that should
be, I immediately became concerned. That's why I
came forward.'"
NewYorkDailyNews
A large eruption on Kilauea this morning.
It is not clear if this was a phreatic eruption, which US Geological Survey officials have been saying is capable of sending ash plumes as far as 12 miles away from the summit.
These are steam-driven explosions that occur when water beneath the ground or on the surface is heated by magma, lava, hot rocks or new volcanic deposits, the USGS says. The intense heat may cause that water to boil and result in eruptions.
The lava lake in the crater has been dropping since May 2, which increases the chances for a phreatic explosion, but it will be difficult to warn residents who may be in the path of such an eruption.
If I were an ancient occupant of Earth I would think that someone is unhappy with human civilization and is sending a warning. But since I'm not I will go with that it was just Kilauea's time to blow.
"'I have never seen something pulled off the system...
It's a stockpile of information,' the whistleblower told
the magazine. 'When something's not there that should
be, I immediately became concerned. That's why I
came forward.'"
Ahhh, perhaps something is afoot, as a famous fictional detective once said.
American Middle Class?
The economy may be chugging along, but many Americans are still struggling to afford a basic middle class life.
Nearly 51 million households don't earn enough to afford a monthly budget that includes housing, food, child care, health care, transportation and a cell phone, according to a study released Thursday by the United Way ALICE Project. That's 43% of households in the United States.
So much for our vaunted economy. It's not good enough to create a multitude of low paying jobs. The jobs need to pay a living wage.
A lot of economists consider federal poverty programs (e.g ‛SNAP’ a/k/a ‛food stamps’ and ‛CHIPS’ a/k/a Childrens' Health Insurance) to be supplementing/subsidizing low wage employers. Contrary to the ‛welfare queens’ narrative first popularized by Ronald Reagan, most poor people would prefer to work but could not take low-wage jobs without the public assistance that keeps their kids fed and doctored.
I've heard that Trump arranges and then lacquers his hair himself.
I've been noticing of late that his swirl has been arranged with less and less care. He appears to be getting overwhelmed by the necessity of doing it every day.
I'm thinkin’ he's eventually gonna havta break down and hire himself a hairdresser to handle that for him in the morning.
So, Macron's tender caresses failed to convince Trump not to abandon the Iran nuke deal. Now the question is what happens when the White House tries to coerce European companies into compliance with sanctions. Macron's finance minister is quoted as asking "Do we want to be a vassal that obeys and jumps to attention?".
It's not just sour French grapes. France's Total has an ongoing $5bn investment in Iran's South Pars gas field (the largest by far in the world). Europe as a whole does $23bn of trade with Iran each year. It seems Europe is shaping up to compel companies to ignore whatever the US tells them. But companies like Total and Italy's ENI which have complicated financing deals involving US banks are probably going to toe the US line.
Ironically, given Trump's other knee jerk policies on trade, Total's majority stake in South Pars will probably be taken over by China's CNPC who already hold a 30% stake.
One wonders how long Giuliani will last. This morning he is questioning whether or not there was a confidential FBI informant within the Trump campaign, even while Trump is tweeting/ranting about just that informant. Perhaps they need to get more coordinated with their story lines.
Although Giuliani is also ramping up the attacks on the Mueller investigation. He is now floating something to the effect that Mueller has caved and is agreeing to limit any interview with Trump. One has to wonder if that isn't just to get a rise out of Mueller at last? I somehow doubt Mueller would do anything he hasn't already planned to do.
...most poor people would prefer to work but could not take low-wage jobs without the public assistance that keeps their kids fed and doctored.
Indeed. There is an inherent dignity in working and paying one's own way. I'm all for creating jobs as opposed to increasing social welfare programs. But low paying jobs aren't going to cut it. So far I really haven't seen Trump doing much to encourage higher paying job creation, despite his touting his ability to do so during the campaign. For instance, a while back I did a post on a wind technician, which would be a higher paying job that will not be outsourced overseas. So one would think that encouraging this type of energy use would increase the higher paying jobs in that field.
But we will always need lower paying jobs to fill needs in the service industry, so for those people it will always be critical to have some kind of help via welfare programs.
I'm thinkin’ he's eventually gonna havta break down and hire himself a hairdresser to handle that for him in the morning.
I'm thinking you may be right. It's an extremely burdensome task with many twists and turns.
France's Total has an ongoing $5bn investment in Iran's South Pars gas field (the largest by far in the world).
I've read that they have already decided to pull out because of the new sanctions imposed by Trump.
Total's majority stake in South Pars will probably be taken over by China's CNPC who already hold a 30% stake.
That was my first thought when I read that about Total. It appears that many of Trump's actions are benefiting our rivals rather than hurting them.
So, I have to wonder, is he stupid, or something else?
Congratulations to Prince Harry & Meghan!
May they live long and happily together.
And thank gawd that's over.
Headline in the New York Times: Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election
And, of course, there are Russians lurking nearby.
It's a little long for a NYT piece, but worth a look.
And thank gawd that's over.
lol! You have such a romantic soul, Lee.
But, seriously, it was a nice break from all of the shootings and bad news we are usually bombarded with.
There was another school shooting the other day, with 10 killed, in Texas. As after Parkland there were the usual platitudes. There are just too many people in office who are adamantly opposed to gun control legislation. It would take a tsunami of political change to make anything concrete happen.
The kids are still out there. I expect they'll be making noise again, after the diversion to the British royal wedding fades from center stage.
There has been speculation that the real reason Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal was regime change. It would appear that Trump is falling quite nicely into line with the thinking of those in your NYT's article who may also have played a role in getting him elected. I would not care for anyone to have that kind of influence over our elected President.
The kids are still out there.
And they have not forgotten. One of the kids interviewed in this latest shooting was asked if she were surprised that this had happened in her school, she replied that she thought it was only a matter of time.
It will take a massive effort on the part of voters to dislodge those who are more concerned with donations from the NRA and its supporters than they are with the safety of the children of this country.
Well, I got some of the garden planted and the crab grass(can't stand that stuff, it's creepy) pre-emergent down, now I just need a little more rain. It seems the majority of the precipitation always slides to the south of me.
"I would not care for anyone to have that kind of influence over
our elected President."
There are those who suspect that Trump's abrupt and surprising decision to ‛save’ a Chinese computer company, ZTE, may have been connected to the Chinese bailing out a Trump branded commercial "tower" in Indonesia a few days before Trump surprised everybody. (Bailed out the Trump Tower to the tune of $500 million in new and favorable financing.)
The House unexpectedly added sanctions on the company back in on an unrelated bill that's working its way through the Congress even now. (No telling if that'll stick.) Politico
Lynnette:
"The economy may be chugging along, but many Americans are still struggling to afford a basic middle class life.
Nearly 51 million households don't earn enough to afford a monthly budget that includes housing, food, child care, health care, transportation and a cell phone, according to a study released Thursday by the United Way ALICE Project. That's 43% of households in the United States."
Same as in Europe. Meanwhile titans of industry tell us that a whole host of jobs will be obsolete in the near future due to robots performing them cheaper and better. Meanwhile political hacks and soft hearted pundits tell us we need infinity migrants to "support our aging populations".
Japan has gone for the robots. Europe so far has gone for millions of bearded all male "children".
Who made the better deal?
Pete should be in a bind on this. He's smart enough to realise that robotization WILL take place, and that it WILL affect the more menial jobs first, the jobs that were traditionally entry-jobs for migrants. The jobs they are claimed to be needed for to "secure our pensions".
So infinity migration AND robotisation, what's your answer to that Pete?
Or is it that they "enrich our culture"? Never mind how costly in monetary terms we apparently need shariah and voodoo witch-doctors to spice things up, eh Pete?
I was under the impression that Europe had gone for the notion of being ‘humanitarians’.
Be that as it may…
It seems that Trump has taken notice of the New York Times article expanding the list of election meddling players to include others (along with lurking Russians). Trump's posted no less than six (6) tweets on the matter already this morning. It certainly got his attention.
And, I've noticed the new, evolving defense for Team Trump to be ‛entrapment’, ‛a set-up’; i.e. the FBI made him collude with the Russians (whilst still denying the colluding part--for now anyway, but we can see the future here I think).
Trump has now made an ‛official’ demand that the Department of Justice investigate the Obama administration for involvement in instigating a politically motivated investigation of his campaign. (His seventh tweet on the subject today.)
That's obviously inappropriate, and just as obviously, neither Trump nor his dedicated Trumpkins give a damn.
However, they're likely to not like it much when the investigation comes back with the conclusion that there was no such involvement (as I expect will be the case).
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) warned on the Senate floor this week that the Trump administration was "being tricked into this apparent deal that someone's cooking up over there."
"They play our system against us,” Rubio said.
I suspect there are a more than a few people who have read our President correctly. He can be manipulated.
"He can be manipulated."
And he can be bought.
Who made the better deal?
I suppose, like beauty, the answer is in the eyes of the beholder. I know there are many jobs, low paying, that are going begging here because they can't find locals who will take them. These are jobs that are really conducive to robotic workers, such as landscaping work.
And he can be bought.
Yes.
These are jobs that are really conducive to robotic workers...
That should read "not" conducive to robotic workers.
"…they can't find locals who will take them."
They can't find locals who'll take those jobs at the starvation wages they want to pay is what you're lookin’ at.
However, they're likely to not like it much when the investigation comes back with the conclusion that there was no such involvement (as I expect will be the case).
Unfortunately there are those out there who may not ever be able to see, or really care, that Trump is not capable of an honest analysis of a situation. He will always try to twist it to his benefit.
But you have pointed that out in the past.
Perhaps it is less Trump than it is those who refuse to see that are the real danger to our republic. Insisting that so called "elites" are at the root of all of our problems and using that as an excuse to vote in someone who promised to overturn everything that has been put in place before is shortsighted reasoning that bodes ill for the future.
There was an article in my paper today about the thoughts that many of our allies are having regarding the future of America as an anchor for the West, as we have been in the past. They are starting to feel that it is not just Trump who has little regard for their opinions and our past alliances. They are losing confidence that waiting out Trump's term will end in a more reasonable subsequent administration.
They can't find locals who'll take those jobs at the starvation wages they want to pay is what you're lookin’ at.
For some, yes, such as the landscaping company or in the agricultural industry. Those are also jobs which are hard work. But there are also higher paying health care positions, such as doctors and nurses in outlying areas of my state, where it is difficult to find people to work because of the location. They have usually found foreign workers who will take those positions through the visa program, which Trump has been trying to cut.
"…such as doctors and nurses in outlying areas of my state…"
They have the strongest guild in the country, the AMA, and they've long limited the supply of medical personnel to keep the price up. Been that way for years.
It's being said that Trump is going to ‛press’ the Department of Justice to reveal ‛to turn over the information that exists about the informant’ that the FBI used during the last presidential election. He wants the information given to the House Intelligence Committee and he wants it given to his own lawyers. Politico
It's not clear that he's willing to go far enough to make that an order, but I'm betting he's ready for that if it comes to that.
There are some who think that Trump may regret ordering an investigation of the supposed informant.
Sunday's Twitter order to commence a new investigation to smear the Obama administration is likely to backfire and extend the Mueller investigation. It may also cause Mueller to look at an interesting new idea -- was the presidential order to commence such a frivolous investigation itself really an attempt to block the progress of the Mueller investigation and obstruct justice?
It might be the one piece of evidence needed by the independent counsel to prove corrupt intent as required by the obstruction of justice statute. The law of unintended consequences is a dangerous thing.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in is due at the White House tomorrow amidst rumor and uncertainties.
I realize that this is gonna be a minority opinion, but I'm gonna roll it out there anyway.
What's gonna happen is that Moon is gonna explain to Trump that the South Koreans do not intend to sacrifice Seoul to save Trump's public image. Trump can either suck it up and come negotiate some outcome way short of what he's promised, or he can go back to threats of ‛fire and fury’ which nobody believes anyway.
[Lynnette]: "But we will always need lower paying jobs to fill needs in the service industry, so for those people it will always be critical to have some kind of help via welfare programs."
I don't agree. What Law of the Universe determines that those have to be low paying jobs? If they automatically get topped up with welfare money to make the wage livable, then it's effectively a government subsidy to cheapskate employers.
[Lynnette]: "I know there are many jobs, low paying, that are going begging here because they can't find locals who will take them. These are [not] jobs that are really conducive to robotic workers, such as landscaping work."
Then let the standard rules of the market raise wages. Gotta agree with the resident troll on this one (worryingly).
[Marcus]: "Pete should be in a bind on this. He's smart enough to realise that robotization WILL take place, and that it WILL affect the more menial jobs first, the jobs that were traditionally entry-jobs for migrants. The jobs they are claimed to be needed for to "secure our pensions". So infinity migration AND robotisation, what's your answer to that Pete?"
Wrong on two counts. Mechanisation has traditionally impacted manual labour. The difference this time is that the doomsters are predicting the next round of automatation will affect white collar jobs, not the most menial ones. Personally I think it's bullshit. Think of the number of jobs that the hi-tech industry has created since the sixties. I've worked with Silicon Valley natives whose first jobs in their teens were picking fruit in the extensive orchards of the San Francisco bay area. A few fruit-picking jobs still exist, but look at the explosion of hi-tech ones. A lot of expansion was supported by immigrants -- the number of Asians in the Bay Area went up by a factor of ten since the 70s, along with increases in Latinos and other nationalities.
It's true that some industries use automation to cut down on labour costs. But in many it's an opportunity to direct resources toward more productive pursuits. That's why increasing efficiencies in the workplace have not traditionally meant fewer jobs but more. It's a virtuous circle in which higher efficiency allows us to exploit entirely new opportunities, resulting in more customers, more jobs, and higher wages.
Why do people think this time will be different? Simple: artificial intelligence. It's a term that strikes fear into otherwise sensible people. This time it's not your muscles that will be replaced, but your brain. Everything that makes you human is under threat from smart and (in the usual depiction) sinister machines. But it's tosh. AI has been overhyped since at least the 80s. I remember it from back then, and I'm involved in it now. (I'm writing machine learning algorithms to recognise elements in spectra of stars, and plot the chemical evolution of our galaxy). It's fascinating stuff, but it ain't intelligence. That's just marketing hype from a computer industry that has been a master of marketing hype since its inception. Have a look at Robocalypse Now, a report from the IEA in the UK (a nice right wing organisation, right up your street ;-)
[Marcus]: "Or is it that they "enrich our culture"? Never mind how costly in monetary terms we apparently need shariah and voodoo witch-doctors to spice things up, eh Pete?"
You got me pegged for the wrong person. I'm quite a cultural supremacist. I believe western culture is objectively better than a lot of others. Unfortunately we're busy jettisoning a lot of the features that made it so.
[Lynnette]: "Congratulations to Prince Harry & Meghan! May they live long and happily together."
I dowanna make a habit of agreeing with the resident troll twice in a row ... but thank god it's over. I managed to sleep through the event itself, but the cacophony of media fawning over it was painful. Especially the ones talking about how Ms. Markle was going to transform the monarchy with her feminism and her blackness. Uh, that was what they were saying about Diana nearly forty years ago (ok, maybe not the blackness bit)... until it turned out her then trendy hubby was prone to the same emotional disconnect as the rest of the aristocratic uppercrust.
The NYT on the Texas shootings:
When a gunman opened fire at his Texas high school last week, two police officers stationed at the school confronted him within four minutes. Students and teachers at Santa Fe High had gone through active-shooter drills. Local police officers had done “alert training.” Everyone seemingly responded with precision and speed. The Galveston County Sheriff said officers hemmed the 17-year-old gunman into one classroom and saved lives by drawing his fire. That 10 people died, and 13 were wounded, even with a swift, aggressive response underlined the limits of training, preparation and readiness.
Nothin's gonna happen until y'all have a sea change in attitudes to gun ownership, and since that ain's gonna happen, nothin's gonna change.
"Why do people think this time will be different?"
Because, increasingly, it is different this time. Machines are taking current jobs faster than the new technology creates new opportunities. The existence of a few scattered ‛Silicon Valley’ type places notwithstanding.
One can argue that this is merely a temporary phenomenon, and that job creation will catch up eventually, but that argument seems to be mostly based on wishful thinking.
This time it's for real.
Lee: "I was under the impression that Europe had gone for the notion of being ‘humanitarians’. Be that as it may…"
Of course you're under the absolutely corect impression there. BUT it has to be said that the professional politicians who believe in this ALSO believe in the "melting pot theory", that extremely diverse cultures always end up benefitting eachother if they are forced to coexist.
I beleive quite the opposite.
But since the EU seems more or less like a economically sane (saner) version of Marxism these days, that does believe in that hoax, it's really the EU in itself folks like me have to fight. And not even Orban does that so I'm stuck with non party politicians on the fringes.
Hey, I want a Sweden for swedes, a Europe for largely white people based on our Christian heritage, and a strong defence against outsiders while we do business with anyone on fair terms. Why is that such a hard sell
Take it into a micro debate:
I want my house to be my own home where I admitt only my family and those others I ocationally personally invite. I will defend my home as best I can.
Is that a hard sell?
I thought that was more or less the "American Dream", where a man is his own master in his own house.
How is it a thought-crime to want to perserve your own ethnic nation?
[Petes] Then let the standard rules of the market raise wages. Gotta agree with the resident troll on this one (worryingly).
lol! Well, if it is any consolation I know others who would agree with you.
But, to get employers to pay a living wage for service jobs you will have to get some kind of government involvement anyway, via raising the minimum wage. We have seen that in the push for a $15 minimum wage by people here in the cities. The argument goes that to cover that cost employers will have to pass on the cost to their customers. I can say that eating down in the cities, for example, is more expensive.
In the end it will be the average citizen that bears the cost, either via more expensive services, or higher taxes to pay for social safety net programs. Well, at least one assumes higher taxes to pay for it. However,
there are those in Washington who apparently think that they can just kick that can down the road some more.
I would agree that there needs to be some kind of balance between all out capitalism and, socialism, I guess. Capitalism encourages people to look after themselves via creativity and hard work. But there are still those who need help, and that is what the social safety net programs provide.
I suppose I am trying to see both sides and think of a way that everyone can benefit from whatever system is in place. There should not be only a minority who benefit. For civilization to be successful you need to provide for everyone. Maybe we can't all live in mansions, but it is not too much to ask for adequate food, shelter and a dignified life.
On jobs:
Lee: "Because, increasingly, it is different this time. Machines are taking current jobs faster than the new technology creates new opportunities. The existence of a few scattered ‛Silicon Valley’ type places notwithstanding."
Lee is correct!
Of course. A tractor could "take the jobs" of maybe 10 farmers with horses, back in the day. But the new innoventions are just so much more potent.
An assembly robot can work 24/7 and will probably do the work of 50 plus workers for a small fraction of their cost. Maybe 100 of them.
Transports is an area where I have some input since part of my job right now is logistics. Myself I could prolly (hopefully) still be needed in the capacity of programming the logistic chain. But down the line (drivers, wearhouse workers, etc.) 1 in 10 workers are simply obsolete.
So again: in this new economy: why do we need a huge influx of third world migrants?
Answer that Pete.
What's gonna happen is that Moon is gonna explain to Trump that the South Koreans do not intend to sacrifice Seoul to save Trump's public image.
It would be the best way to stand up to a bully.
... he can go back to threats of ‛fire and fury’ which nobody believes anyway.
He does appear to adopt a persona of extremism to start his negotiating point. Probably a useful tactic in business, but it could be risky in the political/public arena. It makes for a turmoil that isn't always advised in certain situations.
But down the line (drivers, wearhouse workers, etc.) 1 in 10 workers are simply obsolete.
This is actually a sector of our economy where robots would fill jobs that there are not enough workers for. I am speaking specifically of the trucking industry. We are extremely short handed when it comes to truck drivers. There are a lot of older drivers who are not liking the switch going on to electronic/digital logging who are hanging it up. There are not enough younger drivers who want to spend their life on the road away from their families. In this case robotic trucks would help. But there is still the safety concern. I'm not sure that having a semi on the highway without a driver is going to go over big with other people on the road.
[Marcus} I will defend my home as best I can.
I got the impression you were shopping around for a new home.
Uh, that was what they were saying about Diana nearly forty years ago (ok, maybe not the blackness bit)... until it turned out her then trendy hubby was prone to the same emotional disconnect as the rest of the aristocratic uppercrust.
Harry is Diana's son. If he has any of her in him, and I'm thinking he does, she may still transform the monarchy. ;)
As one of those royal watchers said, in Harry's wild and crazy days, there was always the question of what to do about Harry. Now the question is what can be done with Harry?
End of the Trump/Moon meeting and Trump appears to be dazed and confused. He doesn't know what to think or what to say so he fell back on his ritual "you'll see" formula response.
Lynnette:
[Marcus} I will defend my home as best I can.
I got the impression you were shopping around for a new home."
Not mutually exclusive. I do make the best I can to salvage my homeland. But I do also have to be realistic and seek out a temporary refuge. (Mine is in Norway, but don't tell!)
Anyway: White men built modern civilisation and only white men can keep it. So if ya'll "multicultists" have your way and fail, as you are doomed to do, perhaps the next round around white males won't be so charitable. We'll see I guess.
The fact that women seems to always cater to the the most oppressive and for the moment aggressive intruders is an interesting point.
Women are FOR mass immiration and in many cases women have had sex with "child nrefugees".
Prolly means we men will have to keep our women in line and shame the for goin outta line, or else they side with our invaders - because they are the "strongr men".
So policing our females are most likely at the top of our ageda over here. Debatable how that vibes with liberal democacy though.
North Korea is pulling out of the scheduled disarmament talks and Trump's major focus for the morning is still on the FBI. TrumpTweets:
Lynnette:
"There are a lot of older (truck) drivers who are not liking the switch going on to electronic/digital logging who are hanging it up. There are not enough younger drivers who want to spend their life on the road away from their families."
So the solution is what? All young people making apps or sellin' lattes to eacother? And then we import a new workforce from the third world to do our truck driving? Even if once in a while one of them trucks end up plowing through a marathon race? Is that your solution?
Also your argument is completely absurd. Older truck drivers lament the fact that their profession will be made obsolete, and younger ones realise this and do not aspire to be truck drivers. How is that a problem?
Your argument is basically it's bad for old truck drivers that their jobs will be made obsolete and it's bad that local youths will not want to train for those obsolete jobs, but we should still invite infinite migrants to perform them jobs that are not even needed in the future.
Really? Have you thought that through Lynnette?
First we "needed" to protect them from war and famine.
Once it was made clear that we could save legions more by helping them at home this was NOT abandoned but kept going.
Second they were supposed to bring us cultural enrichment. Once it was clear that this meant wellfare-checks, terrorism and gang-rapes that line was abandoned.
Then they were supposed to save our aging populace's pensions. But it was proven that the migrants costs an awful lot and pensions actually suffer from the lack of funding that the migrants eat up instead, this argument was hushed down.
Also they were "children", then actually they were not.
WHEN THE FUCKING FUCK ARE YA'LL DIMWITTS GONNA REALISE THIS IS A WAR WAGED ON US!??!?!?
[Marcus]: "So again: in this new economy: why do we need a huge influx of third world migrants? Answer that Pete."
Well first of all I simple don't agree that there's a new economy being shaped by new technology. But we'll have to agree to disagree on that one and see how it pans out. I believe the current angst over employment is the much more mundane competition from outsourcing of jobs to cheaper countries, or importing labour from cheaper countries. And to answer your perennial question: the general need for an influx of labour is because those white Europeans you keep going on about have a strange reluctance to beget any more of their own type. The health of the economy is predicated upon growth. You may wish it were otherwise, you might even have ideas about how to arrange it differently and avoid the very real perils of deflation in a shrinking economy. If so I'm interested to hear it.
"Hey, I want a Sweden for swedes, a Europe for largely white people based on our Christian heritage, and a strong defence against outsiders while we do business with anyone on fair terms. Why is that such a hard sell... How is it a thought-crime to want to perserve your own ethnic nation?"
So are you actually a practicing Christian? If not, what does "a Europe for largely white people based on our Christian heritage" mean? Sounds like a place with lots of old, tall, pointy, empty buildings. Maybe we should house immigrants in them ;-)
I've got a bunch of friends who are actually doing something about it, by having 10+ children. How about you? Nobody has a right to preserve a "heritage" without creating children to do the inheriting. At the end of the day, biology will prevail. Your birth rate in Sweden has been below replacement rate more or less since the 1960s. That didn't happen for us until the 1990s and we still have a demographic bulge passing through. Unfortunately it's an uphill struggle even here, as tomorrow Ireland will vote in favour of exterminating a quarter of its future population.
(Quick check on the abortion rate in Sweden ... yep, you've been extremely consistent in aborting a quarter of all pregnancies since the introduction of abortion on demand in 1974. One thing you got correct -- there's a war goin' on alright).
"Well first of all I simple don't agree that there's a new
economy being shaped by new technology."
It's not new. The current economic trend lines are probably 30 years' old now, maybe older. Computerization has accelerated trend of late, but mechanization has been the trend long before people began expanding the definition of "AI" to include mechanizing factory work.
U.S. District Court in New York has ruled that Trump's Twitter feed is ‛a public forum’; accordingly, Trump may not block followers who express political disagreement with his tweets. NBCNews
Trump ain't gonna be happy.
CBSNews picks up on a BBC report which openly accuses Team Trump of accepting bribes. Michael Cohen, the lawyer/fixer was taking payment; Trump was personally involved (no accusation that Trump knew of the payments though).
So policing our females are most likely at the top of our ageda over here. Debatable how that vibes with liberal democacy though.
Nope, not going to rise to that bait.
So the solution is what? All young people making apps or sellin' lattes to eacother? And then we import a new workforce from the third world to do our truck driving?
There now I thought we had decided that self-driving trucks were the solution to the truck driver shortage? Weren't you just saying the future was in robotics?
Your argument is basically it's bad for old truck drivers that their jobs will be made obsolete and it's bad that local youths will not want to train for those obsolete jobs, but we should still invite infinite migrants to perform them jobs that are not even needed in the future.
What is bad is that there are currently not enough truck drivers to move goods around the country. If we can find drivers from a pool of immigrants I am all for it. If we can find a way to attract younger Americans to do the job I am all for that as well. Because if we want to keep our economy running smoothly we will need to find workers from somewhere. If it can't be native born workers then it will have to be foreign born.
It seems that the NFL has caved to pressure from Trump on the issue of players kneeling during the playing of the national anthem. Now they are saying teams will be fined if players kneel. If they want to protest they will have to stay in the locker room while the anthem is played.
"It seems that the NFL has caved to pressure from Trump…"
It likewise appears that the Players' Union is not onboard with that decision. The players may be about to join The Resistance.
(Previously Trump was insisting that staying in the locker-room was unacceptable, but there's no doubt that he'd proclaim this a total cave, even though the locker-room option was still there.)
It's not Trump. It's the more than half of all Americans who believe it is never appropriate to kneel for the national anthem. The NFL owners were wholly at liberty to piss off their paying customers if they really wanted to. They sensibly concluded that might be bad for business.
The number of Americans in employment has gone up by sixty percent since 1980. If the robocalypse is coming it's not much in evidence yet.
"It's not Trump."
Yeah, it's Trump. Kaepernick was mostly being ignored before Trump needed a diversion that week of the Alabama primaries.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
"The number of Americans in employment has gone up by
sixty percent since 1980…"
The number of Americans has gone up.
You should know better than to try to run bogus statistics like that. Even Marcus could be expected to catch that one.
The percentage of employment aged Americans who actually have a full time time job has gone down.
The underemployment rate leapt during the global financial crisis. Are we supposed to believe the robots took over under cover of a giant recession, perhaps goaded into by feelings of uselessness? :) :) :)
Who is ‛we’?
In a surprise move, Trump has canceled the proposed meeting with Kim Jung-Un scheduled for 12 June.
His stated reason was that the North Koreans had insulted Veep Mike Pence yesterday. He said it demonstrated a bad attitude. Told the North Koreans to get back with us if they decided to improve their attitude.
Seems that people in WH circles were giving that summit a less than 50% chance of actually ever happening.
The underemployment rate leapt during the global financial crisis.
And the American "gig" workforce increased. Yet companies also pushed stealth inflation by shrinking goods, making it appear the cost hadn't really went up. (Personally on some things I would prefer they just raise the cost.) So bottom lines have to have been looking good. Wonder what that says about the real value of the stock market?
"…less than 50% chance of actually ever happening."
Yeah, surprising thing is not that he canceled (Kim maybe would have if Trump hadn't). Surprise that he canceled this early, without milking it more. And the stated reason for the cancellation.
It likewise appears that the Players' Union is not onboard with that decision.
I think at least one team, the Jets, have said they would be okay with paying the fine. The Vikings are on board with no kneeling.
Personally I've always thought that burning the flag was less respectful than kneeling for the anthem, yet flag burning has been supported as free speech in a court case. I Still think the kneeling controversy is much ado about nothing. As some people say, we have fought long and hard for our right to protest.
And the stated reason for the cancellation.
Maybe trying to make himself look good for defending his VP? Even though that may not be the real reason.
Defending his Veep doesn't get him points with anybody doesn't support him regardless of the Veep.
Lynnette: "It seems that the NFL has caved..." Etc.
Just like I said they would. You thought otherwise but I said from the get go that the NFL would inevitably have to cave to the trumpian side on that issue.
There are not enough PC football fans in the USA to support a franchise that spits on the Nation over some dumbass negro-discrimination-shit fairy tale brought forward by multi millionare balltossers. That was pretty clear from the get go, and to be frank I'm surprised ya'll didn't realise it, from the get go.
That Trump win was always a given, even if some were to stupid or misinformed to see it.
Lee: "In a surprise move, Trump has canceled the proposed meeting with Kim Jung-Un scheduled for 12 June."
Bolton cancelled that. Then Trump let Bolton in. WTF did he do that for? Whose holding a gun to Trump's head?
"I'm surprised ya'll didn't realise it, from the get go."
You missed the point. There is no enforcement mechanism against the ‛multi millionare [sic] balltossers’; they do not get fined. And they were supposedly allowing the ‛multi millionare balltossers’ to not take the field until after the national anthem was played (which Trump had previously denounced as unacceptable).
The NFL thought they were finessing the problem. Or, perhaps the appropriate verb would be ‛hoped’. Ain't gonna work. When it don't work they'll be revisions to the policy.
This one ain't over yet. You ain't been proven correct yet. They were trying to finesse it, not surrender to it.
Pete: "Quick check on the abortion rate in Sweden ... yep, you've been extremely consistent in aborting a quarter of all pregnancies since the introduction of abortion on demand in 1974."
And you assume I am on board with his... why?
I happen to think the Irish abortion laws that are now under pressure are more or less sane. Term limits could be debated I guess, maybe.
And abortions following rape or siblings gettin' pregnant or some such - just eradicate that spawn from the gene pool as soon as possible.
But if we're talking about "normal" pregnancies, then I say that at some early stage the child is a child and abortion is murder.
I haven't delved deeply into that issue. But under OUR current laws outright baby-killing is more or less mainstream. That much is clear. I oppose that.
Not based on regigous beliefs but on humanitarian ones.
Just so we're clear.
[Lynnette]: "Wonder what that says about the real value of the stock market?"
All we need to know about the stock market is that it's where the avalanche of QE money is hiding. Some day it will get withdrawn and then the market is only heading one direction. But being too pessimistic about when that will happen could actually lose you money (as I know from personal experience).
Lee: "This one ain't over yet. You ain't been proven correct yet. They were trying to finesse it, not surrender to it."
The only new changes that might come going forward is MORE rules against balltosser disrespect.
It's not like they're gonna do a 180 and admit kneelers during the anthem again, right?
There might be a status qou here, where some ballers get to stay in the locker room. OR they too will get TRUMPED.
That'd depend on the audience. The reason this stance was taken was BC folks just decided to vote woth their feet and not go support disrespectful balltossers. It was the empty stadiums that brought on the new rules.
Them new rules MAY be enough, and also they might not be. But a change towards more balltosser emnity against the Flag is not in the cards. Bet that!
So yeah, I've been proven 100% correct.
There's about a half dozen errors in that last post, but I'll just hit the central point instead of noticing all the diversionary stuff.
"The only new changes that might come going forward
is MORE rules against balltosser disrespect."
Expect instead that there'll be a civil rights suit brought against the NFL. I have serious doubts about the NFL defending that one vigorously. They might be happy to have a federal court tell everybody that the ‛balltossers’ have a right to kneel if they so choose. They could then go back to the pre-Obama situation where the teams didn't take the field until after the national anthem and call that a surrender to Trump and the Trumpkins.
Listen here, it's real easy. The bulk of the NFL:s audience are white folks, and a great portion of them are Trumpists. That's a fact. They get real pissed when the Flag is disrespected.
You can't run a franchise and on a regular basis piss off a majority of your main customer base.
Ergo: the NFL will have no choice but to try to rein in their balltossers and cater to their actual audience (as they now tried to do).
They have made their first attempt. Maybe it'll be good enough, maybe not. But thinking they will again sway away from their core audience - folly. They will not, that'd kill 'em.
So if any new change is made, if it's needed, it'll be to force them balltossers to get the fuck out there and snap to attention when the Anthem is played, or they get cut. And since they care way more 'bout money than virtue signalling they will hop to and do as told.
It will most definetly NOT go in the other direction.
So it seems like Trump's Nobel Prize is on hold for now. Sounds like John Bolton needs to shoulder some of the blame. Little Rocket Man may be nuts, but he ain't stupid. Bolton's reference to the Libya model of disarmament was like referring to the Sharon Tate model of wedded bliss. Anyway, at least Trump has sent Rocket Man a nice letter reminding him that "mine are bigger than yours".
"…and a great portion of them are Trumpists."
Nope, dedicated Trumpkins make up a distinct minority in this country--max 40%, maybe less, depending on who's doing the definition and the count.
Lee:
"They might be happy to have a federal court tell everybody that the ‛balltossers’ have a right to kneel if they so choose."
Not if that means losing 20-30% of paying customers. I think they'd be terrified with that prospect.
Who are gonna pick up the slack? Baltimore project african americans?
You have to think of this in monetary terms Lee. The balltossers might well earn their right to kneel. That signals hatred or at least opposition to America as is. And who are the main audience that by their attendance support ant pay the wages of said balltossers? Americans.
You will see within a year of two that I am right here. Either the balltossers hop to, or the NFL plunges into despair. There's no other way this plays out.
Lee: "Nope, dedicated Trumpkins make up a distinct minority in this country--max 40%, maybe less, depending on who's doing the definition and the count."
Yeah I know. But we were takling about NFL fans here, not the population at large.
"Not if that means losing 20-30% of paying customers."
Ain't gonna happen, not over the anthem. The NFL will just go back to the pre-Obama situation and the dedicated Trumpkins will soon forget and move on to the next most enjoyable outrage (they're real good at that as evidenced by their continued support of Trump).
The NFL has some real problems to deal with; this one is transitory, begins and ends with Trump.
"But we were takling about NFL fans here…"
Older rural white folks aren't the target demographic for the advertisers, and that is where the money comes from.
But being too pessimistic about when that will happen could actually lose you money (as I know from personal experience).
No, trying to time the market can get you in trouble. Unless you need the money soon, and then you shouldn't be all in the market anyway, it's probably better not to pay too close attention.
Anyway, at least Trump has sent Rocket Man a nice letter reminding him that "mine are bigger than yours".
*sigh*
It's like watching two kids playing chicken.
The NFL has some real problems to deal with; this one is transitory, begins and ends with Trump.
I agree. None of this would be getting the media attention it has if Trump weren't making such a big deal about it.
North Korea has, not unexpectedly, allowed as how Chairman Kim is still willing to meet with Trump.
So, now they've maneuvered Trump into looking like the problem; he's the obstruction to peace. (No doubt this'll get mentioned as Trump tries to get the Europeans to join his attempts to isolate Iran.
It's coming up to two years since the Brexit vote in the UK. Already a year ago the whole exit process was looking like quite a mess. At this stage I don't think it's alarmist to suggest it may be heading for disaster. The NYT today reports: “Fantasy”: E.U. negotiators have dismissed some of Britain’s main Brexit demands, including a proposal to avoid a hard land border with Ireland. The Guardian in the UK lists some of the latest stumbling points including a row over continued British access to Galileo, the European version of the GPS satellite navigation system.
But these are just the latest skirmishes in an ongoing, seemingly continual, list of misunderstandings. The average punter might be forgiven for wondering why everything is going so badly. Is it intransigence on one side or the other? And why do the British government seem to be still discussing options among themselves that have already been rejected by the EU, before they even make it to the negotiating table? Two years after the Vote Leave referendum victory, many substantive items have not even been discussed. The media have been very poor at elucidating the situation, opting instead for hackle-raising soundbites that grab public attention.
Incredibly, what it seems to boil down to is the literal inability of the hard-line "Brexiteer" faction in the Commons to understand fundamental EU mechanisms, the reasons for their existence, and their consequent non-negotiability in Brexit arrangements. Ironically, given their reason for leaving, they can't understand that the EU has some sovereignty issues of its own. Thus, they have been proposing outcomes that would be not just impractical, but in some cases illegal under international rules. This isn't just me talking as a biased Irish guy. An eye-opener this week was a lecture delivered by Ivan Rogers, the former Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the European Union until last year, when he resigned over lack of government coherence on the Brexit issue. If you really want to get a handle on the muddle that the Brits have gotten themselves into, the half hour read is worth it.
So, I spent Sunday planting almost a whole flat of marigolds (and other things) in the garden, because supposedly deer don't like marigolds.
Right?
The rabbit ate all of the marigolds in the garden. I never thought that rabbits eat marigolds.
North Korea has, not unexpectedly, allowed as how Chairman Kim is still willing to meet with Trump.
So, now they've maneuvered Trump into looking like the problem; he's the obstruction to peace.
Possibly. Although, in fairness, Trump did leave open the same possibility in the letter he wrote to Kim. If I were Trump I would now say "okay, fine, show me what you got". In short, put up or shut up. Because it was the North Koreans who missed the meeting to start the ball rolling and ran back to the bellicose talk both Kim and Trump have been indulging in.
Incredibly, what it seems to boil down to is the literal inability of the hard-line "Brexiteer" faction in the Commons to understand fundamental EU mechanisms, the reasons for their existence, and their consequent non-negotiability in Brexit arrangements.
How odd, I know some people who are very similar in character.
I'll have to read the link to the half hour read when I have more time. Gotta run and do some errands. It's my day off, but not really. *sigh*
"…it was the North Koreans who missed the meeting…"
So says Team Trump--not exactly known for their tendency to speak the truth. Nobody canceled, or even complained, when the meeting was supposedly missed. That story turns up only later, when Trump needs an excuse for canceling the summit.
Aha! It seems that North and South Korea have been meeting even while Trump is cancelling a meeting. Perhaps your thinking that the South was going to go their own way and not count on Trump was quite accurate, Lee.
We are having a string of over 90 degree days here, with little rain. I have to get out early and get something done before the temps rise for the day. I can't stand working in really hot weather for long. I also hate to mow grass when it's going to be so hot as it will dry out quicker. But if I don't I'll be bailing hay.
Pete: "So it seems like Trump's Nobel Prize is on hold for now. Sounds like John Bolton needs to shoulder some of the blame. Little Rocket Man may be nuts, but he ain't stupid. Bolton's reference to the Libya model of disarmament was like referring to the Sharon Tate model of wedded bliss. Anyway, at least Trump has sent Rocket Man a nice letter reminding him that "mine are bigger than yours"."
Yeah, Bolton tellin' Kim the end game is him being raped by a bayonette to death is kinda unlikely to get Kim to go along with the program.
If I was a hereditary dictator of some shithole I might try and do many things, but givin' up my nukes and trust the USA would be really at the bottom of the list.
Every single WSM-armed state that falls for the trap of the USA telling them: "just disarm and then we'll be pals" ends up gettin' bombed to smithereens.
If I was Kim I'd cling to them nukes for sure.
Also, why is it that nations who haven't attacked anyone in tens (North Korea), or sometimes hundreds (Persia) of years are not allowed WMD:s. While the most murderous nation on the planet in recent history (USA) is trusted to posess them? Really, why?
I'm on page 8 of Petes' link. But it's been a long day, so I'll have to finish when I'm more awake.
Also, why is it that nations who haven't attacked anyone in tens (North Korea), or sometimes hundreds (Persia) of years are not allowed WMD:s.
Do you consider their own citizens to be nobody? Do you consider people in Syria to be nobody?
While the most murderous nation on the planet in recent history (USA) is trusted to posess them?
Not to sound like Trump, but considering the arsenal that the US has at its disposal it has been far more restrained than have others with smaller stockpiles of weapons. And hopefully we have learned from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Others, however, seem to think a nuclear war could be winnable.
Of course, Marcus, I could see where you would be wary of US intentions with Trump at the helm. Perhaps you are starting to share our disappointment in our dear leader?
Something odd going on in Washington D.C. this week.
Under cover of the dust-up over whether or not Trump's going to meet with Kim, there was a meeting between Rod Rosenstein and select DOJ and FBI officials, originally to surrender information to Devin Nunes and other Republican Trump supporters in the House of Representatives.
Trump himself weighed in on that one and demanded that the DOJ and FBI give up information on their investigations of Trump as requested by the now totally polarized House Intelligence Committee. Shortly thereafter the Democrats managed to horn in on the meeting, getting access to what was originally conceived of as a briefing for only Republicans and only intensely Trumpkin Republicans at that.
After the meeting--crickets. Nobody says nothin’. Except, Democrat Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee came out and read a statement he had prepared, word for word as written down it would appear, to the effect that there was zero evidence for the notion that the DOJ or FBI had placed a spy in Trump's campaign.
The Republicans have said absolutely nothing about the meeting.
Somethin's up here.
[Lynnette]: "We are having a string of over 90 degree days here, with little rain."
The weather here is decidedly weird. First we had that balmy Christmas. Then the crazy amount of snow in Spring, and an almost unshakeable pattern of freezing winds from the east (opposite to the normally prevailing wind direction). The last couple of weeks we've had almost unbroken sunshine, but air temperatures still lower than we had at Christmas, and this with only a week to go till June. Then two days ago, Summer decided to arrive with temperatures soaring more than a dozen degrees overnight. But that was immediately accompanied by humid air, and in the UK by flash floods and lightning storms. In fact, the BBC is reporting 60,000 lightning strikes in the last 24 hours, with some dramatic footage and at least one house blown up by a strike. The trees don't know what to do -- some of them are only starting to put out leaves, many Spring blossoms are still out, and others are in full Summer foliage. The one thing we've had precious little of is our normal Atlantic depressions bringing dreary skies and soft rain. If this keeps up our perennial complaints about the weather might actually be well-founded for once.
... just started watching a NOVA documentary, Decoding the Weather Machine. Paul Douglas, one of your Twin Cities weathermen who writes for the Star Tribune, features at the start. Interesting guy -- he's a Christian conservative, so he's familiar with the looney right's climate skepticism.
The documentary seems pretty basic though, and actually I fell across it while looking for a different one on battery technology.
Something odd going on in Washington D.C. this week.
If it's significant it will come out. No one can keep a secret in DC.
Well, except maybe Robert Mueller.
The weather here is decidedly weird.
It feels like the middle of August here, very hot and at times humid, but no measurable rain where I am.
Usually on Memorial Day weekend we would be lucky if we had sun and got out of the 50's. Not now.
Now if the weather pattern tracks with the new normal then June will be cooler and wetter. We'll see...
Paul Douglas, one of your Twin Cities weathermen who writes for the Star Tribune, features at the start. Interesting guy --
I've always liked Paul Douglas. He's seemed pretty down to earth and quite knowledgeable.
I fell across it while looking for a different one on battery technology.
lol! I was just running through some videos myself trying to decide on a new post. Between getting the garden in, yard work and house projects I've not had time to do one. But I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Next Friday should complete the last of the indoor projects.
This was the one I was looking for. It's over a year old and -- like all the NOVA series and all popular science journalism -- it's very dumbed down. But it touches on an interesting subject: solid state lithium batteries. As I think I mentioned before, articles about new killer battery technologies are ten-a-penny. Few make it out of the lab and practically none advance to commercialisation. But this one seems to be making some headway. There's a guy at Tufts university who is working on a polymer electrolyte that simultaneously solves thermal runaway and dendritic anode growth in lithium batteries, as well as using less or no cobalt. He has recently got serious investment from French oil giant Total, and from the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.
Lynnette: "Of course, Marcus, I could see where you would be wary of US intentions with Trump at the helm. Perhaps you are starting to share our disappointment in our dear leader?"
Frankly I'm worried about what kinda leader ya'll dumbasses might select in the future. Not so much about Trump, he was the saner choice compared to Killary. But in the future, who the hell knows?
Post a Comment