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The Political Thread - Machiavelli Edition


Gorth

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Where we left off... may the best chess piece win!

 

Time for the pawns to overthrow the tyranny of the feudal system! ;)

 

 

sounds crazy, but wouldn't be any worse than most current systems. perhaps have candidates face a 50/50 chance o' either hand-to-hand combat or chess, with death being the result for the loser in either case. would almost necessarily get smart, dangerous and complete committed candidates.

 

HA! Good Fun!

Ohh, or why not Battle Chess, party against party?

... I think we're onto a winning concept here!

 

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“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein

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am honest having forgotten how trump claimed to have put himself in harm's way and helped clear rubble post 9/11.  
 
...

 

878-01.jpg

 

HA! Good Fun!

"If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

"Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)

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They say this about 9-11, the JFK assassination and Pearl Harbor (for those that are still around). They say you will remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when you found out it was happening. For my part at least, that is true.

"While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before"

Thomas Sowell

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European Parliament approved new copyright directive, which has some very questionable articles in it (like demands for automatic filters that remove copyrighted content before they are published and compensation for media companies for linking their articles), which makes future look bit darker for me even though it has not got its final approval.

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European Parliament approved new copyright directive, which has some very questionable articles in it (like demands for automatic filters that remove copyrighted content before they are published and compensation for media companies for linking their articles), which makes future look bit darker for me even though it has not got its final approval.

 

Ah. I had forgotten the second round was this week. When these ****heads make Farage look like a genuine freedom fighter, you know it's time to pay your tab and GTFO.

 

For anyone who wants to read up on what this means: An EU copyright bill could force YouTube-style filtering across the Web 

 

(quick, click before EUSSR copyright commissars force Obsid to pay royalties to Ars!)

- When he is best, he is a little worse than a man, and when he is worst, he is little better than a beast.

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For anyone who wants to read up on what this means: An EU copyright bill could force YouTube-style filtering across the Web

 

(quick, click before EUSSR copyright commissars force Obsid to pay royalties to Ars!)

What an absolute ****show.

 

I will probably vote for pirate party candidate next time. I haven't before, because they all felt too much like an one trick pony, but this is just.... I'm loss for words.

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As Trump's view of success in dealing with Hurricane disaster is the 3,000 dead in Puerto Rico, the current crop of potential hurricane issues might cause people to be a bit more nervous about Government response...

 

Business Insider - Photo's show massive stockpile of bottled water left on a runway for a year after Hurricane Maria

 

4147589710217441246561895572323251393396

 

 

 


A photographer working for a Puerto Rican police agency posted photos online Tuesday that he said showed a stockpile of bottled water on a runway in the city of Ceiba that had gone unused for about a year.

The water was believed to be part of relief efforts after Hurricane Maria wrought devastation on the US territory last September. The photographer, Abdiel Santana, said he first spotted the stockpile of what could be millions of water bottles last year but took the photos after seeing it in the same place during a recent trip to the island.

Edited by Raithe

"Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."

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Just so I know where to focus my rage, are we: mad about wasted water? mad that the water was never distributed by the PR government? mad that Trump gave direct orders, under penalty of military intervention, that the water WILL NOT be given to any PR citizens? the water is covered in blue? Help a brother out here.

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Eh, I'm not mad per se, more the "Considering how many deaths following Hurricane Maria are apparently due to lack of good drinking water, this seems a rather critical failure at some point in the disaster relief efforts."

 

Although the general irritation with Trump declaring it a success with how many died is a somewhat seperate issue.

 

And I've got a fair few friends in the paths of the current crop of tropical storms, which leaves me wondering that if the worst happens for them... can they actually rely on much aid from their government. Which is not something you should expect from the great and glorious US of A. ;)

"Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."

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Carolinas  went for Trump, they'll get plenty of aid. :p

 

Also, FEMA seems to be one incredibly inept agency.  Wonder why people always had such conspiracy theories about them :lol:

Edited by Malcador
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Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra

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fema is habitual underfunded and understaffed, which is curious considering how frequent is the controversies surrounding disaster relief in particular.  am actual sympathizing with fema folks as they is constant complaining 'bout they is not receiving necessary support to do their job, but when disaster does strike they gotta project confidence and then inevitable shoulder blame.  thankless. 

 

water and food deliveries to puerto rico were the source o' major problems post maria… back when the death toll were still s'posed dozens.  blame on puerto rico "government" is suspect as puerto rico infrastructure were fubar for some considerable 'mount o' time post maria.  puerto rico needed fema aid in the first place 'cause they could not handle relief efforts w/o federal help.  and is not as if the army or air force is making all deliveries o' the relief supplies and goods. for the most part, private contractors handle delivery and distribution efforts. the noteworthy maria controversies were how those private contractors failed and how fema failed to respond timely to those failures.  "delivery" is a term o' art in business and might mean any number o' things.  provide goods at the contractor warehouse?  deliver to a specific location?  leave on a runway far removed from anybody who might need or use the good? in time o' crisis, one expects such details would be worked out in an expedited fashion even if some nincompoop didn't get details straightened out ahead o' time.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-puertorico-meals/fema-contractor-did-not-deliver-millions-of-puerto-rico-meals-lawmakers-idUSKBN1FQ2OP

 

can find literal dozens/hundreds o' such stories from maria alone.

 

fema has been gutted o' good people more than once and the new administration has done a poor job o' draining the swamp

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/27/dear-president-trump-its-time-to-drain-the-swamp-a-little-faster-commentary.html

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/meet-the-new-swamp/540540/

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/behind-the-chaos-office-that-vets-trump-appointees-plagued-by-inexperience/2018/03/30/cde31a1a-28a3-11e8-ab19-06a445a08c94_story.html?utm_term=.0a366fb52de1

 

fema didn't deliver water or food or repair power grid post maria.  fema organized such efforts, and they did a poor job.  one hopes recent lessons will encourage a more effective response.  also, am knowing how sensitive the current president is to tv coverage, so unlike remote puerto rico, a mainland usa hurricane disaster will be getting 24/7 coverage from every major news organization. no doubt since fox and friends will be discussing relief efforts this time, the administration will devote more attention to keeping up with fema reports. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

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"If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

"Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)

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FEMA

 

 

 

The Act gives FEMA the responsibility for coordinating government-wide relief efforts. It is designed to bring an orderly and systemic means of federal natural disaster assistance for state and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to aid citizens.
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Let me give you a little taste of my own experience with government disaster relief here. FEMA is underfunded as Grom said, but only because it's scope is too broad and it's directives unfocused. Disaster relief from FEMA, or any State or Federal agency is a whole lot of dedicated people who really want to help and do good but end up standing around or often working against each other because they lack direction, a clear understanding of what needs to be done, and often have little communication with other agencies and volunteer groups. All theses different groups do not work together so they bump into each other, repeat tasks that don't need to be done, miss ones that do, etc. Millions of dollars of assets and donated relief are delivered to the wrong places, not delivered at all for lack of logistics, or direction on where they need to go. Generators are deployed then never refueled. Assets are lost because they are never picked up after recovery.

 

What disaster relief needs is a single point of contact to take things in hand. Ideally a State Governor or someone like that with a small  well organized team. But political leadership is not and cannot be organized and different agencies simply do not and will not work together. So gobs of money and people are just thrown at the problem. The relief is usually ineffective with millions of dollars in wasted goods and man hours. But everyone pats themselves on the back and thinks "It's still better than if we did nothing". And that is probably true. Government relief is like trying to hit a target 100 meters away with a shotgun.

 

If you want to see how it should be done watch how the power companies, cell service providers, and phone company work. Single points of contact that direct all efforts no matter is they are employees or vendors with clear goals and time tables. They will have a concise list of assets available and a plan for what to do with them. Everything FEMA, State Agencies, etc will not have.

"While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before"

Thomas Sowell

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FEMA

 

 

 

The Act gives FEMA the responsibility for coordinating government-wide relief efforts.

 

 

repeating self. there is no question what is fema's role.  they coordinate efforts. fema doesn't have resources to deliver food and water.  they cannot repair power grids.  they do not build or repair or whatever.  coordinate.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

"If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

"Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)

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FEMA

 

 

 

The Act gives FEMA the responsibility for coordinating government-wide relief efforts.

 

 

repeating self. there is no question what is fema's role.  they coordinate efforts. fema doesn't have resources to deliver food and water.  they cannot repair power grids.  they do not build or repair or whatever.  coordinate.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

In theory and design yes. In practical application no not so much. But, as I said, it's still better with them than without them probably.

"While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before"

Thomas Sowell

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Repeating self:

 

 

FEMA

 

 

The Act gives FEMA the responsibility for coordinating government-wide relief efforts. It is designed to bring an orderly and systemic means of federal natural disaster assistance for state and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to aid citizens.

 

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Repeating self:

 

 

FEMA

 

 

The Act gives FEMA the responsibility for coordinating government-wide relief efforts. It is designed to bring an orderly and systemic means of federal natural disaster assistance for state and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to aid citizens.

 

 

 

huh?  fema coordinates efforts to assist state and local governments.  is precise 'cause puerto rico could not handle the problems o' maria that they needed assistance.  perhaps gifted doesn't believe provided assistance need be meaningful or effective?  provide water is all well and good, but then fail to provide any means o' transporting the water to people who need it is gonna be a concern for most reasonable people.  coordinate with private contractors to deliver food, but ignore when those contractors fail to deliver even half o' the meals they agreed to provide is not particular effective assistance.

 

recognize that state and local governments have responsibilities to aid citizens is axiomatic.  recognize how a disaster o' the scale o' maria could prevent puerto rico from fulfilling their responsibilities should also be axiomatic.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps once again, peculiar reading by gifted.  

Edited by Gromnir

"If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

"Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)

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...blame on puerto rico "government" is suspect as puerto rico infrastructure were fubar for some considerable 'mount o' time post maria.

fema coordinates efforts to assist state and local governments

 

:lol:

 

It is the locals responsibility. FEMA is not going to rebuild the government and infrastructure. The government is.

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