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Posted
8 minutes ago, redneckdevil said:

Mmmm, anyone else shocked about Trump being first president to enter North Korea?

Not really. NK is his pet project from the start. 

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Posted

Not really, no, I'm sure he would have done it anyway just to prevent another President from claiming that title, because that's the kind of person he is 😛

NK is gonna have a hell of a diplomatic whiplash when the next President comes in and does diplomacy the normal way. Though they can probably see it coming.

Posted
6 hours ago, Gromnir said:

am understanding the anger and disappointment, but bernie is a poor candidate for what you propose. is a pacifist who decries violence (regardless o' ideology) and he were involved in the peaceful protests o' multiple generations, y'know, 'cause he is so old. wouldn't call him a journalist, but he did write for a liberal publication after he finished university. also, considering he were one o' the few, consistent and vocal senators to oppose the patriot act when it were first enacted, and each time after when its lifeline were extended, is unlikely he is gonna support any group which wishes to suppress viewpoint expression.

am not a bernie fan, but am thinking you do him a disservice.   gonna need find somebody younger or at least somebody who has been less consistent supportive o' core American values. keep in mind that by even modern european standards, bernie is kinda moderate. 

however, and perhaps most significant, robespierre were a lawyer. 

HA! Good Fun!

 

It may be a little unfair to Bernie. He is not the monster MR was. But the antifa movement is more than a little communist in it's actions and philosophy and he is the spiritual leader of the movement whether he wills it or no. He's not exactly calling them out I can't help but notice. He's also hardly the first politician to be supported by a mob he has no control over.  But it can't be denied he's feeding them a little bit:

"To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency. To Forgive them is barbarity" Maximilian Robespierre. 

"There are no 'human' oppressors. Oppressors have lost their humanity" Bernie Sanders.

Of course I have little concern about any kind of reign of terror here. ANTIFA is not popular and has little power other than as a mob no one seems inclined to do anything about. Plus we are armed and would ever put up with that s--t here. This is all just interesting discussion. Well, not for Andy Ngo. 

"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

Posted
4 hours ago, Gfted1 said:

Iran amasses more enriched uranium than allowed.

I don't get it...they have lots of uranium, they can enrich it past 3.67%, they can build missiles...so literally the only thing they cant figure out is the bomb portion?

They can enrich it to ~20%, they need ~95% to make proper bombs, though packing some 4-20% U235 into a rocket would be unpleasant enough by itself. Getting to 95% purity is hard and requires a lot of very specialist centrifuges which you can't simply build or order online.

They're at least partially breaking the limit because... the US has sanctioned companies receiving uranium from Iran for receiving uranium from Iran. They'll probably break the D2O limits at some point as the Omani company receiving their heavy water is under sanctions threat as well.

3 hours ago, 213374U said:

I wonder if it would be possible to negotiate a deal with Iran to pay for oil in euros. I understand private companies not wanting to run afoul of the US embargo, but if the German gov't wanted to indulge in a bit of economic command...?

They need a properly secure black box system- US has, for example, extensively hacked SWIFT such that they can literally redirect money to themselves let alone merely see transactions. That's not an issue for little players on the fringe of the sanctions, but they will definitely go after oil transactions and the like. Europe would, over all, prefer to wait 18 months in the hope Trump is a single term president than do anything though because Europe is, when it comes right down to it, a spineless jelly devoid of principle.

2 hours ago, injurai said:

So what stops Pakistan from aiding Iran in development? Or is there more beef between the two than I realize?

The Pakistani who helped DPRK make their bomb is under arrest, Pakistan gets lots of aid from Saudi (who allegedly sponsored their bomb in the first place), they're sunni and Iran is shia, they have some shared interests such as being against Balochi separatists but not much. They don't have any reason to, and lots of reasons not to- they may not be on great terms with the US at the moment but toys would really come out of the cot if they helped Iran get nukes. And above all else there isn't any real evidence that Iran is trying to make a bomb; it's just Bibi, Bolton, Pompeo and Bone Saw shouting about it in the hope if it's said enough people will believe it per Nigerien yellowcake, anthrax and WMD over London in 45 minutes.

  • Like 2
Posted
9 hours ago, Gfted1 said:

Iran amasses more enriched uranium than allowed.

I don't get it...they have lots of uranium, they can enrich it past 3.67%, they can build missiles...so literally the only thing they cant figure out is the bomb portion?

not the bomb part which is hard. iranian uranium enrichment is a hurdle but hardly insurmountable... get to 90% (rule o' thumb for weapons grade threshold) when they has achieved anywhere 'tween at least 20-27% in past has estimates at ~1yr, though honestly the stockpile o' quantity amount is hardly changing the timeline. iran already possessed more than enough to start the process for enrichment to reach goals for at least a single weapon. 

that said, "can't figure out" the bomb part is likely an oversimplification. once you got your enriched uranium, you still need go from gas to metal. isn't a huge technical obstacle, but nevertheless need to get a conversion plant operational before one may have the kinda uranium which one would use as part o' a weapon. is no reason to believe iran would abstain from simultaneous work on enrichment and build o' a conversion facility, but while the science may be decades old, the iranians don't have the engineering experience with such technologies to be making timeline guesstimates more optimistic as 'posed to less.

conservative estimates o' at least a year for a single weapon, and perhaps they got enough genuine stockpiled low-enriched to produce a couple more.  if iran tries to hide their enrichment efforts and go for "sneak-out" rather than breakout, you may add at least a few more months. if the iranians have been surreptitiously keeping their enrichment activities hidden (oddly enough, this don't seem to be the case) breakout would be achieved quicker than conservative estimates. 'course a year goes by fast, no?  

as for china and hong kong...

hong kong usefulness to china depends on the hong kong people. as much as china might like to believe otherwise, the lease didn't mean human capital gots transferred. 

think o' it in football terms. art model didn't like his landlord situation much in 1995, so he took his team and moved it to baltimore. couldn't be the browns in baltimore, but so what? let cleveland keep their stadium. let'em keep the name. the most important aspect o' the team were the people, no? let china keep the buildings and the land. such stuff has much intrinsic value but is not the real worth o' hong kong.  the only reason why businesses stayed in hong kong is 'cause the chinese made staying an attractive enough option for businesses and people. 

sure, china can treat the people o' hong kong like so many uyghur, but is not gonna be particular productive. 

as an aside, is our understanding the hong kong lease only applied to the new territories and not hong kong island itself. admitted, most o' "hong kong" is new territory, but regardless, the island were an outright english colony and required no lease.

HA! Good Fun!

  • Like 1

"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)

Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, Guard Dog said:

 But it can't be denied he's feeding them a little bit:

 

deny we can and deny we do.

Bernie Sanders Condemns Threats Against Ann Coulter Speech At Berkeley

Bernie Sanders Condemns Violent Protests in San Jose

can keep this up all day, 'cause bernie deserves better from gd.

am not a bernie guy, but we genuine wish more liberals were as outspoken as has been bernie regarding antifa. say what you will 'bout the vt senator, but on the issue o' violence, particular violence directed at offensive speakers, he is complete consistent and undeserving o' criticism. in point o' fact, we would say bernie has been clear, unflinching and beyond reproach on this issue.

HA! Good Fun!

ps apologies for double-post. 

 

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)

Posted (edited)

As a reminder that there was a time in the 70's that bombings carried out by fifth columnists in the United States were nearly daily occurrences, to the point that they hardly warranted coverage in national news, the Baader-Meinhoff gang was carrying out routine bank robberies, kidnappings, plane hijackings, and their own bombing attacks (including on NATO bases), and Italy underwent its own wave of political violence between the far left and right that eventually earned the moniker <<Anni di piombo>>, culminating when Italy's own Prime Minister was kidnapped and subsequently executed by the Red Brigade. Personally I think we do a great disservice with talk of the current generation of so-called "antifas" being even a tenth as bad as far-left extremists were in days of yore.

Edited by Agiel
Quote
“Political philosophers have often pointed out that in wartime, the citizen, the male citizen at least, loses one of his most basic rights, his right to life; and this has been true ever since the French Revolution and the invention of conscription, now an almost universally accepted principle. But these same philosophers have rarely noted that the citizen in question simultaneously loses another right, one just as basic and perhaps even more vital for his conception of himself as a civilized human being: the right not to kill.”
 
-Jonathan Littell <<Les Bienveillantes>>
Quote

"The chancellor, the late chancellor, was only partly correct. He was obsolete. But so is the State, the entity he worshipped. Any state, entity, or ideology becomes obsolete when it stockpiles the wrong weapons: when it captures territories, but not minds; when it enslaves millions, but convinces nobody. When it is naked, yet puts on armor and calls it faith, while in the Eyes of God it has no faith at all. Any state, any entity, any ideology that fails to recognize the worth, the dignity, the rights of Man...that state is obsolete."

-Rod Serling

 

Posted

The "media" and the Democrat Party have it's list of acceptable candidates. Gabbard in not on that list right now. Primarily because the name recognition isn't there (yet) but also as a little payback for not being a team player in '16. When you watch the debates and press coverage in  between Biden, Harris, Warren, and Sanders are sucking all the oxygen out of the room. Buttigege (I will never be able to spell that guy's name right) is on the outside looking in. The rest are going to be pressured to drop out before Iowa even happens. Which is a shame because Gabbard is likely the best of that bunch. 

"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

Posted

If you value liberty and economic opportunity you don't usually look for good things out of Oregon. This time they surprised me. They are relaxing zoning restriction by eliminating the "single family home" designation for new construction. The bill they ended up passing strikes me as pretty smart. Some of the earlier versions were VERY onerous. In the early stages they were going to "require" new construction be multi-family. Sometimes big government can't help itself. But what they went with makes it optional. https://reason.com/2019/07/01/oregon-becomes-first-state-to-ditch-single-family-zoning/ 

"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

Posted
20 minutes ago, Guard Dog said:

Primarily because the name recognition isn't there (yet) but also as a little payback for not being a team player in '16.

Hopefully she herself is not shocked at this occurrence.

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

Posted

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/01/president-donald-trump-get-tanks-july-4-celebration-dc/1621331001/

Trumps getting lambasted for arranging tanks and planes for the 4th July , I like military parades and I like tanks so Im not sure I understand  this criticism :shrugz: 

 

"Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss”

John Milton 

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -  George Bernard Shaw

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela

 

 

Posted

Someone's in the business of turning my every joy into ash. After the EU parliamentary elections I figured we'd maybe be spared Manfred Weber as head of the European Commission. Earlier this week when it became clear that Weber is essentially out I was genuinely happy.

But as always, Murphy's Law strikes again and we'll be getting... Zensurla, Terror of the Bundeswehr whose major political successes so far where a failed whelping bonus for university graduates,  maternity wear for female soldiers (I wish I was making this up, really) and a major bid towards censorship in the name of stopping child pornography. Well will someone think of the children already!

Holy hell. Here's to hoping that she won't be accepted by the parliament. For sucks fake.

No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering.

Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, BruceVC said:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/01/president-donald-trump-get-tanks-july-4-celebration-dc/1621331001/

Trumps getting lambasted for arranging tanks and planes for the 4th July , I like military parades and I like tanks so Im not sure I understand  this criticism :shrugz: 

 

can't speak for others, but we got three criticism.

1) let the other guys flex

having been a gym guy since high school and involved in national level o' sports competition. am not a small guy. even so, we do not feel the need to wear a wife beater tank to impress people. we don't even own a wife beater tank. do such makes us instant wonder bout why such folks is feeling the need to overcompensate. let russia and france and north korea do their military parades. is cute and sad to watch 'em flex. the US don't need to try and impress.

2) seems to be missing the spirit o' the typical 4th o' july celebration

in spite o' all the flags on display, 4th o' july has always been, for us, a family celebration. am not certain we can fully express just how militant anti-american is a few in our family. nevertheless, in spite o' political differences, our family put such aside on the 4th o' july... mostly put aside. is one o' the few days o' the year when the military folks in our family and the wannabee revolutionaries may get together for a pickup game o' basketball or maybe softball and then enjoy food and fireworks late into the eve. is an unspoken détente observed. bring in tanks and other military stuff don't necessarily mesh with the family atmosphere we hope continues.

3) trump being trump

am not able to recollect in our lifetime a President appropriating the 4th o' july for political agenda. 1987, reagan did a speech from jefferson memorial on july 3rd, and he were criticized for doing so. perhaps were karma that the day were frightful hot and the assembled politicians, having removed their jackets, were nevertheless sweating something fierce as they endured a sweltering +20 minute speech. am recalling how at the time we thought it were criminal to have the colorguard, standing immediate behind the President, remain motionless and endure the heat in their full uniform for duration o' the event. 

nevertheless, 'cause trump wants to inject himself into an event which has been apolitical for as long as we may remember, we are now having military hardware added as props. his speech is functional a campaign rally for trump, but 'cause it is part o' the existing 4th o' july celebration, he is gonna bill the american people for the added expense o' altered security and  tanks, planes and lord only knows what else. 

but what could go wrong? 4th is on a thursday and many people taking off friday. add in relative low gas prices and am expecting dc beltway will be a mess. hot, extreme humid humid and wet conditions for dc. major changes to what has been an established event for years necessitating unforseen security and public transportation alterations. plus there is anticipation o' considerable protests occurring simultaneous with trump's celebration o' trump. so again, what could go wrong?

the park service people ultimate running the show is professionals and we expect they will able to handle the unusual nonsense added to 2019's 4th celebration. even so, we didn't see the need to 'fix' something which weren't broken. has been an apolitical event celebrating family and patriotism for as long as we recollect. am not seeing how tanks make better. trump wants tanks at a trump rally? let him pay.  heck, he still owes dc millions for his part o' the 2017 inauguration event.

HA! Good Fun!

 

Edited by Gromnir
  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1

"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)

Posted (edited)
36 minutes ago, Gromnir said:

can't speak for others, but we got three criticism.

1) let the other guys flex

having been a gym guy since high school and involved in national level o' sports competition. am not a small guy. even so, we do not feel the need to wear a wife beater tank to impress people. we don't even own a wife beater tank. do such makes us instant wonder bout why such folks is feeling the need to overcompensate. let russia and france and north korea do their military parades. is cute and sad to watch 'em flex. the US don't need to try and impress.

 

That's one of the main arguments against it that were given when Trump wanted to do something similar last year. Basically along the lines of "Strong countries have no need to try to impress, they impress just by being*. Only countries with weak militaries (and in some cases, nostalgia for empire) feel the need to over/compensate."

*speaking of impressive, the new italics are barely noticeable.....

Edited by smjjames
Posted

Oh, by the way, if anyone is interested in the level of trash that Germany's wont to drop on Brussels, meet long time EU commission member Günter Öttinger:

 

Yay.

No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering.

Posted
4 hours ago, BruceVC said:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/01/president-donald-trump-get-tanks-july-4-celebration-dc/1621331001/

Trumps getting lambasted for arranging tanks and planes for the 4th July , I like military parades and I like tanks so Im not sure I understand  this criticism :shrugz: 

 

It's better than last years plan of having a full military parade but better still doesn't make it a good plan.

According to your link the tanks will be stationary and not involved in the parade itself and at a cost of nearly 900k it seems indulgent for what, I agree with Gromnir here, is likely to just be a Trump rally/re-election campaign speech. Add to this who knows how many soldiers will be losing their 96 (4 day weekend) over this and it doesn't seem worth it. As I believe GD said about the last parade, if you want to honor the troops then give them a day off but I think we can all safely assume that our President really only does (or tries to do) things like this to honor himself.

  • Like 1

Free games updated 3/4/21

Posted

Given it's Trump, hope someone checks that the Abrams are actually real.

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

Posted (edited)
39 minutes ago, Malcador said:

Given it's Trump, hope someone checks that the Abrams are actually real.

well, trump did claim there were gonna be "brand new sherman tanks" on display, so anything is possible.

HA! Good Fun!

ps rather than admit simple mistake, we wouldn't be surprised if trump forced some museum piece sherman to be placed on display alongside the bradley and abrams vehicles.

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)

Posted

I'm pretty sure too he can recommission some old Sherman M4's from somewhere. They can be sent to the Mexican border afterwards to help the locals against the invasion.

  • Haha 1

“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
 

Posted
6 hours ago, Gromnir said:

can't speak for others, but we got three criticism.

1) let the other guys flex

having been a gym guy since high school and involved in national level o' sports competition. am not a small guy. even so, we do not feel the need to wear a wife beater tank to impress people. we don't even own a wife beater tank. do such makes us instant wonder bout why such folks is feeling the need to overcompensate. let russia and france and north korea do their military parades. is cute and sad to watch 'em flex. the US don't need to try and impress.

2) seems to be missing the spirit o' the typical 4th o' july celebration

in spite o' all the flags on display, 4th o' july has always been, for us, a family celebration. am not certain we can fully express just how militant anti-american is a few in our family. nevertheless, in spite o' political differences, our family put such aside on the 4th o' july... mostly put aside. is one o' the few days o' the year when the military folks in our family and the wannabee revolutionaries may get together for a pickup game o' basketball or maybe softball and then enjoy food and fireworks late into the eve. is an unspoken détente observed. bring in tanks and other military stuff don't necessarily mesh with the family atmosphere we hope continues.

3) trump being trump

am not able to recollect in our lifetime a President appropriating the 4th o' july for political agenda. 1987, reagan did a speech from jefferson memorial on july 3rd, and he were criticized for doing so. perhaps were karma that the day were frightful hot and the assembled politicians, having removed their jackets, were nevertheless sweating something fierce as they endured a sweltering +20 minute speech. am recalling how at the time we thought it were criminal to have the colorguard, standing immediate behind the President, remain motionless and endure the heat in their full uniform for duration o' the event. 

nevertheless, 'cause trump wants to inject himself into an event which has been apolitical for as long as we may remember, we are now having military hardware added as props. his speech is functional a campaign rally for trump, but 'cause it is part o' the existing 4th o' july celebration, he is gonna bill the american people for the added expense o' altered security and  tanks, planes and lord only knows what else. 

but what could go wrong? 4th is on a thursday and many people taking off friday. add in relative low gas prices and am expecting dc beltway will be a mess. hot, extreme humid humid and wet conditions for dc. major changes to what has been an established event for years necessitating unforseen security and public transportation alterations. plus there is anticipation o' considerable protests occurring simultaneous with trump's celebration o' trump. so again, what could go wrong?

the park service people ultimate running the show is professionals and we expect they will able to handle the unusual nonsense added to 2019's 4th celebration. even so, we didn't see the need to 'fix' something which weren't broken. has been an apolitical event celebrating family and patriotism for as long as we recollect. am not seeing how tanks make better. trump wants tanks at a trump rally? let him pay.  heck, he still owes dc millions for his part o' the 2017 inauguration event.

HA! Good Fun!

 

As usual you have provided a very comprehension answer that makes sense based on facts and historical precedent, I now understand several core criticisms that I heard 

This is about Trump hubris and the adding of tanks and other military paraphernalia is both unnecessary and misplaced 

"Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss”

John Milton 

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -  George Bernard Shaw

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela

 

 

Posted
4 hours ago, Gorth said:

I'm pretty sure too he can recommission some old Sherman M4's from somewhere. They can be sent to the Mexican border afterwards to help the locals against the invasion.

Good point Gorthfuscious, when the southern border is brutally and  inexorably  attacked by the immigrant families....unleash the tanks !!!!  :biggrin:

"Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss”

John Milton 

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -  George Bernard Shaw

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela

 

 

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