Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Kapture1]

Someone in the White House leaked Trump's private schedules for the past 3 months to Axios. On average he spends over half of every day (nearly 60%) in "Executive Time". Though the schedules say hes in the Oval Office, at least 6 sources inside the White House say he's never in the Oval before 11 AM (and that's easily verifiable by seeing if there's a guard visible on the outside of the building).

What's "Executive Time"? Well, if his Twitter feed didn't make it obvious, that's the President's top responsibility of watching tv, glancing at major newspapers, and phoning friends to ask "how am i doin?".

There's an excellent graph showing just how much of every day is given over to "Executive Time" and how much it dominates the President's overall schedule.

https://www.axios.com/read-trumps-pr...a47de661e.html

https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-p...02c334255.html

amazing the good he's doing for the country in that time.

What the fuck was going on with 0bama? I guess it's not the quantity but quality

[Ghengis Jon]

On orders from Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan approved the deployment of 3750 active duty troops to the Mexican border to fend off another fauxvasion in preparation for a fauxgency declaration. This deployment is intended to highlight the nonsensical drivel to be spewed at the State of the Union address for the benefit of the intellectually stunted Trumpanzees.


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKCN1PS0M5

[Kapture1]

[Kapture1]

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[Jeff Buchanan]

In important news of the day........

Corn farmers are upset with Anheuser Busch negging the use of hi-fructose corn syrup in other beers, that is, Bud Light contains no HFCS and one of the more amusing SB ads tells us this. Corn farmers are outraged!

While a lot of HFCS (about a million times more than a human would consume) administered to mice causes liver disease and obesity, there's no actual evidence that at reasonable levels humans might consume it HFCS will have the same effect.

What is really behind undeniable trends in childhood obesity and diabetes is the incredibly poor diets of the economically disadvantaged. It's not just HFCS in the food we eat. Not consuming foods with HFCS in it has become the trendy dietary thing to do..... and once that happens, marketing of products without it takes off. BS.

I could go on but then you'd all neg me for my long posts but sheeeesh, this is just stupid. Besides, Bud Light is terrible beer. I'm not encouraged to drink it not because it doesn't have HFCS in it, on the contrary, I don't drink Bud Light because it is just bad beer.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Besides the crap I just posted above, here's some real meat for thought .......

Now Russia has developed a hypersonic nuclear-weapons delivery system on the dark side of the moon and plans a permanent colony to claim its resources before manned American voyages can return to lunar soil.

And it is claiming the lead in quantum computing and important dimensions of artificial intelligence.

All because Moscow and Beijing can focus resources where it counts, while Washington and European capitals remain engulfed in sterile quarrels about the viability of the WTO and sanctity of the EU, homophobia and shaming historical figures, and whether the advent of robots entitle adults to a guaranteed annual income.

Have you ever heard Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talk about national security or the importance of technology to their socialist utopia?

Meanwhile, Google refuses to cooperate with the Pentagon, and alongside Facebook FB, +1.44% and Twitter TWTR, +1.67%Ultimately, democracies in the West are at risk, because their leaders too are hostage to the false gods of multilateralism, political correctness, and good old-fashioned greed.

I don't often feed our several Trump supporters here but this stuff is right up their ally. If only The Donald could make a case for his policies like this article does. Instead he fucks himself with his twitter bull shit and I don't really think he knows what the fuck he is doing. It's more like he is adrift on a life raft headed toward where this author thinks America should be heading on a sea of dangerous socialist ideas emerging in American politics.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/western-decadence-puts-democracy-at-risk-2019-02-04?siteid=rss&rss=1

[Ghengis Jon]

Bud Light does not qualify as beer. It is the Keystone Lite amongst the Big League brewers. Yuuuuck.

According to Aviation Week and Space Technology, the US has been working on hypersonic weapons for more than 15 years. Much like when the US developed its stealth aircraft, there is virtually nothing about the technology in the public domain. That bodes well if past examples represent current activities. All this will do is prompt a new round of missile defense. The sonic signature keeps this technology in the ICBM and the IRBM fields. It will force the weaponization of space. Just what we need, more globally lethal technology to go wrong at the worst possible time.

Sanders, Warren, AOC, et al are simply boogie men for the right. Their agendas have as much chance as what the teabaggers had. What gets lost in all the hyperbole is we are saddled with a growing $21 trillion debt. The Pie-In-The-Sky drivel has no financial basis of support and even less chance of coming into being. Biden or a centrist will get the Dem nomination - the current batch of candidate-wannabes are simply today's side show imitation of the 2016 GOP clown car escapade. True socialism has zero chance in this nation, but it makes good theater for those who feel the need to be paranoid about something.

The best way to beat the Googles of the world is to get OFF line. I use the net for email, researching scanned historical documents, and venting on on-line forums. I do zero banking, bill paying, or shopping on-line. I have never been on Facebook, twitter, instagram or any of the other platforms as I believe that social media is simply another social disease like gonorrhea. Hell, I forget to carry my spouse inflicted cellphone half the time (I refused to accept the free phone that the office wants to provide me.) The privacy and data issues are all self inflicted. Not much sympathy from me on that score.

[crashcourse]

the amazing thing about all this brouhahaha about the governor is all the blackface going around at that time including multiple entertainers were wearing it

culture club--do you really want to hurt me--putting on the ritz both in 1983
tropic thunder--great movie done all in blackface 2006
soulman --done entoirely in blackface 1986

granted having the KKK next to you in the photo was enmtirley inapproapriate

but I don't think we should judge people byt what was widely considered ok in 1984--ie wearing of blackface


course the dems have a lieuteniut governor that I think they would rather have in office so they'l be no pointing out that movies and videos in the early 80's did not shy away from blackface

I feel very sorry for thoise leaders in the future who will have to defend themselves against a whole lot of facebook, tweets and whatever other social media college experiences that will come back to haunt them

[Jeff Buchanan]

....... What gets lost in all the hyperbole is we are saddled with a growing $21 trillion debt. The Pie-In-The-Sky drivel has no financial basis of support and even less chance of coming into being. Biden or a centrist will get the Dem nomination - the current batch of candidate-wannabes are simply today's side show imitation of the 2016 GOP clown car escapade. True socialism has zero chance in this nation, but it makes good theater for those who feel the need to be paranoid about something.

Well, Jon, have you heard about MMT? It's the economic theory that submits governments can borrow what ever they want - deficit spending is irrelevant as long as you aren't borrowing in anything but your own sovereign currency. Inflation is the only barrier to spending. This sort of thinking has a rational basis and is gaining some traction. You need to get with the program buddy ...... heh.

And, I need to study this MMT thing some more.I think you'd call me a Kenysian and MMT is certainly a very different way of thinking about monetary policy. I minored in Econ at M and it was that damn choice that brought down my GPA for God's sake..... of course along with frequent evening trips to the Pretzel Bell in Ann Arbor and weekends of consuming whapatoola punch mixed in large garbage cans and served with giant commercial ladles. Many a Monday - or for that matter any day of the week - class missed.

https://www.marketplace.org/2019/01/24/economy/modern-monetary-theory-explained

[hack]

We can and probably will disagree on where military spending is needed, Jeff, or from where the true threats will come. They will certainly come. I'd stay away from anything mainstream media on this, and have no idea why an entire US government would be obsessed with the EU or the WTO. There are branches of government there to focus on those organizations and others that focus on ones relevant to this. If your media coverage doesn't reflect that reality, that's a thing to ponder. Beyond me why you'd get your military/geopolitical security commentary on a stock market-news site from a professor of economics anyways.

I haven't read beyond the first third of this, on Nato and cyberspace, but you may be intrested: https://warontherocks.com/2019/02/wh...in-cyberspace/.

[Ghengis Jon]

I will certainly read up on MMT. I simply believe a country should run on a budget like a household.

[hack]

MMT is also on my list of things to comprehend.

[crashcourse]

I see you learn from Trump. He never claimed Obama was born elsewhere either.

You circulated conspiracy theories implying Hillary or the DNC murdered Seth Rich because he leaked the emails to Wikileaks and the Russians never hacked anyone. Deny it if you wish. Plead ignorance of the Qanon fanboys but you're circulating their videos now.

You don't know who any conspiracy theorists are yet you're constantly sharing their material with us. Why not do a little research into the people you're presenting to us as "experts"?

bwhahaahah

DSL do you know how many times you've posted items that turned out to be false ---blatantly false and just plain conspiracy theories yourself?

I may have a few but just during the trump presidency you've reached the limit.

but here's another for my side

Fusion GPS set up that meeting in trump tower with the Russian female attorney and trump jr
same fusion that bankrolled the dossier
just another another attempt of entrapping the trump election efforts and ultimately his presidency
wonder why Mueller hasn't indicted trump jr--maybe the fact fusion has its fingerprints all over that meeting is something Mueller doesn't want out there

[Jeff Buchanan]

Hack ...... just bringing readers the news not staking out any positions for myself. However, I'll grant that the author's assertion that the US government is obsessed with such things as the WTO, etc. and this obsession keeps that same US government from acting like the governments of China and Russia to allocate attention and resources to where they need to be used, is a reach. Interesting but definitely a reach by the author.

But, in general terms, the author suggests that governments that can and do act like China and Russia in determining what to spend and where to spend it do a better job than the US in ways that advance their own government's public policy initiatives and national security objectives. I agree with this point but not saying the US should emulate these governments and how they operate. Definately not saying that and I don't think the author of the article is either.

The author does imply, I think, that Trump's overt nationalism could positively serve both US national and international interests. I have some understanding, if not empathy for what appears to be Trump's nationalism and policy that springs forth from it but I also don't think he knows WTF he's doing (those in his administration, OTH, might) and more often than not Trump fucks himself by lying out his ass all the time and compromising a rational nationalist message with both his dumb-ass tweeting and his huge ego.

As for advising me to check my media sources and obtain a broader (meaning better or more balanced) perspective, see AA's comments about your "unbearable" pedantry. I'm fine with my news feeds thank you.

On the ongoing battle in cyberspace article......... Nothing new in that article other than a calculated and more public disclosure of what's going on in that realm. Side story pertains though:

Way back in the 80s when I was on active duty and connected with the NSA in an indirect way, not only was cyberspace known to the public as an emerging battle domain but it was already, at a classified level, a mature and well developed program in the US. I don't think it is a state secret anymore - in fact, I'm sure it is not because you can read about it - but when in 1980 Jimmy Carter decided to launch an operation to rescue the American hostages Iran was holding, before a single helo was launched into the Iranian desert (which is as far as they got unfortunately) what is now called the US Cyber Command (such an organization not publicly acknowledged until 2 decades later) allegedly inserted a virus into the microprocessors of a shipment of printers headed to Iran to be used in various air defense command centers.

When the printers were connected to the network, the virus was intended to render Iran's air defense and early warning capabilities inoperable for a period of time. I don't know if this happened or if it actually worked; I do know that not a single air defense action was taken by the Iranians until the Russians, through there own satellite imagery, tipped them off that some sort of big fire was burning in the desert not far from Tehran and did thy know about this?

The fire, of course, was several USMC CH53 helicopters ablaze at an expeditionary airfield and refueling stop set up days before the actual operation was to take place. The cause of the blaze was two helos running into each other in an unexpected and unforecasted sandstorm that engulfed the refueling stop and reduced visability to zero at the landing zone. The crash ignited the huge expeditionary fuel bags positioned there for the rescue mission. It was a mess, 5 CH53s, most of them burned, were left in the desert and several Marines and a civilian Iranian helping the US mission died. I knew the CH53 helo flight commander who was badly burned but survived. He tells a riveting story.

Although, at the time, I had no idea of this because I was not read into it, Marines were practicing this entire operation within the scope of a Weapons and Tactics school program in Yuma AZ that I was, as a student there, a part of. It wasn't until later when I was assigned to and became an instructor there that I put 2 and 2 together.

Lots of secret squirrel shit goes on right under our noses without the significance or scope of it being known publicly until long after it has been on-going and reaches a fully operational status. Remember the stealth fighter named the F117 Nighthawk? The public first learned about it after it successfully flew Integrated Air Defenses (IADs) destruction missions against the Iraqi air defense command centers during Operation Desert Storm in August, 1990. Because of some of the F117 defensive electronic countermeasures equipment that I had operational familiarity with in testing, I knew this aircraft was being flown out of Area 6 in Nevada as early as 1980. IOW, the aircraft had almost a decade of operational flying until pictures and descriptions of the F117 were publicly revealed. The story of the SR71 is the same. It first flew in the early 50s but the public didn't know about it until decades later.

So, breaking news of a NATO Cyberspace Command? mehhh

[hack]

Jeff, commenting on the source and trustworthiness of a particular media source is something that happens here regularly. At least in this case I gave you a reason that goes beyond ``that media doesn't fit my own bias". I suggested that an economics professor on a markets website may not be the best source of news about national security. What I linked to wasn't ``breaking news'' either. Nor was it presented as such. It was a person who has had skin in the game and knows what the game is actually about commenting on the game as it stands today. Which to me sounds a whole lot more valuable than an econ prof spouting off like that. Since you pushed back, here are more thoughts on that:

-That prof's argument is severely undercut by total defense spending, spending as a percentage of GDP, and the value per dollar of spend achieved by the Russian or Chinese. There's no way any serious student of defence spending can make the argument he is making. I most certainly do NOT focus on that area, but I know enough to know that the US outspends in those areas.

-one can point to serious triumphs on behalf of the US military in the forum of technological warfare that are completely ignored in favor of assertions that aren't supported. Stuxnet is an example. Drones. And we know that the Russians have tried to hack the power grid multiple times over the years and have yet to cause the mayhem they want to. The tracking of OBL is another. You can be sure that there are others we don't know of. That column just doesn't reflect reality, in multiple ways. It is pure garbage. Selling fear.