Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Jeff Buchanan]

For those of you on the East Coast including SC and northward, Irma is a major hurricane churning in the Atlantic just east of the Leeward Islands (St. Martin, Anguila). On it's northward track, it may impact you. From the weather service I follow:

.........For Those Of You In The Bahamas & Along The US East Coast, Especially From The Carolinas Northward To New England: Even though it is still way too early to definitely say Irma will hit some part of the US East Coast, there are signals in the data that suggests Irma will at least threaten the US East Coast next weekend. This signal includes a digging trough of low pressure between 80 and 90 West Longitude and a building ridge of high pressure over the western Atlantic. As I mentioned previously, if the high pressure ridge is stronger, then we will probably see a US impact. On the other hand, if the trough of low pressure is stronger, then we would probably see a curve into the open Atlantic.

At this point, I would strongly advise everyone along the US East Coast, especially those of you from the South and North Carolina coast northward to New England to make some initial preparations for this hurricane in case it does impact next weekend (These are the things I will be doing myself this weekend, just in case). These include going through your hurricane prep kit (or start building one if you haven't done so already). Also, if you are at the store this weekend, throw a few cans of non-perishable items, some extra batteries and a couple of cases of water into your shopping cart ? again, just in case. If Irma does end up missing the US East Coast, you'll not only be ready for the next storm and also you wont be part of a mad rush to the store later next week if Hurricane Watches and Warnings are issued.

[hack]

This may be one of the better pieces I've read on the N. Korea problem. It's underlying premise is that one must recognize a problem without a solution, i.e., the NK problem, is a fact and deal with it from there.

The author's recommendation "from there:"

.........the least bad option would be to openly declare that America already considers the North Korean regime to be China's puppet, and that North Korean misdeeds are really Chinese misdeeds. That would come at a price, too. But it would incentivize China either to rein in the North Korean regime or, eventually, get rid of it.

https://a.msn.com/r/2/AAr4g8V?m=en-us

That was excellent.

[Dr. Strangelove]

DOJ confirms in a filing on friday that there is NO EVIDENCE that Trump Tower was ever wiretapped. Trump's tweet way back in March was total bullshit. Shocking, I know.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/justice-department-confirms-no-evidence-obama-wiretapped-trump-tower/article/2633275

[hack]

Wasn't it the ICBC Bank office that was wiretapped in that same building? I dunno. Not gonna get bogged down in forest-for-trees details. Trump and at least a dozen or two people around him committed treason and need to go to jail. It's time Americans took the founding principles seriously.

[Dr. Strangelove]

North Korea tests a hydogen bomb. Reports say the seismological data from the underground supports a bomb test of that strength. They claim it can fit on an ICBM.

[Jeff Buchanan]

It's become clear to me that what NK and Kim-Jong-Un want is the ability to extort it's way to a seat at the table ....... or to simply insure it's survival.

I also wonder how much of this NK activity is being encouraged by the Chinese. Although China is a nuclear power, their arsenal is small compared to the Russian and the US stock-piles. Given Chinese interests in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and it's dislike of the United States' military, especially naval, activity there, it seems that encouraging NK shenanigans with nukes is not an unreasonable strategy for them.

We may be entering a new era of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) as a deterrent strategy v. NK. MAD was made moot during the Regan administration's rapproachement with Gorbachev and the USSR. It was a good cold war strategy then for the US and the NATO coalition and it will work now until the US is able to leverage China into telling it's NK puppet to knock it off.

In other words, NK joins Russia and the nuclear armed NATO allies in a tripartate arrangement in which we will obliterate each other with nukes if attacked.

[hack]

The link you provided the other day does a good job explaining how this is a chip the Chinese have against us but also Japan and South Korea. And that if we were to just tell the Chinese to fix it, or if we were to fix it ourselves, then we're no longer needed as the guarantor of security in SE Asia, and that's huge influence lost in a crucial region. Important stuff there. Without the "threat" of NK there is less tying those non-Chinese countries in the region to us. All sides have an incentive for this to look and feel real, but never to actually be real.

[Jeff Buchanan]

........ All sides have an incentive for this to look and feel real, but never to actually be real.

Presicely.

That makes the breathless reporting of this and that NK nuclear activity as rather useless when the situation is understood in this context.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Update on Hurricane Irma ........

Not good for residents from West Palm Beach FL to Long Island and Nantucket. Still no definite East coast landfall but there is a 70% probability it will make a direct hit on US East coast. Right now it is a Cat 3 Hurricane (up to 130mph). Hi likelihood it will be a Cat 4 (up to 155mph) when it enters the danger zone for the US in the Bahamas Mon/Tues week of September 11th.

It's going to probably pass right over the BVI and Puerto Rico as a Cat 3, maybe Cat 4 potentially doing heavy damage there on its way to Bermuda where it will wreak havoc there as well. After that the track is less certain. My service tells me a hit in SC or NC from Charleston to Moorehead City is in the mix.

This storm is a serious threat to you if you live along the US East coast. Good idea to start preparations now.

[AlabamAlum]

Hopefully, it will curl out and away from land mass.

Multiple computer projections for Irma's path:

[THE_WIZARD_]

fuckin' Irma

[Dr. Strangelove]

Trump is reportedly going to end DACA, with a 6 moth delay. Presumably that's to give Congress time to pass something.

[Ghengis Jon]

Why doesn't he resign with a six month delay? This would give us time to find a suitable replacement for Mike Pence.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Hardcore Trump haters will generally point to this and say "See? Racist Trump strikes again". It's more likely more nuanced than that. There's a decent amount of evidence that Trump's very uncomfortable deporting these kids but the most ravenously loyal portion of his base (the white nationalist/Breitbart crowd) demands it. He's trying to pass the buck to Congress. We'll see if Trump is willing to defy his core base or will ultimately cave in six months if Congress does nothing.

In other news, they've recovered the body of the final Harvey rescue worker who'd gone missing during the storm. He was a DREAMER

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Missing-volunteer-pulled-from-Cypress-Creek-12170986.php

[CGVT]

One less to deport...