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Made in nl
Pragmatic Primus Commanding Cult Forces






 KTG17 wrote:
 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
Meanwhile in China...

But with a deadly rival on the horizon seeking to usurp your hegemony, the last thing the USA needed was a clown POTUS, a corrupt and incompetent administration, a political system under siege from money and outside influence, and a populace who either don't care, or think the whole thing is a mass conspiracy theory...

This is a cross-roads for the USA.


Would you have preferred 8 more years of Obama? Because he sat back and empowered China to build up those islands in the South China Sea. Didn't want to antagonize. Thought being nice would solve the world's problems. Not that Trump has any of the answers but keep in mind the guy everyone thought was cool and smart didn't do gak either.

And I wouldn't worry too much over the long haul anyway. At the end of the day, everyone knows who the US is, and everyone knows who China is. No one is really going to ally themselves with China. Most countries in the area do not like the Chinese. When I lived in Indonesia, the Indonesians hated the Chinese who lived there. I think its the same in the Philippines. Now, they will certainly take their money, but lose sight of who they are? No.



In other news, 3.9% unemployment. Amazing.

The Chinese are still on their islands though. Trump isn't doing anything more against that than Obama did.

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West Yorkshire, England

 d-usa wrote:


https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-claims-queen-elizabeth-kept-him-waiting-uk-us-media/

Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday, Trump claimed he had actually arrived 15 minutes early for his meeting with the “incredible” queen, slamming the “fake, fake, disgusting news” media reports that noted he had been the one who was late.


See, this is the sort of stuff I don't get. Why lie about something so trivial, which most people wouldn't even care about? Or maybe to him it isn't lying, he actually rewrites his own memory. Kind of like how Homer Simpson clearly remembered the last town hall meeting:

Spoiler:

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/08/03 13:17:20


"The 75mm gun is firing. The 37mm gun is firing, but is traversed round the wrong way. The Browning is jammed. I am saying "Driver, advance." and the driver, who can't hear me, is reversing. And as I look over the top of the turret and see twelve enemy tanks fifty yards away, someone hands me a cheese sandwich." 
   
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 Iron_Captain wrote:

The Chinese are still on their islands though. Trump isn't doing anything more against that than Obama did.


Of course they are, they are already built and manned. The only way to remove them at this point is via war. The point I was making is that something should have done when they started dredging.

Can't blame the guy in charge for the things that occurred before he got there. I guess the real rest will be if any more are built.

   
Made in nl
Pragmatic Primus Commanding Cult Forces






 Elemental wrote:
 d-usa wrote:


https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-claims-queen-elizabeth-kept-him-waiting-uk-us-media/

Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday, Trump claimed he had actually arrived 15 minutes early for his meeting with the “incredible” queen, slamming the “fake, fake, disgusting news” media reports that noted he had been the one who was late.


See, this is the sort of stuff I don't get. Why lie about something so trivial, which most people wouldn't even care about? Or maybe to him it isn't lying, he actually rewrites his own memory. Kind of like how Homer Simpson clearly remembered the last town hall meeting:

Spoiler:

When everything becomes a lie, there will be no more truth, and therefore nothing is a lie. Behind the Big Lie there is a web of smaller lies. Or in other words, Trump has distorted the truth so much that he can now say pretty much everything he wants and his supporters will believe him. Trump, at this point may have started believing in it himself as well.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/08/03 13:30:38


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[MOD]
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Somewhere in south-central England.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
 KTG17 wrote:
 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
Meanwhile in China...

But with a deadly rival on the horizon seeking to usurp your hegemony, the last thing the USA needed was a clown POTUS, a corrupt and incompetent administration, a political system under siege from money and outside influence, and a populace who either don't care, or think the whole thing is a mass conspiracy theory...

This is a cross-roads for the USA.


Would you have preferred 8 more years of Obama? Because he sat back and empowered China to build up those islands in the South China Sea. Didn't want to antagonize. Thought being nice would solve the world's problems. Not that Trump has any of the answers but keep in mind the guy everyone thought was cool and smart didn't do gak either.

And I wouldn't worry too much over the long haul anyway. At the end of the day, everyone knows who the US is, and everyone knows who China is. No one is really going to ally themselves with China. Most countries in the area do not like the Chinese. When I lived in Indonesia, the Indonesians hated the Chinese who lived there. I think its the same in the Philippines. Now, they will certainly take their money, but lose sight of who they are? No.



In other news, 3.9% unemployment. Amazing.

The Chinese are still on their islands though. Trump isn't doing anything more against that than Obama did.


Under Trump's environmental plans, accelerating global warming will see the Chinese islands inundated all the sooner, or else buried with plastic waste.

I'm writing a load of fiction. My latest story starts here... This is the index of all the stories...

We're not very big on official rules. Rules lead to people looking for loopholes. What's here is about it. 
   
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 Kilkrazy wrote:
[
Under Trump's environmental plans, accelerating global warming will see the Chinese islands inundated all the sooner, or else buried with plastic waste.


Funniest thing I have ever read on dakka. And here I thought the Mods here had no sense of humor.
   
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 KTG17 wrote:
 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
Meanwhile in China...

But with a deadly rival on the horizon seeking to usurp your hegemony, the last thing the USA needed was a clown POTUS, a corrupt and incompetent administration, a political system under siege from money and outside influence, and a populace who either don't care, or think the whole thing is a mass conspiracy theory...

This is a cross-roads for the USA.


Would you have preferred 8 more years of Obama? Because he sat back and empowered China to build up those islands in the South China Sea. Didn't want to antagonize. Thought being nice would solve the world's problems. Not that Trump has any of the answers but keep in mind the guy everyone thought was cool and smart didn't do gak either.

And I wouldn't worry too much over the long haul anyway. At the end of the day, everyone knows who the US is, and everyone knows who China is. No one is really going to ally themselves with China. Most countries in the area do not like the Chinese. When I lived in Indonesia, the Indonesians hated the Chinese who lived there. I think its the same in the Philippines. Now, they will certainly take their money, but lose sight of who they are? No.



In other news, 3.9% unemployment. Amazing.

Empowered? What you, wanted Obama to start a war with a nuclear power over a few specks of sand in an ocean? They already started occupying islands under the presidency of saint Reagan. Obama repaired the damage to US influence in the region after years of neglect under Bush and started forming closer regional alliances in the region to form a block around China. People like Duterte and Trump took a steaming dump on those efforts because Trump is once again neglecting US influence there. What Obama did was far better than what Trump is doing now, Xi couldn't be happier with Trump when it comes to the political situation in East Asia.

The issue is that those people hate the wrong Chinese. Indonesians? They hate Chinese who have been living there for generations. Its plain old racism, that came out violently multiple times in the last century, not anything against the PRC. Most of the hatred against Chinese in the region could just as easily be replaced by Taiwanese, because its aimed mostly at their own chinese populations. They hate each others guts just as badly without the US knocking heads together.

The issue isn't that those countries are going the ally with China. The risk is that any effort can fracture due to a divide and conquer approach by China. ASEAN is not as firm as it once was against China without obvious US backing.

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2018/08/03 14:04:48


Sorry for my spelling. I'm not a native speaker and a dyslexic.
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Somewhere in south-central England.

Obama's strategic plan to influence and contain Chinese expansionism was based around the TTIP trade organisation gathering the Pacific Rim nations into a trade bloc which would drape the Chinese economy with velvet ropes.

Trump has semi-wrecked that, but he seemingly has not given any thought to how to achieve the objective another way.


I'm writing a load of fiction. My latest story starts here... This is the index of all the stories...

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Seneca Nation of Indians

You know, there's a way to deal with tChina on those islands. Just cause a submarine landslide along the coast someplace near them. the Tsunami will wash them away and you can claim it was a natural catastrophe.


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 KTG17 wrote:
 Iron_Captain wrote:

The Chinese are still on their islands though. Trump isn't doing anything more against that than Obama did.


Of course they are, they are already built and manned. The only way to remove them at this point is via war. The point I was making is that something should have done when they started dredging.

Can't blame the guy in charge for the things that occurred before he got there. I guess the real rest will be if any more are built.


You do realize that China kept expanding islands and building facilities in 2017 right? Firmly in the beginning of the Trump term and not a peep.

Sorry for my spelling. I'm not a native speaker and a dyslexic.
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Bristol

 BaronIveagh wrote:
You know, there's a way to deal with tChina on those islands. Just cause a submarine landslide along the coast someplace near them. the Tsunami will wash them away and you can claim it was a natural catastrophe.


Along with drowning anybody on a beach anywhere else the tsunami wave gets to.

Also, it would be hard to fake it considering how much detection equipment there is looking for seismic activity in that region. You will need to use explosives to trigger the landslide, which needs to be big to cause a tsunami, which will be picked up by detection equipment. You then have to either cause this landslide along a fault line to explain that activity or have some other explanation which can perfectly explain the readings made by hundreds of independent groups.

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 A Town Called Malus wrote:


Along with drowning anybody on a beach anywhere else the tsunami wave gets to.

Also, it would be hard to fake it considering how much detection equipment there is looking for seismic activity in that region. You will need to use explosives to trigger the landslide, which needs to be big to cause a tsunami, which will be picked up by detection equipment. You then have to either cause this landslide along a fault line to explain that activity or have some other explanation which can perfectly explain the readings made by hundreds of independent groups.


Fortunately there are thousands of fault lines in the area that can be used to explain it, and the landslide can be on a seamount, so it does not have to be that obvious. Can blame it on subsidence releasing methane hydrate.

And Trump should have squawked when they put Nuclear Weapons on some of the islands, but he was too busy taking bribes and winning his company's court cases in China miraculously to take note of nukes.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/08/03 14:32:07



Fate is in heaven, armor is on the chest, accomplishment is in the feet. - Nagao Kagetora
 
   
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 BaronIveagh wrote:
You know, there's a way to deal with tChina on those islands. Just cause a submarine landslide along the coast someplace near them. the Tsunami will wash them away and you can claim it was a natural catastrophe.

Actually typhoons have quite often washed away Chinese efforts, but they just start over. No reason they wouldn't do so again.

Sorry for my spelling. I'm not a native speaker and a dyslexic.
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 Disciple of Fate wrote:

Actually typhoons have quite often washed away Chinese efforts, but they just start over. No reason they wouldn't do so again.


Oh, not saying they wouldn't, but a tsunami woulds be a region wide setback rather than the relatively localized damage typhoons bring.


Fate is in heaven, armor is on the chest, accomplishment is in the feet. - Nagao Kagetora
 
   
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 BaronIveagh wrote:
 A Town Called Malus wrote:


Along with drowning anybody on a beach anywhere else the tsunami wave gets to.

Also, it would be hard to fake it considering how much detection equipment there is looking for seismic activity in that region. You will need to use explosives to trigger the landslide, which needs to be big to cause a tsunami, which will be picked up by detection equipment. You then have to either cause this landslide along a fault line to explain that activity or have some other explanation which can perfectly explain the readings made by hundreds of independent groups.


Fortunately there are thousands of fault lines in the area that can be used to explain it, and the landslide can be on a seamount, so it does not have to be that obvious. Can blame it on subsidence releasing methane hydrate.

That is one of the most silly ideas I have ever heard. Or at least, it would have been had I never looked at Trump's Twitter account.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/08/03 14:36:55


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 BaronIveagh wrote:
 Disciple of Fate wrote:

Actually typhoons have quite often washed away Chinese efforts, but they just start over. No reason they wouldn't do so again.


Oh, not saying they wouldn't, but a tsunami woulds be a region wide setback rather than the relatively localized damage typhoons bring.

It would be less of a setback then it would have been two years ago. China has build specific dredging ships able to build islands much faster. If anything a tsunami is going to be to the advantage for China, because it means it could quickly claim Philipinne and Vietnamese islands that washed away as they have nowhere near the Chinese capabilities. Plus you know the death toll and destruction on the opponents of China and nominally US allies.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/08/03 14:42:18


Sorry for my spelling. I'm not a native speaker and a dyslexic.
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 BaronIveagh wrote:
You know, there's a way to deal with tChina on those islands. Just cause a submarine landslide along the coast someplace near them. the Tsunami will wash them away and you can claim it was a natural catastrophe.


Genuine question, you do understand that what you are suggesting would involve committing mass murder there, right?
   
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-

 KTG17 wrote:
 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
Meanwhile in China...

But with a deadly rival on the horizon seeking to usurp your hegemony, the last thing the USA needed was a clown POTUS, a corrupt and incompetent administration, a political system under siege from money and outside influence, and a populace who either don't care, or think the whole thing is a mass conspiracy theory...

This is a cross-roads for the USA.


Would you have preferred 8 more years of Obama? Because he sat back and empowered China to build up those islands in the South China Sea. Didn't want to antagonize. Thought being nice would solve the world's problems. Not that Trump has any of the answers but keep in mind the guy everyone thought was cool and smart didn't do gak either.

And I wouldn't worry too much over the long haul anyway. At the end of the day, everyone knows who the US is, and everyone knows who China is. No one is really going to ally themselves with China. Most countries in the area do not like the Chinese. When I lived in Indonesia, the Indonesians hated the Chinese who lived there. I think its the same in the Philippines. Now, they will certainly take their money, but lose sight of who they are? No.



In other news, 3.9% unemployment. Amazing.


This isn't a case of Obama = good, Trump = bad, because American foreign policy has been a shambles since the Berlin Wall came down, and I include Obama in that bracket.

To be even handed, America won the Cold War, and for 10 years, there was nobody that could lay a finger on Washington. This has parallels with Britain in 1815, when they became undisputed masters of the high seas. They reigned for 100 years, and it's easy to get complacent.

When Germany rose to challenge Britain in the 1900s with the Dreadnought crisis, the British response was an arms race and to out Dreadnought the Germans.

I'm not suggesting another global arms race, but there is a lot the USA could have done with a soft power approach. Others have already mentioned the Pacific, so I'll focus on Africa.

The USA has no colonial baggage in Africa, so why are the Chinese outstripping the USA for investment here?

The common response is that the USA couldn't fund dodgy dictators because of human rights abuses, and the Chinese don't care about human rights.

But that's nonsense when you look at America's relationship with Saudi Arabia and it's dubious backing of various dodgy regimes over the decades, South Vietnam being a prime example.

It's not a moral compass that's preventing American investment in Africa, it's simply a lack of will.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 Disciple of Fate wrote:
 BaronIveagh wrote:
 Disciple of Fate wrote:

Actually typhoons have quite often washed away Chinese efforts, but they just start over. No reason they wouldn't do so again.


Oh, not saying they wouldn't, but a tsunami woulds be a region wide setback rather than the relatively localized damage typhoons bring.

It would be less of a setback then it would have been two years ago. China has build specific dredging ships able to build islands much faster. If anything a tsunami is going to be to the advantage for China, because it means it could quickly claim Philipinne and Vietnamese islands that washed away as they have nowhere near the Chinese capabilities. Plus you know the death toll and destruction on the opponents of China and nominally US allies.


Baron's plan is a non-starter, and the Chinese presence is a fait acompli. Short of war, they ain't going anywhere.

What the USA should be doing is rallying regional support to circumvent and frustrate Chinese plans in the region.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/08/03 14:53:21


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deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd 
   
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Leerstetten, Germany

That’s part of the issue with Trump’s, and his supporters, approach to trade. He treats trade like a simple “$ in vs $ out” equation. But many of our trade imbalances are actually balanced out by non-money factors, such as foreign influence and partnerships against other nations.

That’s the big damage we got after wrecking the TPP, which to be fair was unpopular with almost everyone and Clinton also claimed she would withdraw from it.
   
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 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

This isn't a case of Obama = good, Trump = bad, because American foreign policy has been a shambles since the Berlin Wall came down, and I include Obama in that bracket.

To be even handed, America won the Cold War, and for 10 years, there was nobody that could lay a finger on Washington. This has parallels with Britain in 1815, when they became undisputed masters of the high seas. They reigned for 100 years, and it's easy to get complacent.

When Germany rose to challenge Britain in the 1900s with the Dreadnought crisis, the British response was an arms race and to out Dreadnought the Germans.

I'm not suggesting another global arms race, but there is a lot the USA could have done with a soft power approach. Others have already mentioned the Pacific, so I'll focus on Africa.

The USA has no colonial baggage in Africa, so why are the Chinese outstripping the USA for investment here?

The common response is that the USA couldn't fund dodgy dictators because of human rights abuses, and the Chinese don't care about human rights.

But that's nonsense when you look at America's relationship with Saudi Arabia and it's dubious backing of various dodgy regimes over the decades, South Vietnam being a prime example.

It's not a moral compass that's preventing American investment in Africa, it's simply a lack of will.

China growing was inevitable, it wasn't US complacency. If anything during the Cold War mistakes were made which let China slip into an opposite camp later down the line.

As for Africa, its overblown. US trade is 25% of Africa's total versus 15% for China, but that is a share of an increasingly large sum, not a decrease of the US. The West combined vastly outstrips Chinese FDI there. A lot of what China wants is resources and for that the US has alternative sources. Why invest in something you don't need?

Edit: China isn't looking to form long term relationships, China is looking to get out of Africa what it needs.

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 Disciple of Fate wrote:
 BaronIveagh wrote:
 Disciple of Fate wrote:

Actually typhoons have quite often washed away Chinese efforts, but they just start over. No reason they wouldn't do so again.


Oh, not saying they wouldn't, but a tsunami woulds be a region wide setback rather than the relatively localized damage typhoons bring.

It would be less of a setback then it would have been two years ago. China has build specific dredging ships able to build islands much faster. If anything a tsunami is going to be to the advantage for China, because it means it could quickly claim Philipinne and Vietnamese islands that washed away as they have nowhere near the Chinese capabilities. Plus you know the death toll and destruction on the opponents of China and nominally US allies.


Baron's plan is a non-starter, and the Chinese presence is a fait acompli. Short of war, they ain't going anywhere.

What the USA should be doing is rallying regional support to circumvent and frustrate Chinese plans in the region.

That's what they did before Trump took a wrecking ball to the State Department

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2018/08/03 15:38:17


Sorry for my spelling. I'm not a native speaker and a dyslexic.
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 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:


Baron's plan is a non-starter, and the Chinese presence is a fait acompli. Short of war, they ain't going anywhere.


Actually a lot of them have to be abandoned every time there's a monsoon. They're just too low laying.

As far as war goes, the Philippines have been rebuilding facilities on Thitu in preparation for just that, having won against China in the stand off in that area. Which is why China has brought nuclear weapons into the area.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/08/03 15:16:20



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Curb stomping in the Eye of Terror!

 BaronIveagh wrote:
You know, there's a way to deal with tChina on those islands. Just cause a submarine landslide along the coast someplace near them. the Tsunami will wash them away and you can claim it was a natural catastrophe.

Is that even a thing?

EDIT: huh, I guess it is. Learned something new.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/08/03 15:31:12


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Chicago, Illinois

 whembly wrote:
 BaronIveagh wrote:
You know, there's a way to deal with tChina on those islands. Just cause a submarine landslide along the coast someplace near them. the Tsunami will wash them away and you can claim it was a natural catastrophe.

Is that even a thing?

EDIT: huh, I guess it is. Learned something new.


What a war crime?

Then yes.. Yes it is.


https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/08/03/insidious-emails-show-trump-white-house-lied-about-us-poverty-levels-discredit

Infuriated by a scathing United Nations report estimating that over 18 million Americans are living in "extreme poverty" and accusing the Trump administration of "deliberately" making such destitution worse with its tax cuts for the rich, the White House insisted in its June response to the U.N. analysis that the United States is overflowing with "prosperity" and that claims of widespread poverty are "exaggerated."

"This is not as dramatic as Trump's tweets or bald-faced lies at press briefings. But in a way it is far more insidious; the contempt for facts is pervasive and maddening."
—Jeff Greenfield

But internal State Department emails and documents obtained by Foreign Policy and the non-profit journalism website Coda Story show that the Trump administration ignored advice of White House economic analysts and knowingly lied to the public about the severity of American poverty, which the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Philip Alston described as "shocking."

Foreign Policy reported on Thursday that officials who were consulted last-minute on a draft of the White House's rebuttal of the U.N. findings "questioned the accuracy of the data the administration was citing."

Despite the fact that the U.N. analysis cited government statistics to bolster its claims about poverty in America, the Trump administration opted to draw from a report by the right-wing Heritage Foundation, which concluded that 250,000 Americans are living in extreme poverty—a stark contrast to the U.N.'s conclusion that the correct number is 18.25 million.

The Heritage report cited by the White House also concluded that the conditions of the poor must be improving because many families living in deep poverty own cell phones and DVD players.

"What is your source for stating material hardship is down by 77 percent since 1980?" Trudi Renwick, an economist at the Census Bureau, wrote in an email questioning the Trump administration's rebuttal to the U.N.

Foreign Policy reports that it is unclear whether Renwick received a response, and the White House kept references to the Heritage report in the final version of its response.

One economic adviser also urged the White House to "not get into" America's steady economic growth, writing: "Already 8-9 years long... which started under Obama and we inherited and then expanded. But it will end prob[ably] in 1-2 years." The Trump administration ignored this advice, touting a "new era of economic growth."

While the White House brushed aside the concerns of some officials, they did modify parts of their response to the U.N. after advisers questioned how truly prosperous the American economy is under Trump.

"Wages haven't really picked up, other than for supervisors," an official from the Council of Economic Advisers wrote in response to a line in an early draft about workers' salaries rising. "This triggers the left—best to leave it off."

The line was deleted from the final document.

In contrast to the officials who raised questions about the White House's economic claims, Mari Stull, a senior State Department adviser, attacked the U.N. report as "propaganda" in emails and mocked the U.N.'s accurate claim that American child poverty rates are among the highest in the industrialized world.

"Based upon my own experience, my sons are destitute poor and living off the welfare state of Mom—so guess they contributed to the 'youth poverty' crisis in America," Stull wrote.

Bathsheba Crocker, a former U.S. diplomat and vice president of humanitarian policy at CARE, called Stull's comment "unbelievable" and wrote that it demonstrates once again the "contempt" the Trump administration has for poor Americans.


Then we found out about this today
Spoiler:

US counter-intelligence investigators discovered a suspected Russian spy had been working undetected in the heart of the American embassy in Moscow for more than a decade, the Guardian has learned.

The Russian national had been hired by the US Secret Service and is understood to have had access to the agency’s intranet and email systems, which gave her a potential window into highly confidential material including the schedules of the president and vice-president.

The woman had been working for the Secret Service for years before she came under suspicion in 2016 during a routine security sweep conducted by two investigators from the US Department of State’s Regional Security Office (RSO).

Congress is focusing on Russian hackers when it is possible all of the information they needed came from the internal breach

They established she was having regular and unauthorised meetings with members of the FSB, Russia’s principal security agency.

The Guardian has been told the RSO sounded the alarm in January 2017, but the Secret Service did not launch a full-scale inquiry of its own. Instead it decided to let her go quietly months later, possibly to contain any potential embarrassment.

An intelligence source told the Guardian the woman was dismissed last summer after the state department revoked her security clearance. The dismissal came shortly before a round of expulsions of US personnel demanded by the Kremlin after Washington imposed more sanctions on the country.

The order to remove more than 750 US personnel from its 1,200-strong diplomatic mission is understood to have provided cover for her removal.

“The Secret Service is trying to hide the breach by firing [her],” the source said. “The damage was already done but the senior management of the Secret Service did not conduct any internal investigation to assess the damage and to see if [she] recruited any other employees to provide her with more information.

“Only an intense investigation by an outside source can determine the damage she has done.”

Asked detailed questions about the investigation into the woman, and her dismissal, the Secret Service attempted to downplay the significance of her role. But it did not deny that she had been identified as a potential mole.

In a statement, it said: “The US Secret Service recognizes that all Foreign Service Nationals (FSN) who provide services in furtherance of our mission, administrative or otherwise, can be subjected to foreign intelligence influence.

“This is of particular emphasis in Russia. As such, all foreign service nationals are managed accordingly to ensure that Secret Service and United States government interests are protected at all times. As a result, the duties are limited to translation, interpretation, cultural guidance, liaison and administrative support.

“It was specifically the duties of the FSN position in Moscow to assist our attaches and agency by engaging the Russian government, including the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the Russian Ministry of the Interior (MVD), and the Russian Federal Protective Service (FSO) in furtherance of Secret Service interests.”

It said: “At no time, in any US Secret Service office, have FSNs been provided or placed in a position to obtain national security information.”

The state department said it would not comment “on allegations related to intelligence or personnel matters, and we have no information for you on this alleged incident.”

But it said it was aware “that US government employees, by virtue of their employment with the US government, may be targeted by foreign intelligence services … when we identify an employee in violation of security directives, we take appropriate action at the appropriate time.”

The Secret Service is a US federal law enforcement agency that sits within the Department of Homeland Security and has more than 150 offices worldwide. Its mission, it says, is the “protection of the nation’s leaders and the financial and critical infrastructure of the United States”.

The discovery of a suspected FSB mole on its staff within the US embassy in Moscow would be hugely damaging to its reputation and could have severe consequences for the safety of other Secret Service staff and those it is mandated to protect.

The Guardian has been told the name of the suspected spy and her job title within the agency. She did not respond to numerous email requests to discuss her role at the embassy or the allegations made against her.

It is understood she came under suspicion two years ago during a routine review of Secret Service personnel in the so-called Paris district of the agency, which includes Moscow, London and Frankfurt. The RSO reviews take place every five years.

With a role that gave her an insight into ongoing Secret Service investigations, the woman had access to the Secret Service intranet, its internal email and its counterfeit-money tracking system.

A source claimed “her frequent contacts with the FSB gave her away ... numerous unsanctioned meetings and communications”.

The Guardian has been told the state department’s resident agents in charge alerted the Secret Service in January 2017 and at least nine high-ranking Secret Service officials became aware of the findings.

At the time, separate CIA and FBI inquires were also under way, but it appears the Secret Service was expected to take the lead. It failed to do so, according to a source.

“She had access to the most damaging database, which is the US Secret Service official mail system,” the source said. “Part of her access was schedules of the president – current and past, vice-president and their spouses, including Hillary Clinton.”

She had plenty of time to gather intelligence without supervision, the source said. “Several employees interacted with her on a personal level by emailing her personally on a non-work account. This isn’t allowed.”

The Department of Homeland Security was apparently notified about the case but it is unclear how much detail was passed on to officials outside the agency. It is also unclear why the woman, a Russian national, was hired by the Secret Service in the first place or what kind of vetting took place.

The Guardian has been told that the potential breach was not reported to any of the congressional intelligence or oversight committees.

A source said: “A government committee needs to investigate the Secret Service for hiding this breach.”

Another option would be to include it in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into suspected Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential election.

“The US Congress is focusing on Russian hackers when it is possible that all of the information they needed to get into the system came from the internal breach in the Secret Service,” the source said.

“Her activities of stealing and sharing information could shed more light on how the Russians were able to hack the 2016 presidential election office of the DNC [Democratic National Committee].”

They added: “I think that the special counsel would be the perfect outside entity to investigate the level of damage that [she] caused. They have access to all types of counterintelligence information and they wouldn’t lie ... to avoid reporting this serious operational and security breach.”



Trump of course calling Russian hacking a hoax. Despite his own administration releasing counter to him



Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump on Thursday defended his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month and decried the "Russian hoax," speaking at a rally just hours removed from his top national security officials decrying Russian attempts to influence US elections.
During the rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday, Trump did not mention allegations of interference or attacks on the US democratic process.
"In Helsinki, I had a great meeting with Putin," Trump said. "We discussed everything. ... We got along really well. By the way, that's a good thing, not a bad thing. Now we're being hindered by the Russian hoax -- it's a hoax, OK?"
Earlier on Thursday, key members of Trump's national security team had appeared in the White House briefing room to warn that Russia was continuing its efforts to interfere in the US political system, saying Trump had directed them to make countering election interference a top priority.

"We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States," Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said.
Trump said the "Russian hoax" is holding up his approach to Russia, and he lashed out at the media, which he said unfairly maligned last month's meeting. At that meeting, Trump declined to accept the US intelligence community's conclusion that Russia had attempted to influence the 2016 election in his favor and pointed to Putin's denial. Trump followed up that comment after much criticism, saying he had meant to say he saw no reason why it "wouldn't" be Russia behind the effort but had instead said "would."
He also claimed on Thursday that Russia was "very unhappy" he had won the election, although at his joint news conference with Putin, the Russian leader said he had wanted Trump to win.
Trump said that based on the reports of his summit, people wanted him "to go up and have a boxing match" with Putin.
"Whatever happened to diplomacy?" he said.
Trump further said it was wrong to call him "soft" on Russia when during that same trip abroad, he raised the issue of Germany buying energy from Russia.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-23/trump-is-said-to-seek-repeal-of-california-s-smog-fighting-power

Trump is seeking to repeal the Calfornia Smog Laws

The Trump administration will seek to revoke California’s authority to regulate automobile greenhouse gas emissions -- including its mandate for electric-car sales -- in a proposed revision of Obama-era standards, according to three people familiar with the plan.

The proposal, expected to be released this week, amounts to a frontal assault on one of former President Barack Obama’s signature regulatory programs to curb emissions that contribute to climate change. It also sets up a high-stakes battle over California’s unique ability to combat air pollution and, if finalized, is sure to set off a protracted courtroom battle.

The proposed revamp would also put the brakes on federal rules to boost fuel efficiency into the next decade, said the people, who asked to not be identified discussing the proposals before they are public. Instead it would cap federal fuel economy requirements at the 2020 level, which under federal law must be at least a 35-mile-per-gallon fleet average, rather than letting them rise to roughly 50 mpg by 2025 as envisioned in the Obama plan, according to the people.

As part of the effort, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will propose revoking the Clean Air Act waiver granted to California that has allowed the state to regulate carbon emissions from vehicle tailpipes and force carmakers to sell a minimum number of electric vehicles in the state, the people said.

Read More: Why Trump and California May Face Off Over Fuel Rules

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will likewise assert that California is barred from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from autos under the 1975 law that established the first federal fuel-efficiency requirements, the people said.

The proposal is still in the final stages of a broad interagency review led by President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, but these major elements of the plan are not expected to change, the people said. Once the agencies formally unveil the proposal, the public will have a chance to weigh in, with those comments used to develop a final rule that could be implemented as soon as the end of the year.

Messages seeking comment from OMB, NHTSA and the EPA were not returned. California Air Resources Board head Mary Nichols declined to comment, as did a spokesman for California Governor Jerry Brown.

Although the proposal will outline other options, the administration will put its weight behind the dramatic overhaul, including the revocation of California’s cherished authority, the people said.

Earlier: EPA Chief Signals Showdown With California on Tailpipe Rules

The state’s 2009 waiver under the Clean Air Act has allowed California to set emissions rules for cars and trucks that are more stringent than the federal government’s. But the state has aligned its rules with those set by the EPA and NHTSA in a so-called national program of clean-car rules. The forthcoming plan also could create a new opportunity for negotiations between Washington and Sacramento on a harmonized standard. Trump directed his agency leaders to pursue one on May 11, but the talks haven’t occurred.

If Trump’s plan sticks, it could be his biggest regulatory rollback yet. Agencies are expected to claim it will reduce traffic fatalities by making it cheaper for drivers to replace older, less-safe cars, while paring sticker prices for new vehicles even if motorists have to buy more gasoline.

“California has done the math, and it’s concluded that the only way to meet both its greenhouse gas goals and its ozone targets is to move away from fossil fuel-based transportation,” said Paul Cort, an attorney for Earthjustice, a San Francisco-based environmental group. “The law is very clear about California’s authority to set these standards, and for the EPA to try to narrow it now means they have an uphill battle.”

Related: Trump Tells Car CEOs He’ll Talk With California on Standards

California, for its part, rejects the idea that its 48 years of ability to write its own tailpipe emission rules should end. “We have the law on our side, as well as the people of the country and the people of the world,” said Dan Sperling, a member of the state’s Air Resources Board.

California, with more than 2 million new cars and light trucks sold last year, is the nation’s biggest state market -- on par with Canada. A dozen other states follow California’s vehicle rules, and together account for more than a third of U.S. auto sales. Colorado also plans to adopt California’s clean-car rules.

California and 16 other states plus the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on May 2 seeking to block the Trump administration’s effort to unravel the Obama-era emissions targets. Sperling said that number will grow as more people come to realize how fundamentally Trump is attacking the idea of states’ rights.

The administration also will have a tough time proving that tailpipe emission standards don’t need to get tougher after 2020, said Ann Carlson, a University of California at Los Angeles law professor, pointing to evidence that the emissions are contributing to climate change and the fact that the technology to reduce them already exists.
Automakers Stuck

Caught somewhere in the middle are automakers, which in recent months have stressed they would not support freezing the federal targets and want Washington and Sacramento to continue linking their vehicle-efficiency goals. While they spent the first year of the Trump administration attacking Obama’s rules as too costly, they fear the regulatory uncertainty that a years-long court battle over a rollback would create. In addition, other major auto markets such as China and Europe are pressing forward with tougher mandates of their own for cleaner cars.

“This is a huge shift in regulatory oversight, and while it initially looks like a benefit for automakers it adds a level of uncertainty none of them want,” Karl Brauer, executive publisher Kelley Blue Book, said in an emailed statement.

A spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers declined to comment. The Washington-based trade association represents a dozen carmakers including General Motors Co., Daimler AG and Toyota Motor Corp.
States’ Rights

“This is nothing less than an outrageous attack on public health and states’ rights,” said Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch. “It’s a dumb move for an administration that claims it wants peace, because this will lead to an emissions war: progressive states versus a reactionary federal government. The big question: Who will the car companies back?”

Some conservatives have long chafed at the rare authority granted California and welcome the effort to revoke.

“Congress didn’t intend for California to set national fuel economy standards,” said Steve Milloy, a policy adviser for the Heartland Institute, a group critical of climate science. “It’s nutty it’s been allowed to develop. National fuel economy standards are set by the federal government so that’s what we are going to do.”


It is probably because california has the majority of our population. California contiues to lead our economy it is the strongest state, and the most open. Its laws help set precendent. The fact is that Federal level laws are often too slowly enacted compared to a states ones. I am firm believer in states rights. And trying to reverse all these EPA rulings under this presidency is extremely short sighted if they don't offer anything else in kind.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/08/03 16:23:22


From whom are unforgiven we bring the mercy of war. 
   
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 Asherian Command wrote:


What a war crime?

Then yes.. Yes it is.


Weirdly, no it's not.

One, a state of war has to exist.

Two, China's military island would, most definitely, qualify as military targets.

Three, in the event civilians are killed during the attack on a military target, as long as efforts were made to curtail and reduce said casualties, it's not a war crime. By timing an activation of neighboring countries tsunami alert systems for before it hits the mainland but after the islands have been struck, the requirement has been met.


Fate is in heaven, armor is on the chest, accomplishment is in the feet. - Nagao Kagetora
 
   
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It's literally a crime against humanity, but it's not technically a crime against humanity. Gotcha

We were once so close to heaven, St. Peter came out and gave us medals; declaring us "The nicest of the damned".

“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'” 
   
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 BaronIveagh wrote:
 Asherian Command wrote:


What a war crime?

Then yes.. Yes it is.


Weirdly, no it's not.

One, a state of war has to exist.

Two, China's military island would, most definitely, qualify as military targets.

Three, in the event civilians are killed during the attack on a military target, as long as efforts were made to curtail and reduce said casualties, it's not a war crime. By timing an activation of neighboring countries tsunami alert systems for before it hits the mainland but after the islands have been struck, the requirement has been met.

No baron, that is not how international law works. What you are proposing, aside from being technically very difficult to accomplish, is a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. Deliberately targeting civilians and civilian property is always a war crime, even if you warn them beforehand. Not that anyone would care anymore at that point since China would retaliate in kind and wipe out the US west coast.
And you can't warn neighbouring countries after the tsunami has struck the islands. That would be too late. And if you warn them before the tsunami strikes the islands, China will just evacuate them and have them up and running again less than a month later. And neighbouring countries + China would still be really pissed and retaliate.
Where do you always get these kind of ideas, by the way?

Error 404: Interesting signature not found

 
   
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 Iron_Captain wrote:
 BaronIveagh wrote:
 Asherian Command wrote:


What a war crime?

Then yes.. Yes it is.


Weirdly, no it's not.

One, a state of war has to exist.

Two, China's military island would, most definitely, qualify as military targets.

Three, in the event civilians are killed during the attack on a military target, as long as efforts were made to curtail and reduce said casualties, it's not a war crime. By timing an activation of neighboring countries tsunami alert systems for before it hits the mainland but after the islands have been struck, the requirement has been met.

No baron, that is not how international law works. What you are proposing, aside from being technically very difficult to accomplish, is a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. Deliberately targeting civilians and civilian property is always a war crime, even if you warn them beforehand. Not that anyone would care anymore at that point since China would retaliate in kind and wipe out the US west coast.
And you can't warn neighbouring countries after the tsunami has struck the islands. That would be too late. And if you warn them before the tsunami strikes the islands, China will just evacuate them and have them up and running again less than a month later. And neighbouring countries + China would still be really pissed and retaliate.
Where do you always get these kind of ideas, by the way?


Must be from the Trump Idea Packet we received last month. /sarcasm

From whom are unforgiven we bring the mercy of war. 
   
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 BaronIveagh wrote:
 Asherian Command wrote:


What a war crime?

Then yes.. Yes it is.


Weirdly, no it's not.

One, a state of war has to exist.

Two, China's military island would, most definitely, qualify as military targets.

Three, in the event civilians are killed during the attack on a military target, as long as efforts were made to curtail and reduce said casualties, it's not a war crime. By timing an activation of neighboring countries tsunami alert systems for before it hits the mainland but after the islands have been struck, the requirement has been met.

Actually an attack like that would be a war crime under the 1907 Hague Convention (article 3) which the US ratified. Which is how they convicted Japanese over Pearl Harbor. An unannounced attack without a state of war still qualifies as a war crime.
A Chinese military island would qualify.
But point three certainly wouldn't fly under the 1977 Additional Protocol I, article 51 of the Geneva Convention:
4. Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited. Indiscriminate attacks are:

(a) those which are not directed at a specific military objective;

(b) those which employ a method or means of combat which cannot be directed at a specific military objective; or

(c) those which employ a method or means of combat the effects of which cannot be limited as required by this Protocol; and consequently, in each such case, are of a nature to strike military objectives and civilians or civilian objects without distinction .

Ever seen what a tsunami does? It more than qualifies as a war crime to create one.

This message was edited 5 times. Last update was at 2018/08/03 21:17:50


Sorry for my spelling. I'm not a native speaker and a dyslexic.
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 KTG17 wrote:
 Iron_Captain wrote:

The Chinese are still on their islands though. Trump isn't doing anything more against that than Obama did.


Of course they are, they are already built and manned. The only way to remove them at this point is via war. The point I was making is that something should have done when they started dredging.

Can't blame the guy in charge for the things that occurred before he got there. I guess the real rest will be if any more are built.



But letting him take credit for things his predecessor set in motion like pulling the economy out of a manor recession (which requires spending a lot of money and takes time to work its way through) is A-OK, right?
   
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Trump's supporters will give him credit for anything, so what does it matter?

I'm writing a load of fiction. My latest story starts here... This is the index of all the stories...

We're not very big on official rules. Rules lead to people looking for loopholes. What's here is about it. 
   
 
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