Hmmm....what's this button do?

I just watched this fascinating 14 minute HBO film that explains in layman's terms how the world of cyber warfare works, what it can do, and how vulnerable we might be:

It's from the perspective of the Israeli cyber security industry, one of the most advanced in the world.  (I built a home for a family, the guy being a cyber security expert...Naval Academy graduate...super smart...who works here in the US for an Israeli company, so I already knew bits and pieces of this.)  

The video shows how a hacker can take control of your car when you're driving and cause you to crash.  It shows how, with a laptop keystroke, a hacker can shut down the pumps in our water supply system or sewage treatment plants.  Ditto for our power grid.  Not everything at once, but selected here and there, at their discretion.  Can you imagine how disruptive this would be to our economy?  OMG!  And all those infrastructure controls might already be infected, just waiting for the command to activate.  They're always attacking, we're always reacting.  Not a good position to be in!

So who are these hackers?  They most likely are Russian, or Chinese, or North Korean, or Iranian, but they could also be freelancers working for the highest bidder.  It's like we're living in the 21st Century Wild West!  What they conveniently don't discuss is what the US, or the UK, or France or Germany, etc, is capable of doing to them.  Which brings me back to Israel.  Why don't we hire them, or collaborate with them (hopefully we already are), to "take care" of the Iranian mischief makers?   And the North Korean's whose expertise is behind the Iranians?

It seems to me the days of massive standing militaries are waning, just like the days of sailing ships gave way to steam and nuclear power, horses to tanks, and catapults to cannon.  We can attack an adversary, or be attacked by an adversary, without ever firing a shot.

Are we screwed?  Is it too late already?  Probably not.  We just need to make sure that our (Western) educational systems cultivate the best and brightest minds in the world to defend "us" and stay one step ahead of "them". And be grateful Israel is our friend, and do all we can to assist them and keep them our friend.

I know reading blog or Facebook or Instagram posts about puppies or butterflies or casserole recipes is more entertaining, but this is pretty fascinating, too.  Please watch it and leave me your comments.

S

What's this button do?

North Korea tried Saturday to launch a ballistic missile, and just like their last test attempt, it also failed.  Crashed and burned big time, it did.  The question now is WHY?  Was it simply a case of inferior engineering, or something else?  Sunday the former British Foreign Secretary suggested it was likely that a US cyber-attack was responsible for the North Korean missile's spectacular failure. 

We've heard for years now about other countries successful hacks / cyber attacks on American commercial and public interests.  Through all this I've been wondering, "What are we capable of doing to them?"  Of course, barring a security leak, we'll never know for sure.  But if science is truly on the cusp of being able to disable enormously expensive weapons systems with cyber commands from a dark, secure room somewhere, this could be a world "balance-of-power" game changer.

This potential new form of dominant warfare has far-ranging implications.  For many decades there have been only two true superpowers, the USSR / Russia and the US, with the US generally believed to have a considerable edge.  "Superpower" being defined as quantities and qualities of missiles, warheads, aircraft, submarines, tanks, etc.  Only a select few advanced countries could get into our very exclusive club.  

Now, with a relatively small financial investment, many smaller countries could soon find themselves in the Cyber Big Leagues.  Surely tiny Israel is there right now, joining the US, Russia, and China in the top tier.  Other potential members might include N Korea, S Korea, Japan, India, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, and a few others you wouldn't think of as likely superstars.  

Can you imagine the challenges to traditional spheres of influence where former minor league players can demand and win concessions from today's superpowers?  Where most of today's massive aircraft carrier battle groups and nuclear-tipped missiles are made redundant?  Where warfare will be (even) more about electronic / digital measures and countermeasures than about the actual hardware?  Will today's heavyweights be able to gracefully and willingly share power?

For those who are today willing to appease the Tea Party's thirst for tax cuts at all costs, please think twice.  Cutting funding in the wrong places, such as in education, especially in the nerdy fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, would likely come back to haunt us in the not-too-distant future.  It's time to double-down on funding our future.  Cyber-nerds sitting at computer keyboards may not be as sexy as a fleet of stealth bombers, but they will likely someday be far more important to our national security.

Chew on that thought for a while.

S

The more things change, the more they stay the same

Back in the early days of the Cold War all us little kids were taught to dive under our school desks to shield ourselves from an incoming Commie nuclear attack.  (I'm still questioning the wisdom of letting little kids crawl all over lead-lined desks all day, but that's a topic for later.)  I'm sure this would have worked great so long as the Rooskies attacked between the hours of 8 am and 3:15 pm, and respected recess, lunch times, and summer vacations.

Things are different today.  First, the Russians are likely not our main existential threat.  Russia's Vladimir Putin no doubt remembers the concept of "Mutually Assured Destruction" or MAD, which meant both sides knew if they launched an attack on the other, they themselves would be vaporized in retaliation about five minutes later.  Putin may be an evil bully, but he isn't stupid.  He knows he can get what he wants via something virtually untraceable back to the Motherland:  cyber warfare. 

Nor is China a likely existential threat to America.  Their version of modern Communism....let's call it Communism Lite....likes making a profit, and we're their biggest customer.  We need to keep each other happy.  Neither of us has much to gain, but a tremendous amount to lose, by nuking the other.

Iran....they could be, likely WILL be an existential threat to us sooner rather than later.   Our nuclear deal with them of a few years ago was, in retrospect, a joke.  They're probably still laughing over how gullible we were.  Their radical Islamic leadership would probably be willing to write off a few million of their own people in exchange for poking an infidel in the eye.  The good news for us here in 'Merica is that Israel is geographically much closer and has vastly more to lose than we do, so before Iran can truly threaten us, Israel will....umm...."handle it".  *wink*

North Korea, however, is another matter.  Their people might be perpetually on the verge of starvation, but Kim Jong Un still lavishes money on his nuclear program.  I doubt he's concerned about a few million of his people being wiped out in a nuclear retaliatory strike....the MAD concept probably means nothing to him.  

Prez Trump thinks China can control them, but I have my doubts.  Even if China cuts N Korea off today, it's too late.   That train has already left the station.  China is probably thinking if they piss him off anger Kim Jong Un, he might someday lob a few nukes their direction, too, so they're tippy-toeing their way around "The Little Fat One" as well.  For the time being I'm not particularly worried about Crazy Kim hitting my zip code with an ICBM....he'd probably have a tough time even hitting Texas!  As a geopolitical junkie, I'll admit this one is going to be "interesting" to watch play out.

Have I missed anybody?   Is there anyone else you can think of that might have a nuke or two set aside with our name on it?  

And most importantly, now that you're an adult, do you have a Big Boy or Big Girl desk you can fit under?  ;)

S

Let's put some lipstick on this pig....

For years now we've heard about how our enemies were eating the USA alive via cyber-warfare.  They (N Korea, China, Iran, Russia, Russia, Russia) have been relentless in getting into every nook and cranny where we might hide our intellectual jewels.  They long ago mastered corporate espionage, stealing plans for everything we design and make.  And now they've hacked into our CIA, revealing our most sensitive national security secrets.  They say the most recent WikiLeaks information dump dwarfs anything Edward Snowden ever thought about handing over to the bad guys.

Throughout all this I've wondered, "So what are WE doing to THEM?  Surely we're not gonna just sit still while they bend us over?  Please tell me our nerds are better than their nerds."

Our nerds are better than their nerds.  

Our nerds long ago figured out how to hack into every TV, tablet, cell phone, hearing aid, picture frame, Viagra bottle, and toaster in the world.  Our spooks can listen in on every two-bit terrorist in the sandbox as he whispers sweet nothings into his camel's ear.  The night shift at CIA HQ probably makes prank phone calls to the Kremlin and makes it look like it's coming from Kim Jong Fatty Fat Fat's little pink princess phone on his nightstand.  Yes, we're THAT good!

Now the bad guys have figured out how to get into our secret stuff.  Scary, but at least I now know we have nerds that can go toe-to-toe with anyone, anywhere, anytime.   Game on!  More lipstick?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Republican's new health care plan, whatever they care to call it, has already crashed and burned.  They're just putting on a show to make it look like they're at least trying.  Besides Speaker Ryan and Donnie John Trump, virtually no one else wants to be seen anywhere near it.

The Tea Party says it doesn't cut deep enough, that there are still too many poor swine getting gubment freebees.  The Liberals say they aren't about to turn poor people away from getting life-saving healthcare they otherwise can't afford.  Libertarians say "no" to any further "entitlements".  The American  Medical Association and various hospital groups are against it because they say poor people will lose their insurance and will all show up in emergency rooms again demanding to be seen for free.  The Old Folks...er...AARP says its members can't afford premiums 5-times as expensive as the younguns, on and on.

The only ones who like it are the US Chamber of Commerce, because their members will save a buttload, and those making over $200,000 a year who will save an even bigger buttload.

Even lipstick isn't going to sell this wagon load of shit manure.

D....O....A

S

Someone well above my pay grade is probably losing a lot of sleep

It seems that 17 separate intelligence services have connected the dots and deduced that Russia's Pootie-Poo Putin hacked the emails of the Democratic National Committee, Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, and no telling what all else.  I also seem to recall reading that the Germans, the French, and other European countries have reason to believe the Rooskies are meddling in their upcoming elections, too.  In response, just a few days ago Prez Obama said we will respond "at the time and place of our choosing."  Oh yeah?

Pay attention, folks....from low intensity email hacking to elaborate cyber-sabotage, this is the new face of warfare in the 21st Century.  For a surprisingly small investment, the US, or any country for that matter, can destroy any another country, regardless of how big or powerful they might be, without ever firing a shot.  Some geeks in a dark room with a few computers can pull off the [almost] perfect crime.  Actually I don't know if it could be done by just a few geeks or if it would take a small army of geeks, or whether it could be done using a few Dell's or HP's or requires a super computer, but it CAN be done. 

Remember back in 2010 when the US with Israeli help....or was it Israel with US help?....unleashed the Stuxnet virus on Iran's nuclear enrichment centrifuges and burned up a thousand or so of them?  Now think how far cyber-warfare has advanced in the time since.  The US and the Russians, and no doubt the Chinese, Koreans, Iranians, and a few other barely-out-of-Third-World-status countries, can electronically set each other back 50 years with just a few keystrokes, and it's virtually impossible to tell who the bad guy is.  Who do you strike back?

And here's where the West is especially vulnerable:  Virtually every home, school, business, factory, port, car, truck, bus, train, and plane in the advanced world is connected and at risk, while much of the rest of the world lacks our degree of technological sophistication.  We're simply a more target rich environment.

The Soviet Union collapsed when they had to choose between "guns or butter".  The government chose guns, while the people were desperate for butter.  The people won.  Today the choice isn't one or the other.  Even North Korea's Kim Jong Turd can wield power far beyond his two-bit dictator status.  While it's possible to bomb a nuclear weapons facility, or a missile launch site, or an airbase, how do you know which geek in what room is the one that needs a good spanking?

Interesting times, eh?  Stay tuned.  I'm pretty sure this is all Bill Gates fault.  ;)

S



 

"Were your there, Grandpa, when The Donald became President?"

Presenting the next King President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

Remember all those "And You Were There" books that put you in the place and time a historic event took place?  I think watching Donald Trump this election cycle dispose of 17 primary opponents and win the Republican nomination for President is going to be one of those book-worthy historic events.

The Republicans have one more night of smoke blowing for us to endure, and then it's on to Philadelphia to watch the Democrats trot out their Dog and Pony Show.  I have no idea what the polls say this morning, which will no doubt be different, perhaps even 180 degrees different, from what they'll say next week or next month, but I think it's over.  The Donald will be our next President.

Here's why I say that:  First, national events are working in Trump's favor.  His tough law-and-order stance will resonate more and more over the next few months.  The stark contrast between candidates Trump and Clinton will cause national tensions to remain high.  Another minority will lose his life under suspicious circumstances, and another few lawmen will sadly die, too.  Hillary Clinton's meek "why can't we all just get along" message will ring hollow compared to Donald Trump's "kick ass and take names" chest pounding.  Advantage Trump.

Second, terrorism around the world is gaining momentum.  I don't care if we militarily stomp ISIS into the dirt in Syria and Iraq, lone wolves or small cells of Islamic terrorists will continue to kill innocent people in Europe and, yes, perhaps even in America, too.  We're right now seeing the only sane (up until now) Muslim country in the Mid East be taken over by an Islamic strongman.  Turkey is going down the toilet before our very eyes.  How soon before the West will be told to take our NATO and move along?   Many Americans say they're tired of being "kicked around".  Donald Trump's tough talk will help soothe a lot of wounded American egos.  Advantage Trump.

And finally, we know the campaigns will get nasty, but think what each side has to complain about.  Hillary can talk about Ms Trump's plagiarism, Donald's multiple business bankruptcies, the perhaps fraudulent Trump University (which no one had even heard of until a couple of months ago), Trump steaks, his animated insult of a physically challenged NY reporter, his massive ego, his lack of government experience (which to many is as much an advantage as a disadvantage), his serial marriages, his policy flip flops over the years, "Two Corinthians", his demeaning words about Hispanics (whose votes Republicans rarely get anyway), and a few others.

Now think what Donald Trump can say about Hillary Clinton.  It's hard to even count all the scandals, real or imagined, that she has been associated with over the past 30 years....her abortive HillaryCare back during Bill's presidency, File Gate, Travel Gate, Vince Foster, the legal order to give back stuff she left the White House with when Dubyah moved in, and all the trade deals she has supported, which can easily be argued cost American jobs.  And more recently, American lives lost at Benghazi, the recent Iran deal she began negotiating, her "damn emails", etc.  Plus, she's been a part of government for decades.  It will be easy to say she's not the answer, but actually a part of the problem.  And independently, the NRA will go after her with a vengeance.  Hillary's flaws will seem more substantive to more people than Donald's shortcomings. 

Game, set, match.  All Hail President Trump.*

S

* Don't run to your bookie and bet on Donald Trump based on my analysis.  I also thought he would have stumbled and fallen months ago.  What do I know?  *wink*

Death by hanging, or death by firing squad?

 Just my two cents, which actually has no cash value at all....

  
Of course the O'Bama administration is touting the new Iran / 5+1 (or whatever it's called) nuclear freeze deal, and now our living rooms are being blasted with TV commercials saying it will be the end of the world and we must stop it.  So who's right?

IMHO both are.  There is no way we are going to get (our definition of) a good deal with the Iranians.  They are led by religious zealots who don't care what the world or even their own people want.  Oh sure, they trotted out the guy with the neatly trimmed facial hair and a suit of western-style clothes to be their front man....

....but it's really this guy, their Grand Exalted PooBah, who holds the real power, and he has said the agreement will in no way alter his determination to destroy Israel or deter him from spreading his pro-Shia Muslim influence across the Mid East.  I don't trust him, or the rest of the Gubment of Iran, and look for them to cheat every chance they get. 

They'll get the world's sanctions off their backs, get the go-ahead to buy critical "stuff" from the West, then they'll be off to their old shenanigans again.  (Before the ink even dried they announced a deal with Pootie Poo Putin to buy 100 Ilyushin aerial-refueling tankers, enabling their shitty little air force to extend their range to cover virtually the entire Mid East.)

BUT....

Let's get real here....we can't stop them.  With regard to this particular crisis, we're essentially powerless.  Sure, sanction hurt them, or more specifically hurt their people, but the religious zealots who call the shots there haven't cared about their people in decades.  Why start now?  

A few years down the road this will surely look like it was a bad deal.  But at least on paper it bought us some time.  Time to figure out what to do.  Time to develop some miracle new technology that can zap their nukes, or scramble their computers with some new computer virus.  I dunno.  Anything is possible.

So I guess we should take the deal, but NEVER let ourselves think this will be the peaceful end of those pesky old Iranians.  Like your slug of a brother-in-law, they'll be back.  Count on it.  *sigh*

Fortunately (?) for us, the Egyptians, Turks, and Saudis, and of course the always vigilant Israelis are making noises like they might step to the plate and do something.  'Course, if they succeed, what will be the unintended consequences from those odd bedfellows?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a totally unrelated (believe it or not) topic, this evening I'm going to the gun club to shoot this:

You know what they say about men and their toys.  :)

Now where did I put my tin foil hat?

S

Did you hear the one about the Rabbi and the Saudi King....

As a student of geopolitics....I know, I know...*yawn*....I'm always intrigued by what's happening in that hellhole formerly known as the Mideast.  It seems those people just aren't happy unless they're fighting someone, and right now they must be feeling absolutely blissful.

Now Iranian Ayatollah What'shisname has announced that if economic sanctions against his country aren't lifted completely and immediately as soon as the recent nuclear arms treaty is implemented in June, the deal is off.  Big surprise, huh?  It's just one big stall after another.  Always has been their MO, and probably always will be.

Oh dear, what shall we do?

My advice: nothing.

The Saudi Arabians have long been among the most vociferous critics of Israel.  They have gone out of their way to support those front line countries who have vowed to wipe Israel off the map, and they have sent vast sums of $$$ to terrorist groups who are trying to do just that.

The Saudis are also bitter enemies with Iran.  Iran is Shia, while Saudi Arabia is Sunni.  (FYI, Islam is 80% Sunni, 20% Shia.)  Right now Saudi Arabia is scared shitless of Iran's growing power and their overt moves to expand their sphere of influence throughout the Mideast.

Meanwhile, in the Israeli mind, the Holocaust was just yesterday.  They are (legitimately IMO) obsessed with seeing to it that any external threat to them be stopped in its tracks, proactively if need be.  They have often been criticized for being a little heavy handed (true), but still, their paranoia is not without cause.

Now imagine this:  Saudi Arabia is heavily involved in the Yemeni civil war to their south.  Israel sees any softening of resolve to keep Iran nuclear weapon-less as something they cannot accept.  They will settle for nothing less than Iran's nuclear ambitions being gutted.

It wouldn't be be a stretch to imagine a temporary unholy alliance between Saudi Arabia and Israel to kick Iran in the 'nads.  It wouldn't be too difficult for a massive Israeli strike package to slip through Jordanian airspace (perhaps even with their unofficial support), then use Saudi airspace to refuel and penetrate deep into Iran to do the deed.

With Saudi Arabia embroiled in Yemen far to the south, they would have a perfect excuse for claiming they were caught totally unaware.  "Plausible deniability" they call it.  *wink, wink*

Israel could aerial-refuel their strike aircraft en route as they ingressed and egressed Iran, essential as an unrefueled flight to Iran and back directly from Israel is beyond their capability.  And if anyone knows where the Iranians have dispersed their essential research sites, it's the Israelis.

Israel could cripple or destroy Iran's nuclear program, and Saudi Arabia could set back their old foe for years, maybe decades, just by "looking the other way".  Win/win.

Of course, Israel would have to watch for a Saudi double cross as they were returning from their strike and desperately needing to refuel over northern Saudi airspace, but it's a chance they just might take.

The West of course would stomp and holler (very insincerely) in condemnation of Israel, as would the Muslim world (except 80% would be secretly chuckling), but nothing would come of it except a few resolutions from the UN, which Israel would immediately drop straight into their overflowing File 13.

So I say let's just sit back and let the Mideast take care of the Mideast.  This geopolitical junkie will be watching intently.

S

You say to-MA-to, I say to-MAH-to. Same thing. Right?

I have another view of the recent Iranian nuclear weapons deal that I don't think many people, at least many Americans, are thinking of.  First, the obvious sticking points:

It's now coming out that based on speeches to their own people, Iran and the West have different interpretations of several important points.  Iran expects sanctions to be lifted instantly in June when the treaty becomes effective, while the US expects to gradually begin to lift sanctions over time.  This will hit the fan in June if not sooner.

Second, Iran prevailed and excluded inspections on their military bases for any nuclear development activities, making that the obvious place for them to proceed unmolested.  It's pretty easy to fool inspectors...the IAEA said back when they were allowed in Iran they were constantly finding sites not listed in Iran's declaration of all their research sites.  They were always behind the curve.  (Israel developed their atomic weapons directly under their Dimona "research" reactor while inspectors were topside.  Duh!)

But here's where I have a problem that I haven't heard mentioned much:  I don't think we fully understand the implications.  If Iran should ever get atomic weapons, they could blackmail their neighbors with impunity.

Think back to 1990-91.  Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and the US responded by massing 500,000 troops and their equipment in nearby Saudi Arabia, from where they launched Operation Desert Storm.  If Saddam had had atomic weapons, we would not have dared present him with such a juicy target.  

If just one of his bombs had gotten through, we could have lost hundreds of thousands of Americans and other allies, too.  No politician would have chanced it.  Iraq would still be in possession of Kuwait, and Saddam would have been embolden.

Heck, he could have demanded and probably gotten any concession he wanted from Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, too.  He would have complete control of the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea.  The Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal would have essentially been his.  The entire world's balance of power could have been upset, and not in a good way. Oh yeah...and bye-bye Israel.

Short of a nuclear conflagration, we could have done nothing.  Economic sanctions would not have worked because what he would have had control of, the rest of the world, including us, desperately needed, leaving us no choice but to accept his Status Quo. 

Can you see essentially the same possible outcome if Iran were to ever develop a Bomb?  The end to this story looks very scary.  I don't think Stephen King could have written a more chilling nightmare.

S

Point / Counterpoint

The West, led by the United States, as well as Israel and most of the UN, are dead set against Iran developing nuclear weapons.  Of course we are.  Iran's leaders don't seem to think the way we in the West do.  They see sacrificing a few million of their own people in a counter-strike in order to wipe out Israel a fair trade.  Their idea of "national pride" is near suicidal.  The same goes for North Korea.

But what right do we have in telling them they can't pursue a nuclear program?  How can one sovereign nation, or group of nations, tell another sovereign nation what they can do internally?  As long as they don't use their nukes against others, shouldn't that be their right to have them?

It would be like the OPEC nations prohibiting the US from pursuing hydraulic fracturing to recover more domestic oil.  Of course it would be against their national interests for us to do so, but they don't have the right to prohibit us from doing it.

Seems to me we are just throwing international law out the window here.  That said, this is one area where I think Civil Disobedience is justified.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The US and Europe are also all bent out of shape over Russia's incursion into Ukraine and their annexation of the Crimean peninsula.  It just seems like a land grab, much like what Nazi Germany did when they took over Austria and Czechoslovakia prior to WWII.  That's how we see it at least.

But the Russian psyche is much different than ours.  They have a long memory and remember how they have been invaded repeatedly from the west.  That's why after WWII they set up all their Commie proxies....E Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungry, etc....between Western Europe (read: NATO) and themselves.  

If the West attacked again, they could devastate those proxy countries before they reached The Motherland.  At least that was their plan.  Now with many of their former Warsaw Pact allies (?) actually part of NATO, and right on their border at that, they are super antsy. 

When Russia saw the overt courtship going on between the West and Ukraine, they no doubt saw full-fledged European Union and NATO membership for Ukraine on the horizon.  Their already tightly wound paranoia snapped.  I think we were a bit too "bull-in-a-china-closet"-ish.  Now it's gonna be difficult if not impossible to get that genie back into the bottle. 

As I see it, here's our dilemma:  We need to punish and marginalize Russia for their actions without actually pushing them over the edge (letting the Russian Federation dissolve).  

Remember what happened the last time we took down evil (Iraq, Libya, and soon Syria)?  What we got was dramatically more dangerous than what we dismantled. Of course we (the West) could collectively take Russia down, but would that necessarily be a smart thing to do?

S

So who died and made the UN King?

Here's something I just don't understand:  The United States along with much of the rest of the world is all up in arms because Iran and North Korea* are developing nuclear weapons.  I certainly understand why we don't want them to have nuclear tipped spears....the leadership of both countries are f__king nut cases.  OK, that might be unfair.  They might be totally rational and just have sinister regional ambitions.  I dunno.

Here's where I get lost....the world is hammering them because they have ignored a UN mandate that they cease pursuing their nuclear ambitions.  Since when does the UN have the right to unilaterally tell a sovereign nation what they can and cannot do?  

If the UN votes to tell the United States they must stop pursing the production of oil and natural gas via hydraulic fracturing, for example, because the rapid increase in worldwide oil/gas supply this would cause would upset the decades-old energy-producing status quo, would we be obligated to just say, "OK, whatever you say UN.  We'll stop.  You da boss,"?

If we didn't would the world be justified in saying they would boycott everything American, and if any country didn't support their boycott they would be in some way punished, too?  

I understand this particular scenario can't happen as long as the US has a UN Security Council veto, but still it bothers me that this international body with a....let's face it....rather lackluster record can just dictate what they will and won't allow.  Who died and made them King?  Any time they actually do anything it's the US that does 90% of it.  They write checks, then expects the US to cash them.

I would much prefer to see a multinational network of economic inter-dependency as the "carrot" one country or group of countries could use to get an errant state back in line vs a unilateral edict from the UN.  "Sugar catches more flies than vinegar."

Don't you think military conflict between the US and China is greatly reduced now that we do so much business with each other?  Why would you want to blow up your biggest customer?

Counterpoint anyone?

S

*N. Korea just today had another successful underground nuclear test.

The doctor said I could easily pass for an "artist's model"

I went to the doctor yesterday where he removed the bandages and stitches from my face / nose.  He said I could easily pass for an "artist's model".

He just forgot to mention the artist was Picasso.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've heard it said, probably more seriously than in jest, that the world would be a better place if we elected women as our leaders instead of men.  Men, the reasoning goes, are quick to pick up arms and go to war when they don't get their way, while women would be more likely to sit down with their adversaries and work out their differences.  But why limit it just to our elected leaders?  Why not our military, too?

Think about it:  Instead of having the oceans filled with these...

and the skies filled with these...

we would only need a couple hundred of these...

We could strategically park them around Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, North Korea....really any country we wanted to bring to their knees, then just turn up the volume.  My proposed new all-female army could nag any male dominated country in the world into doing anything.  

Give up their nuclear arms aspirations....done.  Stop threatening their neighbors....check.  Whip those Al Qaeda boys into shape....watch a Sex In the City marathon....learn line dancing....eat quiche...."yes dear".  And we could cut our military spending from $700B a year to just a few million.  What budget deficit?

Oh....and the world would be a much better dressed place, too.  ;)

S

Drill, baby, drill...

I get so sick of opening the news every morning and seeing almost every world news article datelined Syria, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, the PLO, etc.  They're nuts!  I think the Brits opened a can of worms a hundred years ago when they found oil in the mid-east and began transitioning the industrial revolution from coal to oil.  (Well....it's a tough call.  Coal is pretty nasty stuff.)


I'm encouraged that we're making real progress, although almost accidentally, towards energy independence.  It comes with strings attached, and we'll have to be very careful extracting it, but it'll be worth it to be able to thumb our noses at that region.  Shame we didn't take all that money that we've dumped into that black hole over the years and instead used it to develop a way to burn political promises or manure (same thing) or cat hair balls.


They can Shiite all over each other for all I care. 


S

I'd make a lousy diplomat

Doesn't anything newsworthy ever happen in Australia, or Denmark, or Chile?  Every morning I pull up the news and find the same thing day after day:  Iran this, Pakistan that, Iraq...Egypt...Afghanistan...Syria...Libya...etc. I'm sorry, but I flat don't give a rats ass what happens over there.  That part of the world is just a giant hell hole as far as I'm concerned.  It's almost as if blowing stuff up is their idea of having a good time.  And let's face it....if there wasn't oil in that general area, the rest of the world would write it off, too.  


Yes, I believe we should share our food and humanitarian supplies with people who are hurting wherever they are, but that generally isn't the way our foreign aid policy works.  Most of our generosity goes to governments, who promptly split it up among the top politicians and generals, the people be damned.   Last time I looked we had people right here at home who had bare pantries, and we had bridges and roads right here that were crumbling.  And unemployed people right here who would love a job building / repairing those crumbling bridges and roads.  And broke taxpayers right here who are tired of trying to buy friends all over the world.  What is it Dr. Phil says?  "....and how's that workin' out for ya?"  


I doubt I'll get many comments to this post because, honestly, this is about as un-PC as you're gonna get.  I don't care.  This is my vehicle to vent.  Venting complete.


S

You know what I'm SICK of?

Pakistan.

  

I honestly don't care if the sun ever rises over Pakistan again.  Ever.  I really don't.  I'm so sick of opening the newspaper and reading Pakistan this, Pakistan that....and none of it is ever good.  All they want from us is the BILLIONS of dollars of foreign aid we send their way every year.  Money we don't have.  The aid we send is skimmed off by a few at the top, and I'm sure the masses never see a dime of it.  And they hate us.  Why do we have to pay 'em to hate us?  They'll do it for free.  SCREW 'EM!


I know, I know.... they have nuclear technology they could pass on to other radical countries/groups who could use it on us.  So why don't we take all the money we send them in aid and instead use it to put a few hundred thousand Americans to work screening everything that comes into this country?  Every plane load of freight, every shipping container....EVERYTHING! Then we would know (well...more than we do now) what was coming in to our country, and we would have some tax revenue from these Americans who are now working, too.


Oh...and Afghanistan.  It is now estimated that 97% of their gross national income is derived from foreign aid, most of it from the US.  Talk about a bunch of parasites!  Any idea how many Americans we could put to work with all that $$$$?  Or how much we could reduce our debt?


So here's my plan:  We all sell our Land Yachts and drive little mini-cars, we downsize from our McMansions to something more manageable, we quit buying stuff we don't need, we put up windmills and solar panels everywhere, etc, then tell Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and all their buddies to go eat camel dung and wash it down with a Big Gulp of oil.  We don't need 'em, and in fact we'd be better off without them. 


Don't I wish it were that easy.  (But I'm serious about cutting off their foreign aid.  That we can do.)


S