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Sunday, February 12, 2017

Life in Egypt, Life in Saudi Arabia, and More

On Egypt:
- the thing that we mostly know Egypt for is the ancient Egyptian empire. Once upon a time the Middle East was effectively the global centre of knowledge, culture, etc... The pyramids were so spectacular for their age that their have been rumors throughout time of aliens being in contact with them. Would actually make a lot of stories in the Holy Scriptures a lot more sense as well? Most people seem to be more interested in ancient Egypt then modern Egypt? Very obvious that the pharaohs of ancient Egypt may have been pre-cogs/prophets, http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2017/02/life-in-iran-examining-prophetspre-cogs.html?
Ancient Egypt - Crash Course World History #4
WHAT THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS KNEW - History Discovery Egypt (full length documentary)
History - ANCIENT EGYPT THE GREATEST EMPIRE DOCUMENTARY
The Black Pharaohs - Nubian Pharaohs (Ancient Egypt History Documentary)
The First Construction Of Pyramid - Geographic History
The Secret of The Great Pyramid - Khufu Revealed (Ancient Egypt History Documentary)
- one of the interesting things for me is that like with many of the former Soviet republics all of the countries who have been involved in the 'Arab Spring' now suffer many of the same problems that they have after their so allied 'revolutions'. Basically, they're probably worse off now then before? What's feels obvious is that either way a lot of the people who have been or are in power who aren't well equipped for it (clearly, a difficult job though). Many power groups vying for power in Egypt in including military, Muslim Brotherhood, disenfranchised youth, old regime who was effective puppet of British, etc...). What's funny for me is that those contries where the Arab Spring was less likely to succeed were those countries which were wealthier (such as Saudi Arabia which goes back to the Chinese argument that liberal capitalist democracy is more of a luxury then a necessity in society, http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2017/01/explaining-prophets-2-what-is-liberal.html Once you examine how liberal capitalist democracies are basically falling apart do you realise how strange this argument also sounds, http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2017/01/saving-capitalist-democracy-2-random.html)
Egypt....Explained!
Was The Arab Spring Bad For Egypt
The Arab Spring - Focus on Egypt
Seeds of Change - Revisiting Egypt's April 6 activists - REWIND
Unrealized Dreams - Egypt After the Arab Spring _ NBC News
Arab Uprisings
- obviously the main problem in the Middle East of late has been political stability and economic hardship. It sort of allowed problems to forment which ultimately helped to result in the Arab Spring. Owing to support for Arab Spring the US/West is not very popular in Egypt at the moment?
Year into Sisi's power, Egyptians lament persistent hardships
- part of Egyptian food reminds me of Western food. Makes sense given colonial history? Very definite unique national feel to much of the food though
egypt food recipes
- not a great economy. Used to be managed. Has now gone on to a more free market capitalist style economy. Lot of troubles at the moment. One of the main problems is that so much of the country is so arid (wasn't that way in the distant past though if you go through history). Major economic issues including poverty, goods shortages, etc... Makes sense that they should have inflation problems. Reminds me of other countries in economic difficulty
egyptian economy
- complicated colonial history (if you ever wonder why a country often speaks multiple languages and one of them is foreign/western it often comes as a direct consequence of colonialism. Has had strong relations with France, US/UK, Soviet Union, Russia, etc...)
- quite a bit of variety in the local media... limited freedom. Possibly has something to do with failed 'Arab Spring'? Impression is that it's not a good idea to be a journalist in the Middle East or at least stick to 'safe areas' if you are working in this particular area. Not much English/French/Russian press media based on a quick search. Even the media that exists struggles to seem to get their point across?
egypt media
- some obviously well known and unique animals to Egypt
egypt animals
- life doesn't seem that much different in Egypt now? Islam core to state. Strong family values. Free education system but with resource issues. Common for their to be 75 students per class. Trade more accepted then higher education for youth as a future pathway. Riots common even among police due to government policies. Architecture is typical of many other places in Middle East. Mix of old and new. Clear that spread of wealth and economic development is up and down. Common to see animals in the streets of Cairo (as pets, for food, transport, etc...)? 
life in egypt
What Is Life Really Like In Egypt
Life in Egypt - Streets of Cairo Mar Girgis Area
Vlog _ Life In Egypt With Friends!
My Life In Egypt As a Medical Student
13 Egyptian Proverbs That Will Change Your Life
- some really desperate parts of Egypt. Zabbaleen is effectively the 'dump' for all of Cairo. People here effectively make money from recycling rubbish... Each pile of garbage generates 12 jobs? Some people are actually highly dependent on the 'dump' for their livelihood, their pets/animals, etc... Small scale farms in town with cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, etc... People live according to their wits. Most people who are born there, stay there. Many want to leave though
Zabbaleen - Trash Town. A whole community in Egypt that lives on rubbish

On Saudi Arabia:
- it's a lot smaller then I thought (population and geographical size) given it's influence in the Western world (especially when compared with Iran)
- there is really about 15-20 princes who control the whole of Saudi Arabia? The country is named after the Al-Saud family. Religious fundamentalists core to them. Wahhabists are missionaries, fundamentalists, etc... King Faisal was popular, wise, hard working, and really a pioneer in the country who pushed the country forward into the modern era. Helps to propel innovations in education, agriculture, media, etc... Was able to mix old with new, nationalism with globalism. King Fahad and other princes considered decadent, borderingon decadent. Not in line with religious beliefs and social justice? Inner circle of Saudi Arabia very secretive. King Abdullah very direct and not really diplomatic. Was not impressed by the US/UK and their action in Iraq. Wanted to push further/re-balance towards China/India rather then towards US/UK. Pushing towards a more diversified economy and has achieved entry into WTO. Royal family are of advanced age now. Succession may be a problem in future...
Saudi Arabia's History
Royal Family of Saudi Arabia (Documentary)
- like other Middle Eastern economies heavily dependent on oil (~90%) for revenue. Reason why Saudi Arabia is so important as an ally to US/West is due to petro-dollar deal between them. Oil extraction is also easier there because there is a lot of it and it is under enough pressure to make yields easier and make oil processing more profitable? Clearly, a lot of worries of late though since oil profits have been under pressure due to shale oil (which technically isn't profitable) which has caused a lot of worries about how to more greatly diversify their economy. A lot of metrics aren't too bad. Subsidised education and healthcare (and until recently water, electricity, and petrol as well). Very religious feel to their country (just like some other Islamic countries). They say the charitable aspect of their society is related to Islam. Strange that they have a poverty problem (around quarter of population are there or there abouts) though? Feels like their economy couldn't make the transition towards a larger population? 
The Slums of Saudi Arabia _ Saudi Arabia Uncovered _ FRONTLINE
saudi arabia economy
- distinct Arabian feel to their food. High use of spices. Still likely to be very accessible to people of other cultures though...
saudi arabia food recipes
- limited press in Saudi Arabia. Limited press freedom. Guessing like Iran where there is a strong affinity to their religion. Strong desire to maintain social cohesion. Simple websites that remind of Asian and other Middle-East media. Very little foreign language media options? Mostly in Arabic that I've seen
saudi arabia media
- some unique animals to the country/region
saudi arabia animals
- architecture typical of Middle East. Mix of old or new. Conditions feel better then in Egypt or Iran? Royal family has been fairly generous. People's opinion of what life should be like is shifting towards more liberal values, http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2017/01/explaining-prophets-2-what-is-liberal.html? Rights of women are sort of limited except in Western style 'compounds'. If you're interested in a fairly recent Hollywood non-political film about life in Saudi Arabia check out 'A Hologram for the King'. Not a great movie but not horrible either...
life in saudi arabia
Saudi Arabia - Jeddah Street Life
VISITING SAUDI ARABIA! _ Janavlogs
What Life Is Really Like In Saudi Arabia
What Saudi Arabia is really like
Saudi Arabia - Jeddah evening prayer
The Slums of Saudi Arabia _ Saudi Arabia Uncovered _ FRONTLINE
A Hologram for the King (2016)
- many people know them for getting involved with many military incidents in the Middle East and elsewhere. This in part has to do with their allegiances with the US/West and complicated religious relationships with some of their neighbours. It's important because of it's ability to control oil prices via OPEC and it's significant military and intelligence apparatus. Allegations that Saudi Arabia has nuclear capabilities? Support for Sunni but not Shia. Religious fundamentalists which other believes can lead to social tension
Houthi Rebels in Yemen attack Saudi Navy Warship with Missile
How Dangerous Is Saudi Arabia
How Saudi Arabia Financed Global Terror
Why Do Saudi Arabia And Iran Hate Each Other
What If Saudi Arabia And Iran Went To War
Why Saudi Arabia Isn't On Trump's Ban List
- they enjoy their cars and 'drifting'...
Unbelievable 200km drifting in Saudi Arabia!!!
- no female gyms, conversions away from Islam, public cinemas, women driving, Valentine's day. No alcohol, pork, female drivers, pornography, certain types of socialisation, movie theatres, certain types of photography, chess, valentine's day, other religions
5 Everyday Things Banned in Saudi Arabia _ Top 5 Countdown
10 Things You're Not Allowed To Do In SAUDI ARABIA
- life is carried in accordance with Sharia/Islamic law. They believe it is harsh but fair... Tensions between feminists and those in power. Executions mainly due to crimes against God (Hudud), retaliation (Qisas), and discretionary (Tazir). Not Westerners have ever been executed in Saudi Arabia? In 2013 they became fourth largest military spender. 'Complicated' relationship between US and Saudi Arabia. It's effectively an oil (from Saudi Arabia) for money and defense trade (from US). Many consider Saudi Arabia to be corrupt. Yemen conflict is effectively a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran for control of the region? Technically, while Iran may have an edge in troop numbers Saudi Arabia has a technological/financial edge. Also, in the Shia versus Sunni battle (by numbers) Saudi Arabia also has the edge
Saudi Arabia Uncovered
What Can You Be Publicly Executed For In Saudi Arabia
Inside Saudi Arabia - Butchery, Slavery & History of Revolt
Farewell to arms Campaign to stop UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia moves to High Court
- in reality, life for foreigners can be fairly good for those who are 'highly skilled'. Mix of modern and ancient architecture 
the reality life of foreign people in Saudi Arabia
- things may be changing drastically in the future of the Middle East...
Kingdom Come or Kingdom Gone Saudi Arabia and the Future of the Middle East

Random Stuff:
- some alternative news sites
- more reasons to stock on on soybean...
- things do change when you go into space?
- no matter how you attempt to interpret geo-politics sometimes it'll never make sense (even when you know the truth)?
Trump in apparent U-turn on settlements ahead of Netanyahu visit
- latest defense updates...
- it's not a bad audio interface...
- it's one thing to develop the technology, it's an entirely different people to turn it into something that is economically viable
- life is the same no matter what perspective you view it from sometimes...
- apparently, it's basically over for 'Superstring theory'? A few things don't quite fit...
- interesting way of developing 'regional areas'?

Recent Quotes:
- The researchers observed similar walking patterns — a stiff, nearly immobile right arm accompanying otherwise normal movement — in four other prominent Russian officials: Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev; former Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov; Sergei Ivanov, chief of the presidential administration of Russia; and Commander of the Western Military District Anatoly Sidarov.

Other footage and photographs that the scientists examined showed that the Russian officials were all right-handed and did not appear to suffer from any impairment of their right arms, except as exhibited while they were walking.

That, Bloem told Live Science, was when things became "reallypeculiar."

The odds of all five Russian officials suffering from Parkinson's and exhibiting precisely the same symptoms that appeared on the same side of the body and at the same stage of degeneration were slim. Bloem and his colleagues knew there had to be another explanation, and they found it — not in medical literature, but in the pages of a KGB training manual. [3 Myths About Parkinson's Disease]

"It literally says, when you're walking, don't move the right arm, keep it close to the holster and be ready to draw the gun," Bloem described.
- “Since November 2012, when Xi took the helm of the [Communist Party] CCP, Freedom House’s China Media Bulletin has noted over 40 instances—in 17 countries and international institutions—of Chinese information controls negatively affecting free expression outside China,” she said. “These are likely only the tip of the iceberg. The CCP’s interventions and influences extend to a surprising range of media, including pop music, hot air balloons, and video games.”
- Prague, Dec 15 (ČTK) — Czech arms dealers have “discovered” Saudi Arabia and the military material export to the country has risen more than six times in the past two years, daily Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) writes today, citing data from the Industry and Trade Ministry.
- “Defending our national interests always involves risk,” Bush said in a speech on national security policy in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks. “But the greatest risk of all is the risk of military inferiority. Today, that is the direction we are headed.”

It’s difficult to imagine a more wrongheaded statement.

The U.S. spends far more on defense than any potential adversary--or any combination of adversaries. According to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the U.S. spent $610 billion in 2014. Of the top-spending seventeen countries, the U.S. accounted for 40 percent of total defense spending. Of the remaining sixteen counties, all but Russia and China are U.S. allies, partners, or friends. Russia and China combined spent $300 billion less than the U.S. alone.

The U.S.’s massive spending advantage actually understates the extent of its dominance, because China’s and Russia’s militaries face real problems. A recent RAND Corporation report argued that, despite increased Chinese defense spending, shortfalls in airlift capabilities, logistical weaknesses, poor training, lack of professionalism, and endemic corruption, (among other problems), will prevent the People’s Liberation Army from conducting effective offensive operations in the near future. And Russia’s faltering economy has forced Moscow to scale back plans to modernize its military and reduce its operations.
- With the collapse in oil prices has come a reckoning. At least 18 of the newcomers have filed for bankruptcy so far this year, and many others are now struggling with debt servicing costs. Barclays predicts that the default rate for speculative-grade companies - increasingly made up of oil and gas firms - will double over the next year.

Standard & Poor's ratings service recently warned that an astonishing 50 per cent of US energy junk bonds are at risk of default, or $US180 billion ($249 billion) in total. If we extrapolate this out to the $US2 trillion of debt sold globally by energy and mining companies since 2010, the numbers begin to look strikingly similar to the sub-prime mortgage lending which front ran the financial crisis. Of the $US2 trillion of mortgage lending that became distressed, $US800 billion was sub-prime and $US1.2 trillion of the supposedly less risky Alt-A.
- Much is said these days about the mismatch of missions and resources for the U.S. military. Indeed, the chants of neoconservatives on Capitol Hill have grown quite loud: more military spending, more personnel, more weapons. A recent RAND Corporation report also warned that failing to deploy a large enough military could “lead to a failure of the U.S. strategy and subsequent regret.”

But the solution is not to spend more. It is to reassess foreign policy objectives and decide whether they are worth the cost. Better to scale back an over-ambitious strategy than to waste scarce resources pursuing dubious goals.
- Of course, the United States has made space part of its way of war for decades—using satellites to guide bombs, relay signals, and gather intelligence. The U.S. is still by far the world leader in space, with some 400 satellites in Earth’s orbit, including nearly 200 military models. That’s according to the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group based in Massachusetts. By UCS’s count, Russia possesses the second-largest space force—89 satellites including around 50 belonging to, or working for, the armed forces (PDF).
- A weaker ruble has helped inbound Russian tourism jump 13 percent in the first nine months of the year, despite simmering geopolitical tensions that have marred diplomatic relations and trade ties with the West. 
- Performed at Northrop Grumman's B-2 Depot and Modification Center in Palmdale, PDM includes a complete restoration of the B-2's outer surfaces; servicing of its moving parts such as landing gear, control surfaces and ejection seats; and software / hardware upgrades.
- If conflict did break out, Hanoi could target Chinese-flagged merchant container and oil ships in the South China Sea, said Thayer, who said he was told this by Vietnamese strategists.

The aim would be not to defeat China's superior forces but "to inflict sufficient damage and psychological uncertainty to cause Lloyd's insurance rates to skyrocket and for foreign investors to panic", Thayer said in a paper presented to a Singapore conference last month.

Vietnam's foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
- Kirby said Washington wanted to work to establish a "better, more transparent more effective relationship" with China in the region and had been in contact with both Taiwan and China on this on Wednesday. He declined to elaborate.

David McKeeby, another State Department spokesman, said the arms package included two Perry-class guided-missile frigates; $57 million of Javelin anti-tank missiles made by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin; $268 million of TOW 2B anti-tank missiles and $217 million of Stinger surface-to-air missiles made by Raytheon, and $375 million of AAV-7 Amphibious Assault Vehicles.

The State Department said the frigates were being offered as surplus items at a cost of $190 million. The package also includes $416 million of guns, upgrade kits, ammunition and support for Raytheon's Close-in Weapons System.

Analysts and congressional sources believe the delay in the formal approval of the sales was due to the Obama administration's desire to maintain stable working relations with China, an increasingly powerful strategic rival but also a vital economic partner as the world's second-largest economy.
- Xi called on all nations to respect cyber sovereignty.

"No country should pursue cyber hegemony, interfere in other countries' internal affairs or engage in, connive at or support cyber activities that undermine other countries' national security," he said.

Countries have the right to independently choose their own path of cyber development and model of cyber regulations, he said.

The right for countries to participate in international cyberspace governance as equals should be respected by all, Xi said.

Stressing maintenance of peace and security, the president urged the international community to cooperate to combat cybercrimes and Internet terrorism.

He said nations should work together to prevent and oppose the misuse of cyberspace for crimes such as terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering and gambling.

All cybercrimes, be they commercial theft or hacker attacks, should be handled in accordance with laws and international conventions, he said.

"No double standards should be allowed in upholding cyber security," Xi said. "We cannot just have the security of one or some countries while leaving the rest insecure; still less should one seek the so-called absolute security for oneself at the expense of the security of others."
- There were 122 F-16 Class A mishap accidents for the period from FY 89 to FY 98. These accidents consisted of mishaps involving destroyed aircraft. A total of 272 F-16 aircraft had been destroyed from the introduction of the F-16 in 1975 to 2003. F-16 manufacturer Lockheed Martin determined that half of Class A F-16 accidents were caused by pilot error. 
- Regrettably, the FDA persists in falsely claiming that GE foods qualify as Generally Recognized as Safe, and to this day, it continues to exempt them from the requirement of safety testing.
- "I think anybody who still has a huge bill for developing infrastructure, these people are in deep trouble," Mr Xie added.

The analyst refused to name names, but he said at least one Australian company could go under.

He said globally more miners faced collapse.

"I do see bankruptcies, even major players who seem very large, I think bankruptcies are quite possible in 2016," Mr Xie forecast.

"I think tier two, tier three companies ... will be in trouble, especially the ones who were expanding very rapidly, buying assets and trying to increase in size by buying assets at very high prices."

Earlier this month, global miner Anglo American said it would sack 85,000 workers out of a 135,000-strong workforce and close or sell mines, including in Australia, as it merges six divisions into three.

Mr Xie said there were few buyers for Anglo's four Australian coal mines which are on the market. 
- ABOARD THE LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP MILWAUKEE, VIRGINIA CAPES – The littoral combat ship Milwaukee, the Navy’s newest ship, broke down Dec. 11 and had to be towed more than 40 nautical miles to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Virginia.

The ship suffered an engineering casualty while transiting from Halifax, Canada, to Mayport, Florida, and ultimately its home port of San Diego. The cause is being evaluated by ship’s crew and technical consultants.

Initial indications are that fine metal debris collected in the lube oil filter caused the system to shut down, according to a Navy statement provided to Navy Times. The cause of the metal debris in the lube oil system is not known and assessments are ongoing.
- The CH-4 can strike from an altitude of about 16,000 feet and fly at up to 112 miles per hour, according to an article in China Space News, a publication run by C.A.S.C.

“What is clear is that the price of one Caihong-4 drone is much lower than the price of an advanced battle tank on the international arms market,” said the article, published in March.

The loss of a drone is “affordable even when military budgets are tight or in small countries,” it noted.

Chinese-built drones and aircraft are generally built to compete on price, experts say. Technological limitations mean the finished products do not often perform at the same level as their Western counterparts, but they are cheaper — and have far fewer restrictions on who can buy them.
- Western media often use videos from Russia’s anti-terror campaign in Syria to depict airstrikes by the US-led coalition. This is due to the coalition’s reluctance to share more information about its operations, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said.

Unlike the Russian anti-terror operation command in Syria, the US-led coalition has not organized coverage for journalists in the region. “I have to stress that no-one has ever heard of the reporters’ press-tours to the anti-ISIS coalition’s bases,” Major General Igor Konashenkov told journalists in Latakia, Syria on Wednesday. 

“As a result even the most reliable international TV channels – I am sure unintentionally – are often using the footage of Russian airstrikes to illustrate the airstrikes by the anti-ISIS coalition,” he said.
- When Jabhat al-Nusra decided to attack the US-backed secular Hazm movement in March, after accusing it of being an “agent of the west”, Hazm decided to disband rather than retaliate, and the majority of its fighters joined the Shamiya Front. Which raises the question: what will David Cameron’s moderate fighters do when Jabhat al-Nusra in turn brands them “agents of the west”? Will they fight back? Or will they disband, as Hazm did, to spare “the blood of the mujahideen”? We don’t know. Worryingly for David Cameron, neither does he.
- The IRGC Air Force capabilities are not, per se, a strategic threat to Israeli operations. Iran's most modern aircraft include some MiG-29s that Tehran acquired in the early 1990s and old Russian Sukhoi jets. Some of Iran's MiG-29s were grounded for years and, although Iran's Air Force commander, Shah Safi, boasted in 2010 that Iran’s MiGs were finally operational, they are no match to Western aircraft. The Sukhois Iran has are an older version of the plane downed by Turkey last month.
- The GPL is the sole licence that takes the factor of human greed into consideration: it ensures that if one builds on the work of someone else and distributes it, then one has to also make one's changes available. In other words, share and share alike.
- Feight, from upstate New York, pleaded guilty in 2014 to providing material support to terrorists and was this week sentenced to eight years behind bars.

He told a US District Court he was first approached by Glendon Scott Crawford, the plot’s mastermind and member of the Ku Klux Klan, to help create a mobile X-ray device to sterilise medical waste. Feight said he only learned later that the machine was intended for use to target Muslim terrorist cells operating in the US.

“Potential targets were never discussed with me,” Feight said.

The married father-of-three said he became afraid to drop out of the plot after Crawford introduced him to two seemingly dangerous investors in the project. The pair were actually FBI undercover agents.
- Moldova’s problem is not that it’s a failed state. It’s a state where almost nothing has ever actually worked. In 2013, forty EU judges journeyed to Chișinău to observe how different state institutions functioned. They didn’t. Jobs that ought to be off-limits to political appointments—heading the banks, overseeing the police—are the specialty of political appointees. Four in five Moldovans profess no faith in the rule of law. Ninety percent of judges may be convicted of corruption when tried, but only last year, for the first time in Moldovan history, did one go to jail. Moldova is a state that cannot even pretend to control the real estate it calls its own. Roads are in disrepair if they’re paved at all. The national rail system is single-track—two trains cannot simultaneously operate in opposite directions. The complete lack of national interconnectedness is most evident in the presence of the notorious baroni locali, the “local bosses” who govern largely beyond Chișinău’s reach. Justice in Soroca, a town in the north, is meted out by a bulibaşa, a gypsy king called Artur. Oleg Bădărău, the mayor of a village called Bahmut, was hauled to trial in 2012 when he was discovered to have raised his own private militia.
- At the moment, the way a tumour is identified in a body is with a scan and then a biopsy.

But solid cancers, which make up about 99 per cent of human cancers, also shed what are called circulating tumour cells into the bloodstream, which is how the cancer metastasizes, or spreads through the body.

Dr Majid Warkiani and his team at NSW University created a biochip that is able to separate the cancerous cells, which are larger and more flexible than healthy cells, and identify them. 
- At least one of the guns used in the November 13 terror attacks in Paris was purchased by Century International Arms and then re-exported to Europe. One of the largest arms dealers in the United States, Century Arms has close ties to the CIA and has faced charges in America and Europe of involvement in illegal arms deals.
- There are fears of being asked to carry out futile war plans that would bring instability. Almost all of today’s commanders are veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They all know someone who died in combat; indeed, they may have sent someone on a mission that ended with death. And because of that they bring a unique vantage point to lessons learned, from the frontlines where the cruelty of warfare is impossible to miss. Those who send them, meanwhile, sit thousands of miles away and learn what is happening through the filter of distance.

The U.S. military still is rebuilding after a decade of repeated deployments and overworn equipment. And the prospect of endless quasi-war thousands of miles away—even if it’s fought mostly by drones and elite special operations forces—is not tenable, they argue. These commanders are too focused on recovering from the last war to hear politicans talk about the prospect of a future one.

And so in the course of conversation, plots of a different kind emerge—contingencies in case Trump really is elected to the White House.

“This is not the country I joined to defend.”

“I am turning in my papers.”

“I’m moving to a farm.”

Market Consolidation/Neo-Feudalism, Random Stuff, and More

- it never occured to me until recently how consolidated things in the world were in the global market place. In this post we'll take a ...