Tag Archives: South Carolina

A yellow cap

That is the setting and whether you call it a yellow cap or a golden dome is up to you, but beware, a simple top of mind gives this a weird setting. CBC gives us (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/golden-dome-trump-cbo-cost-estimate-9.7196982) ‘Budget office estimates Trump’s proposed Golden Dome will have trillion-dollar price tag over 20-year period’ and I thought that this was another bleak idea (right along the Trump Gold Card, which apparently is a huge failure with one sell, which was allegedly given as a present) and that was it for me, but then the CBC gives me the one line that opens the debate. 

It was “Somewhat inspired by Israeli defences”, so you think that changing the name from Iron to Golden does the trick? Consider the implications. It works for Israel as it is roughly the size of New Jersey. Consider Texas, that state with Netflix issues (see yesterdays blog) is 10 times the size of New Jersey. It could be attacked from the south by Mexico border, the SouthEast amphibious/Cuba, West/North via Cruise missiles and then we get that Israel is mostly like minded, in the United States the threat of Asymmetric/Internal Threats is decently real. And this is merely one state. As I see it, Texas, Florida, California, Washington State, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia sets a new chapter all together. My (massively inaccurate) setting throws the amount between $3 trillion and $5 trillion and that is when the massive write offs happen, an economy that cannot afford anywhere near that amount. As such that $1 trillion over 20 years will need critical investigations. The setting is simple. Consider that the Israel can fit into the United States 465 times (approximately) and now consider that the Iron Dome is set to United States parameters and not made out of gold (pewter is more like it), that equation doesn’t even get close to do its work when we see the impact on what the Iron Dome would need to do in the United States. I think I am merciful when I think it s a mere 3-5 trillion that bill might be significantly larger. So when we see “The U.S. Golden Dome is envisioned to include ground and space-based capabilities able to detect, intercept and stop missiles at all major stages of a potential attack. Congress has already approved roughly $24 billion US for the missile defence initiative through Republicans’ massive tax and spending measure signed into law last summer.” As such the ability to detect might require an upgrade (an idea that the movie a house of dynamite (2025) gave me). And that is merely attacks from missiles. The setting that the United States faces through asymmetric sets these detection methods on lose wheels. That all requires manpower, construction and a few more kinks can show up. The cyber settings will become almost humongous and for the most they cannot predict what is next, some can’t see what is a threat now, but that is a different story. As I see it, Israel has had decades to create the iron dome settings and they did it will, but to apply this to a nation the size of the United States is rather ludicrous, on a side note, Canada would equally be unable to deploy a system like that, the cost alone would cripple the Canadian economy, only so that “The Boss” can sleep safely at night? Good luck with that idea. 

As such I have no idea what gave the Pentagon (or related people) the idea that this is a workable idea? I get that the united States might want to upgrade its defenses, but to throw it at a gimmick that has no foundation on reality is as I personally see it beyond silly. 

So whilst the article ends with “Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, who requested the estimate from the CBO, said in response to the report that the missile defence project is “nothing more than a massive giveaway to defence contractors paid for entirely by working Americans.” Last May, the president said the Golden Dome would cost $175 billion US. The CBO last year estimated that just the space-based components of the Golden Dome could cost as much as $542 billion US over the next 20 years.” I seem to be on the side of Senator Jeff Merkley because it is as I see it more than a massive giveaway to defence contractors. It requires a lot more and it would requires military technicians and a massive monitoring issue on all these missiles and observation posts, Then you get exclude zones for these places and even as some will be the same, it might require a lot more and that is where the shoes become too uncomfortable to wear. As I see it, it requires a total overhaul of a system that was decent to begin with, which will make it prone to overhaul issues and the cyber nightmare that follows to overhaul it all is merely the beginning. There are a few more issues where I have no knowledge, as such I will not know all the issues but when I look at this from the ground at a distance, there is no way that $1 trillion will cover that and as such someone needs to take a critical look at this and I wonder what pentagon involvement was handed to the CBO in this. Just a thought to entertain. Well that is that from me, I will continue tonight on a better fairy tale, one that will grant Abu Dhabi TV the option to give muslim channels a desire to connect to Abu Dhabi TV channels. I can make fairy tales too, I merely hand them to the audiences to gasp at, no fear needed. Merely good feelings. Have a great day.

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Brother, can you spare a clue?

Yup, we all need clues at time. In some cases it is a simple as a vowel or a consonant, a stage where the word is still hidden to us. At times it is a clue to a larger picture, like the Guardian giving us ‘Biden to Trump – you’re embarrassing US’, now I am no Trump fan, yet the elections are not called yet in two states (31 electoral votes), we are optionally facing a recount in Wisconsin and Arizona (21 electoral votes), and there we see the larger difference, it is up in the air who becomes president. The media is shouting and screaming that Biden has won, which would be nice, but I deal in certainties and this is not certain. Georgia is leaning towards Biden, North Carolina is not. Yet until these two are officially called this race is still on. We can scream ‘count every vote’ and I support that, but not all the votes have been counted yet and there we have the larger station.

Then we see China optionally requiring a legal clue, we see this in BBC article ‘Hong Kong disqualifies four pro-democracy lawmakers after China ruling’, a lot of us might go all huffy and puffy, yet does that remain when we see “The expulsion came moments after Beijing passed a resolution allowing the government to disqualify politicians deemed a threat to national security”, as well as “China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee says that lawmakers should be disqualified if they support Hong Kong independence, refuse to acknowledge China’s sovereignty, ask foreign forces to interfere in the city’s affairs or in other ways threaten national security”, a setting that is open to interpretation. Especially when I consider “Freedom is the non-negotiable demand of human dignity; the birthright of every person—in every civilisation. Throughout history, freedom has been threatened by war and terror; it has been challenged by the clashing wills of powerful states and the evil designs of tyrants; and it has been tested by widespread poverty and disease. Today, humanity holds in its hands the opportunity to further freedom’s triumph over all these foes”, which President George Bush gave us from the White House in 2002, it comes in context with The National Security Strategy (NSS) which is a document prepared periodically by the executive branch of the government of the United States for Congress. It sets a tone towards the outlines the major national security concerns of the United States and partial methods on how to to administer these plans for dealing with issues. The legal foundation for the document is spelled out in the Goldwater-Nichols Act. The document is purposely general in content (read: Ambiguous), and its implementation relies on elaborating guidance provided in supporting documents. Both are choices in execution the need for a national security. Did you actually believe that the stage where Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898 was the end of that? After WW2, 50% of that lease period was surpassed, what did you think was going to happen? China giving up on the most profitable region in history? It is emphasised when we consider the Conversation giving us a year ago “Since 9/11, American domestic and international security policy has been focused on individual terrorists, terrorist groups and rogue countries as the primary threats. The country’s defensive response has been focused on the military and law enforcement capabilities. That’s natural, because the military knows how to shoot, drop and launch things at threats like that. And those dangers still exist”, do you think that China was not doing that as well? Since 2000 almost 100 attacks (mostly lone wolves) have been nipping at the heels of the USA, do you think that China is waiting for an attack? It will be minimising risk and Hong Kong is seen as all risk. 

Yet these matters are out in the open, there is a whole range of issues the remain in the dark, in the US, in China, in the Middle East and in Russia, each having its own baton of transparency, each having a different working method and in position we see the media pushing buttons and giving a partial view whenever possible, they too have their share holders, their stake holders and their advertising needs, it does not help many of us getting a clear picture. Consider the AP 4 days ago when they gave us “On Saturday, Biden captured the presidency when The Associated Press declared him the victor in his native Pennsylvania at 11:25 a.m. EST. That got him the state’s 20 electoral votes, which pushed him over the 270 electoral-vote threshold needed to prevail”, which is by all accounts a fair call, but the votes are not counted yet, the 31 out in the open and the end result could become Biden 276-Trump 262. This is an awful close call to be celebrating when votes are still being counted, one contested state is all the is required to show is all overboard and Wisconsin with 10 electoral seats might get us Biden 266 – Trump 272, that is the ball game. This is where it is at and the previous stage will be abandoned by so many it will scare you. You see, I am no Trump fan, and the chaos will ensure that the US will see several attacks, it infrastructure is massively undercut, its resources strained in the wrong directions and we are all screaming: Biden save us, all whilst the stage is not yet set, a stage that the Lone Wolves are really liking at present. Consider Savannah Georgia, Long Beach California, Seattle, Houston and South Carolina, they all have something in common and they neglected a lot in the last decade, the finds were not there. So when problems come calling the American people better have a real focal point instead of the reds versus the blues, we saw how that happened in Gangs of New York, how did the city fair there? It was set to Herbert Asbury’s 1927 nonfiction book The Gangs of New York. Yet what set it all apart, how do you remember the New York City draft riots? You think it does not relate? Consider that it was the moment when the population of New York fell below 11,000 and the area’s demographics changed pretty much forever as a result of the riot. You think that the second time around it will be better? When the reds versus the blues come calling instead of uniting, the US stands to lose a massive amount more from the start and this time around nationwide. I agree, it does not help when one of the players isn’t the sharpest tool in the tool chest, but the stage needs to be secured, China did it from the start, here we see a stage that is open for all with a gun and a loud mouth. Still thinking I have gone coo-coo? Consider ‘Three-quarters of Americans fear post-election violence and riots, Independent reveals’ (at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election-2020/election-results-2020-riots-trump-biden-b1700559.html), a stage given to us 2 days ago. That stage still exists, and it still holds water and there is the larger danger, not the rioters, but the opening the they give the lone wolves waiting for a signal. We are given “Such fears appeared directly linked to Americans’ concerns that it will not be clear by 4 November who won the presidential race”, now consider that one week later this issue is still in play. I watched two states remaining at 99% for 3-4 days, so what is hampering the final count? 

As you can see, in light of the unknown and there is quite a lot of it, brother, can you spare ME a clue?

Oh, and I was not done yet (well, not completely). You see, the Goldwater-Nichols Act is the foundation of a larger issue (at https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a525942.pdf), you see when we consider “Goldwater-Nichols may have made DOD more efficient but at the cost of civilian control. It has also politicised the Armed Forces. Like the law it replaced, it has created a national military command structure that ignores the separation of powers. The amended National Security Act has consolidated dispersed powers into one office, unintentionally establishing conditions under which an imperious Secretary might abuse them”, as such we can surmise that the US will be under a larger version of exposed danger until the 19th of January, 2021. You did not actually think that these lone wolves are sitting on their hands, did you? The danger is not red versus blue, it is those seeking an advantage during that time and as I personally see it, the US is not ready to deal with that danger.

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