Vice President Cheney, Meet the Press, September 16, 2001: "[Interviewer: Do we have any evidence linking Saddam Hussein or Iraqis to [the 9/11 terrorist attacks?]] Cheney: No "
President Bush, White House briefing, September 17, 2003: "We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th."
Saddam was involved with terrorism, but not with the 9/11 attack.
The US is making war on al Qaida, and is within its rights to continue to do so as long as al Qaida is a threat. There is no question of "proportionality" at all. The Iraq war was about Saddam, not al Qaida. Al Qaida involved itself in an attempt to overthrow the Iraqi government, and that failed. Afghanistan is a mess because of the communist take over, Soviet invasion and war, and the civil war following the Soviet departure. NATO forces and the UN have helped return civil government to Afghanistan through elections, helped to bring some measure of stability, and assisted the Afghans in starting to rebuild the country. It isn't clear yet if the Afghan government will survive due to divided loyalties and corruption. It makes no sense to let up on the Taliban unless they are truly ready to negotiate and join the peace process. It doesn't make sense to let up on al Qaida at all.
Who wants to be a pilot and put your butt on the line every day as you enter enemy territory when you can be a drone pilot half way across the world and go home to your wife and kids every night.
Who wants to drive something dangerous like a Ferrari P4/5 when you can drive something safe and dependable like the Mack Terapro garbage truck? The Ferrari is expensive, has hardly any room for passengers of the opposite sex, is difficult to maintain, and says you don't watch your spending. The Mack truck, on the other hand, is much cheaper, has much more room for members of the opposite sex (even if they have to ride in the back), and maintenance is a snap at many conveniently located dealers. Nobody will question your spending habits if they know you turned down a Ferrari for a Mack. You'd be a fool not to go with the Mack.
People don't want to sign up for the armed services knowing that they're just going to be shipped off immediately to one of these middle-eastern hell holes to fight some undeclared war over some bullshit "terror" campaign to "keep us safe" from that big, evil Constitution that is making government's job so difficult.
Your entire comment is stupendously wrong.
Pilots love to fly, and most of them like their missions. Unfortunately the sequestration budget cuts mean that they are losing a lot of light time with some units being grounded completely. On top of that the Air Force in particular, and the military in general, has been ratcheting up the stifling level of political correctness and engaging in a growing number of witch hunts due to policies instituted by the current administration. In short, they are whittling away at the reason pilots are there - to fly - and filling them full of politically correct BS. Who could possibly imagine that might cause a retention problem?
The Pentagon says the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration could leave the U.S. with a military that is simply unprepared for the most challenging combat missions. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told Congress in April that the military is eating its seed corn. "The cuts will fall heavily on maintenance and training, which further erodes the readiness of the force and will be costly to regain in the future," he said. "As the service chiefs have said, we are consuming our readiness." The Air Force says it's in a special bind. Cuts in flying hours mean that pilots can't do the thing they need to practice most: flying. . . . "We were told to cut our flying budget roughly in half," Lt. Col. James Howard says. Because of that order, Howard says, he had to ground the 336th Fighter Squadron so that the other units on this base could keep flying. The tricky thing for Howard is that the longer his pilots remain idle, the longer it will take for them to get ready to fly again. Fighter pilots must fly and drill their skills on a regular basis, from dogfighting to helping ground troops under fire. Otherwise, they lose their certification. "All those skills are extremely perishable," Howard says. Most pilots, he says, are required to do eight to nine flights per month to maintain readiness status.
"Bullshit "terror" campaigns" don't leave thousands of Americas dead. Al Qaida has managed to do that, and they keep trying to find new ways. Maybe you've heard of 9/11?
So you're troubled that they ""keep us safe" from that big, evil Constitution"? Could you be more specific? Did somebody quarter troops in your house in violation of the 3rd Amendment? Or is that just empty emoting?
So what are these "unjust causes" and corruption? What does the Constitution prove? What "empire?" Can you name the foreign lands under US governance and control that constitute an "empire?"
The US was attacked on 9/11 and the country responded. How do you think that isn't correct? Or are you one of the 9/11 "Truthers?"
I'm sure your post will be a crowd pleaser. I'm curious, will you be bringing anything even close to that sort of understanding to future discussions touching on the almost unparalleled scale of mass murder and repression in the Soviet Union? Based on your previous comments its almost like you'd either never heard of it, or considered it insignificant.
Outside the US, both established and emerging nuclear powers increasingly see nuclear weapons as weapons that can be used in a controlled, limited, and strategically useful fashion, said Barry Watts, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, arguably the Pentagon’s favorite thinktank. The Cold War “firebreaks” between conventional and nuclear conflict are breaking down, he wrote in a recent report. Russia has not only developed new, relatively low-yield tactical nukes but also routinely wargamed their use to stop both NATO and Chinese conventional forces should they overrun Moscow’s feeble post-Soviet military, Watts said this morning at the headquarters of the Air Force Association. Pakistan is likewise developing tactical nukes to stop India’s much larger military. Iran seeks nuclear weapons not only to offset Israel’s but to deter and, in the last resort, fend off an American attempt to perform “regime change” in Tehran the way we did in Baghdad. The US Air Force and Navy concept of “AirSea Battle” in the Western Pacific could entail strikes on the Chinese mainland that might provoke a nuclear response.
Now Russians and Chinese are our business partners.
So were Germans and Japanese in 1939.
I guess that means that relationships with ideological opponents based on trade don't always work out. Well, Russia that has been reverting back to Soviet style nuclear sub and bomber patrols of NATO countries and the US, with the occasional threat of nuclear attack. China has been rapidly increasing its defense budget, is planning to build multiple aircraft carriers along with a blue water navy, is threatening its neighbors and trying to take land from them. Maybe the US shouldn't draw down its military too much after all. Maybe it should also set aside some extra cash to replace the systems that Snowden has compromised. Where is he now, Russia, isn't it?
World War One not only set the stage for World War Two, but it resulted in issues that plague us to this very day. The first world war ultimately lead to the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, and the Islamic Caliphate government in 1923. One of the key goals of Islamist extremists, in particular al Qaida as they are fighting today, is to reestablish the Caliphate, and from there rebuild an Islamic empire. By similar token, the Ottoman Empire was carved up in such a fashion that there will likely be no end of conflict in the Middle East for the foreseeable future.
I've been meaning to reply to this for two reasons. In certain respects I find it one of the more intriguing posts I recall you making. I also wanted to thank you for providing the correct period for the discovery of mineral deposits in Afghanistan some weeks ago. I normally try to be correct and I should have looked it up.
You mean by following his travels? That might be OK so far, but I doubt he'll make it to Iran or North Korea.
But since in recent years both Chinese and Russian officials have threatened nuclear attacks against the US and its armed forces, or against NATO forces as well in the case of Russia, there is some validity to that.
No, he's just another threat. But he could make the other threats more dangerous. The US relies upon the NSA to avoid another Pearl Harbor. The information Snowden stole can show governments and organization that are adversaries of the US how to avoid or minimize the chances of detection by the NSA, and perhaps more. His four laptops of secrets are said to be extremely damaging. The revelations Snowden has made have already resulted in reports of terrorist groups changing their communications methods away from those more susceptible to US interception. Oddly enough he fled to two countries that count themselves as adversaries of the US to varying degrees, up to and including the threat of attack by nuclear weapons. Former career KGB officer and current Russian President Vladimir Putin will gladly suffer Snowden's presence. I'll be somewhat surprised if we hear of any similar leaks from China, Russia, or other countries that are either currently or trending authoritarian or worse - after all, you don't want to upset your hosts. It's also interesting that Snowden's lawyer spokesman in Russia reportedly does PR work for the FSB. Sweet.
You're evading the issue. If you object to secrecy in one court, why won't you object to secrecy about the same matter in another court? I see no reason why you would object to one but not the other. You try to hold up one as acceptable despite the fact there is no real difference. Your position seems inconsistent.
So is it your position that targets of surveillance should be notified they are being watched? Chinese spies? Russian spies? Or do you think everyone should know except the spies?
The core idea of the Star Chamber was secrecy to deal with defendants who were too powerful to be tried openly for fear the the realm could not control the impact, and we have decided to replicate this in full.
Actually no, the US hasn't replicated the Star Chamber. The Star Chamber conducted actual trials to determine guilt and punishment. The FISA court mainly deals with warrants and conducts no trials of suspects.
US Constitution, Article. III. Section. 1.: "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish...."
Congress established the FISA court by law.
The FISA court isn't a secret court, it is a court that handles secrets. In either case it looks like Congress can create such courts as it see fit.
Personally, I really like paper, even for technical books, but all my colleagues look at me like I'm wearing sabre-toothed tiger skins and wielding a club.
If a new "dark age" comes it may be truly dark. The last dark age was lit by paper, parchment, or papyrus of the ancient civilizations, whether to read by fire, or to start or burn on the fire. The shift to e-books will leave nothing once the last battery has died and the last screen cracked.
Old isn't the same as invalid. The human eyeball and brain haven't changed much in 30 years. Maybe technology changes have made a difference with newer display technology, maybe not. Feel free to provide more current studies if you care to, or can find them. I put up what I still had on my screen, but I doubt I'll look for more since it isn't a priority question for me.
Slashdot Mirror
This would avoid everyone re-inventing the warm water multiple times, while distros would focus on the other rings
It wouldn't be Linux if people weren't reinventing (or at least reimplementing) things. In a way that is almost the point of it.
Vice President Cheney, Meet the Press, September 16, 2001: "[Interviewer: Do we have any evidence linking Saddam Hussein or Iraqis to [the 9/11 terrorist attacks?]] Cheney: No "
President Bush, White House briefing, September 17, 2003: "We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th."
Saddam was involved with terrorism, but not with the 9/11 attack.
The US is making war on al Qaida, and is within its rights to continue to do so as long as al Qaida is a threat. There is no question of "proportionality" at all. The Iraq war was about Saddam, not al Qaida. Al Qaida involved itself in an attempt to overthrow the Iraqi government, and that failed. Afghanistan is a mess because of the communist take over, Soviet invasion and war, and the civil war following the Soviet departure. NATO forces and the UN have helped return civil government to Afghanistan through elections, helped to bring some measure of stability, and assisted the Afghans in starting to rebuild the country. It isn't clear yet if the Afghan government will survive due to divided loyalties and corruption. It makes no sense to let up on the Taliban unless they are truly ready to negotiate and join the peace process. It doesn't make sense to let up on al Qaida at all.
Who wants to be a pilot and put your butt on the line every day as you enter enemy territory when you can be a drone pilot half way across the world and go home to your wife and kids every night.
Who wants to drive something dangerous like a Ferrari P4/5 when you can drive something safe and dependable like the Mack Terapro garbage truck? The Ferrari is expensive, has hardly any room for passengers of the opposite sex, is difficult to maintain, and says you don't watch your spending. The Mack truck, on the other hand, is much cheaper, has much more room for members of the opposite sex (even if they have to ride in the back), and maintenance is a snap at many conveniently located dealers. Nobody will question your spending habits if they know you turned down a Ferrari for a Mack. You'd be a fool not to go with the Mack.
Air Force Drone Operators Report High Levels of Stress
Non-drone aircraft pilots love to fly, even if it is dangerous: The Thrill of Flying the SR-71 Blackbird
People don't want to sign up for the armed services knowing that they're just going to be shipped off immediately to one of these middle-eastern hell holes to fight some undeclared war over some bullshit "terror" campaign to "keep us safe" from that big, evil Constitution that is making government's job so difficult.
Your entire comment is stupendously wrong.
Pilots love to fly, and most of them like their missions. Unfortunately the sequestration budget cuts mean that they are losing a lot of light time with some units being grounded completely. On top of that the Air Force in particular, and the military in general, has been ratcheting up the stifling level of political correctness and engaging in a growing number of witch hunts due to policies instituted by the current administration. In short, they are whittling away at the reason pilots are there - to fly - and filling them full of politically correct BS. Who could possibly imagine that might cause a retention problem?
Sequester Has Air Force Clipping Its Wings
The Pentagon says the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration could leave the U.S. with a military that is simply unprepared for the most challenging combat missions. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told Congress in April that the military is eating its seed corn. "The cuts will fall heavily on maintenance and training, which further erodes the readiness of the force and will be costly to regain in the future," he said. "As the service chiefs have said, we are consuming our readiness." The Air Force says it's in a special bind. Cuts in flying hours mean that pilots can't do the thing they need to practice most: flying. . . . "We were told to cut our flying budget roughly in half," Lt. Col. James Howard says. Because of that order, Howard says, he had to ground the 336th Fighter Squadron so that the other units on this base could keep flying. The tricky thing for Howard is that the longer his pilots remain idle, the longer it will take for them to get ready to fly again. Fighter pilots must fly and drill their skills on a regular basis, from dogfighting to helping ground troops under fire. Otherwise, they lose their certification. "All those skills are extremely perishable," Howard says. Most pilots, he says, are required to do eight to nine flights per month to maintain readiness status.
Who wouldn’t want to be a US Air Force fighter pilot?
The war against al Qaida is authorized by this law passed by Congress. It is legally equivalent to a declaration of war.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.
"Bullshit "terror" campaigns" don't leave thousands of Americas dead. Al Qaida has managed to do that, and they keep trying to find new ways. Maybe you've heard of 9/11?
So you're troubled that they ""keep us safe" from that big, evil Constitution"? Could you be more specific? Did somebody quarter troops in your house in violation of the 3rd Amendment? Or is that just empty emoting?
They would need a security clearance?
So what are these "unjust causes" and corruption? What does the Constitution prove? What "empire?" Can you name the foreign lands under US governance and control that constitute an "empire?"
The US was attacked on 9/11 and the country responded. How do you think that isn't correct? Or are you one of the 9/11 "Truthers?"
I'm sure your post will be a crowd pleaser. I'm curious, will you be bringing anything even close to that sort of understanding to future discussions touching on the almost unparalleled scale of mass murder and repression in the Soviet Union? Based on your previous comments its almost like you'd either never heard of it, or considered it insignificant.
I expect most Europeans don't want to be left out of the fun.
Putin in nuclear threat against Europe
No Longer Unthinkable: Should US Ready For ‘Limited’ Nuclear War?
Outside the US, both established and emerging nuclear powers increasingly see nuclear weapons as weapons that can be used in a controlled, limited, and strategically useful fashion, said Barry Watts, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, arguably the Pentagon’s favorite thinktank. The Cold War “firebreaks” between conventional and nuclear conflict are breaking down, he wrote in a recent report. Russia has not only developed new, relatively low-yield tactical nukes but also routinely wargamed their use to stop both NATO and Chinese conventional forces should they overrun Moscow’s feeble post-Soviet military, Watts said this morning at the headquarters of the Air Force Association. Pakistan is likewise developing tactical nukes to stop India’s much larger military. Iran seeks nuclear weapons not only to offset Israel’s but to deter and, in the last resort, fend off an American attempt to perform “regime change” in Tehran the way we did in Baghdad. The US Air Force and Navy concept of “AirSea Battle” in the Western Pacific could entail strikes on the Chinese mainland that might provoke a nuclear response.
Now Russians and Chinese are our business partners.
So were Germans and Japanese in 1939.
I guess that means that relationships with ideological opponents based on trade don't always work out. Well, Russia that has been reverting back to Soviet style nuclear sub and bomber patrols of NATO countries and the US, with the occasional threat of nuclear attack. China has been rapidly increasing its defense budget, is planning to build multiple aircraft carriers along with a blue water navy, is threatening its neighbors and trying to take land from them. Maybe the US shouldn't draw down its military too much after all. Maybe it should also set aside some extra cash to replace the systems that Snowden has compromised. Where is he now, Russia, isn't it?
World War One not only set the stage for World War Two, but it resulted in issues that plague us to this very day. The first world war ultimately lead to the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, and the Islamic Caliphate government in 1923. One of the key goals of Islamist extremists, in particular al Qaida as they are fighting today, is to reestablish the Caliphate, and from there rebuild an Islamic empire. By similar token, the Ottoman Empire was carved up in such a fashion that there will likely be no end of conflict in the Middle East for the foreseeable future.
I've been meaning to reply to this for two reasons. In certain respects I find it one of the more intriguing posts I recall you making. I also wanted to thank you for providing the correct period for the discovery of mineral deposits in Afghanistan some weeks ago. I normally try to be correct and I should have looked it up.
You mean by following his travels? That might be OK so far, but I doubt he'll make it to Iran or North Korea.
But since in recent years both Chinese and Russian officials have threatened nuclear attacks against the US and its armed forces, or against NATO forces as well in the case of Russia, there is some validity to that.
Even better would be a 100MT underwater detonation....boy would that be spectacular.
A spectacular fish kill and harm to the environment. That is a truly enormous explosion. It is a good thing it wasn't exploded on land or sea.
No, he's just another threat. But he could make the other threats more dangerous. The US relies upon the NSA to avoid another Pearl Harbor. The information Snowden stole can show governments and organization that are adversaries of the US how to avoid or minimize the chances of detection by the NSA, and perhaps more. His four laptops of secrets are said to be extremely damaging. The revelations Snowden has made have already resulted in reports of terrorist groups changing their communications methods away from those more susceptible to US interception. Oddly enough he fled to two countries that count themselves as adversaries of the US to varying degrees, up to and including the threat of attack by nuclear weapons. Former career KGB officer and current Russian President Vladimir Putin will gladly suffer Snowden's presence. I'll be somewhat surprised if we hear of any similar leaks from China, Russia, or other countries that are either currently or trending authoritarian or worse - after all, you don't want to upset your hosts. It's also interesting that Snowden's lawyer spokesman in Russia reportedly does PR work for the FSB. Sweet.
Explosive power dissipates as a function of the cube root of the equivalent mass of explosive.
You're evading the issue. If you object to secrecy in one court, why won't you object to secrecy about the same matter in another court? I see no reason why you would object to one but not the other. You try to hold up one as acceptable despite the fact there is no real difference. Your position seems inconsistent.
So why wouldn't you complain about sealed orders? All you seem to be doing is kicking the can down the road.
The First Battle of the Atlantic
British submarines in World War One
His German Imperial Majesty's U-Boats in WWI
WWI German submarine has underwater Lake Michigan grave
German WWI Submarines (Pictures)
U-boat Attack, 1916
Anti-Submarine Measures from World War I
Depth Charges
So is it your position that targets of surveillance should be notified they are being watched? Chinese spies? Russian spies? Or do you think everyone should know except the spies?
The core idea of the Star Chamber was secrecy to deal with defendants who were too powerful to be tried openly for fear the the realm could not control the impact, and we have decided to replicate this in full.
Actually no, the US hasn't replicated the Star Chamber. The Star Chamber conducted actual trials to determine guilt and punishment. The FISA court mainly deals with warrants and conducts no trials of suspects.
US Constitution, Article. III. Section. 1.:
"The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish...."
Congress established the FISA court by law.
The FISA court isn't a secret court, it is a court that handles secrets. In either case it looks like Congress can create such courts as it see fit.
That could also be read as a widespread conspiracy involving multiple companies to coordinate to commit felonies.
No.
Personally, I really like paper, even for technical books, but all my colleagues look at me like I'm wearing sabre-toothed tiger skins and wielding a club.
If a new "dark age" comes it may be truly dark. The last dark age was lit by paper, parchment, or papyrus of the ancient civilizations, whether to read by fire, or to start or burn on the fire. The shift to e-books will leave nothing once the last battery has died and the last screen cracked.
Old isn't the same as invalid. The human eyeball and brain haven't changed much in 30 years. Maybe technology changes have made a difference with newer display technology, maybe not. Feel free to provide more current studies if you care to, or can find them. I put up what I still had on my screen, but I doubt I'll look for more since it isn't a priority question for me.