Recent International Geo-Political Developments

Alcuin said:
Nobody saw Trump as an ideal candidate, far from it, but he at least came across as sincere in what he said he wanted to do (regardless of whether folk expected him to achieve his aims when confronted by the deep state, mass media and left-wing autism).

Given the choice between an honest buffoon and a cold, calculating, lying, morally-reprehensible, openly-warmongering career politician like Hillary Clinton I know which I would opt for.
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It's just in your head, because facts are pointing to other direction, Trump being the one. 6 Trump's associates from pre election are in prison now, and more under investigation. Also there are not less than 17 open investigations against Trump himself. Not ideal candidate? The idiot "deal maker" with super senate can't get even a deal for his fence. I don't have time to mention his speech, logic, ethics, empathy, social, financial, business, and other impediments.
 
Archetype0ne said:
Anyone can explain this:
(https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47061509)
(https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...sident-twitter-work-oval-office-a8756356.html)

1. Trump told his Intel Chiefs to "go back to school" in yesterdays meeting.
2. Since January 1 he has had an average of 1 scheduled task a day. This means yesterdays meeting, was the only meeting in his Schedule.


We are talking about The President of the United States here.
It appears to me there might be some legal battle going in Washington behind the scenes. Since Democrats got the House, The President might be in some sort of "executive oversight", or colloquially speaking "timed out".

With all the fuss going on regarding WMD in Space, Venezuela, Russia Iran Turkey summit on the future of Syria...

Do you guys not think The President of the United States would have more than one meeting/thing on his schedule a day?

This is what makes me think things are much worse than anyone anticipates.
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Exact point how Trump is out of his depth and width and intellectual stamina of being a president, among countless other shortcomings. Not understanding well geopolitics doesn't help him either, nor it helps western world and our allies.
 
“The Force” of fake news is Strong. :)

It's a well-known fact that members of the Cabinet tend to dramatize to a degree. In case something goes wrong, to get more money for their Department, and to ensure the relevancy and importance of their Job.

None of the allegations of the Special Counsel is strictly against Trump. The vast majority of indictment against the President's associates date-back to the time of Neanderthal roaming the Earth.
 
I hope the Force is as fake as the Moon Landing, and the Military Satellite. (Edit: since easily miss-understandable... not saying Moon landing was fake, using sarcasm over text can backfire as I am reminded...)



Edit for the lul: Did they even have touch-screen in the first Start Wars franchise?


I know wikipedia is fake news... but:
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_in_Star_Wars)
Contents

​

22External links

But I can't fail to notice how almost everything in that list has been in development probably since before Star Wars was even a thing xD. Lastly, even the most bewildering imo, the Artificial Moon one has been speculated by the Chinese, along with quantum technology... Imagine having a "military satellite" and some malicious actor hacks it.

Not that I am paranoid for life xD, the material world barely sustains me, let alone entertaining me.


Further readings if anyone is into futurism:

(http://www.astronomy.com/news/2018/10/china-artificial-moons)

(https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612596/the-man-turning-china-into-a-quantum-superpower/)

(https://www.technologyreview.com/s/...target-and-kill-cancer-cells-by-zapping-them/)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_brnKz_2tI) (Bionic prosthetics, one of hundreds of stories)

(https://www.technologyreview.com/s/...ould-permanently-replace-a-failing-human-one/)

(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/12/06/deepminds-alphazero-now-showing-human-like-intuition-creativity/amp/)

(https://www.zdnet.com/article/googles-ai-surfs-the-gamescape-to-conquer-game-theory/)

(http://news.mit.edu/2018/first-ionic-wind-plane-no-moving-parts-1121)


What I am really saying is that malicious actor doesn't really even have to be human...


Now... If we can use Neural networks to beat the absolute best e-sport athletes and pilots...(Alphago,Alphazero, The above Starcraft example) This AI is not dependent like humans on reaction time... can learn thousands of years over the course of a week of sparring with itself. Feels nice to develop it I bet... especially when you think it will be used against hostile actors. What I am really worried about is how much control "we" really have over the weapons we are developing.

By we, I don't mean east or west, I mean the whole of us.


Edit:About the military satellite... Considering US left the treaty regarding Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles... According to both U.S and Russian mouthpieces, the signal is pretty clear, there is an arms race going on. Conspiracy Theories are not generally public knowledge on the other hand.
 
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OMG. If it's not racists or ultra-nationalist Balkanists, it's conspiracy theorists.

The internet is a cesspool.

What the hell am I doing here?
 
Angela said:
OMG. If it's not racists or ultra-nationalist Balkanists, it's conspiracy theorists.

The internet is a cesspool.

What the hell am I doing here?
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Handle yourself Angela... Your racism slipped. I expect better from an Advisor to this platform.

Edit: How I know you are racist? You would not even have had time to read the articles I provided as sources before making that statement. I love my culture but I ain't no Nationalist, I consider myself a Humanist first of all, if you really care to know... Seems you already made up your mind.

PS: I usually Ignore Racists. Especially Racists towards my people, or "Balkanists" whatever that means...

You can check the 1st or 2nd post of mine in this thread, I am not falling prey to provocateurs anymore. If you do not want to contribute to this thread... You do not have to insult poor "Balkanists".
 
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Archetype0ne said:
Handle yourself Angela... Your racism slipped. I expect better from an Advisor to this platform.

Edit: How I know you are racist? You would not even have had time to read the articles I provided as sources before making that statement. I love my culture but I ain't no Nationalist, I consider myself a Humanist first of all, if you really care to know... Seems you already made up your mind.

PS: I usually Ignore Racists. Especially Racists towards my people, or "Balkanists" whatever that means... You are in the same ignore list that Yetos and Markod are...

You can check the 1st or 2nd post of mine in this thread, I am not falling prey to provocateurs anymore. If you do not want to contribute to this thread... You do not have to insult poor "Balkanists".
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I don't know you well enough to know whether you're a racist or an ultra-nationalist from the Balkans. The site is, however, inundated with them, mostly because they seem to be the most interested in population genetics, unfortunately, which is why the discipline is under fire so often.

I do know you're a conspiracy theorist.

Everything is not about you.
 
Angela said:
I don't know you well enough to know whether you're a racist or an ultra-nationalist from the Balkans. The site is, however, inundated with them, mostly because they seem to be the most interested in population genetics, unfortunately, which is why the discipline is under fire so often.

I do know you're a conspiracy theorist.

Everything is not about you.
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Do you know anything beside ad-hominem? That's a pretty easy route. Make up a derogatory word, and put other posters in the category without point or reason.
Then you think to yourself... OH I got him good! Sure... Maybe other readers will buy it. I do not.

ad_hominem.png


Surely even a broken clock is right twice a day. Even if I was a "conspiracy theorist", that's not what this thread is about, of which you are absolutely right. This isn't about me.
 
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Any comment by someone who believes there was no moon landing can be safely ignored.
 
I believe we have had a misunderstanding. I hope re-reading that sentence can clarify my intentions there. It was sarcasm... As in " I hope the Force is as fake as [juxtaposition] [moon landing:real] [military satellite: very real]". It was meant to be a gradient, contrast and point out that since the moon landing is most likely real, the military satellite is closer to the moon landing than to the "Force". I mean... the touch screen comment should have gave it away...

I believe the preconceptions you have of Balkan People as dumb ultra-nationalist conspiracy theorists is affecting the way you read my words.

One of the many weaknesses of language.
 
Archetype0ne said:
I believe we have had a misunderstanding. I hope re-reading that sentence can clarify my intentions there. It was sarcasm... As in " I hope the Force is as fake as [juxtaposition] [moon landing:real] [military satellite: very real]". It was meant to be a gradient, contrast and point out that since the moon landing is most likely real, the military satellite is closer to the moon landing than to the "Force". I mean... the touch screen comment should have gave it away...
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If I misjudged you, I apologize. I have to deal with so many nutters of various stripes on here (and today was a particularly trying day) that perhaps I was too quick on the trigger.

Not an excuse, but an explanation.

I hadn't even looked at your country flag. It was the moon landing thing that was like a red flag to a bull.

You think we don't have posters like that? Think again.

I'm going to pull out the old: my best friend...:

Happens to be true though...I have lots of friends from the Balkans, although mainly Dalmatia. My problem is neither with the area or the people, whom I happen to like a lot.
 
BBC - AI Create Fake Obama, ... a tool to make phoney speeches

It can edit a video changing facial expressions and matching words.
It could be also used against a political opponent, and by fake news outlets.

... Artificial intelligence software could generate highly realistic fake videos of former president Barack Obama using existing audio and video clips of him, a new study ....

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/technol...created-using-ai-tool-to-make-phoney-speeches

https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/robotics/artificial-intelligence/ai-creates-fake-obama
 
Salento said:
Assolutamente sì. 20.000 Cubans. It’s true. :)

... Cuba has since invested in and propped up the Venezuelan military and intelligence wings, according to many observers. And some estimates have indicated as many as 20,000 Cubans could be in the ranks of the Venezuelan security apparatus...

https://www.foxnews.com/world/how-deep-are-the-cracks-in-venezuelas-military
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Ah, this means that Venezuela is controlled by foreigners now. Get ready for the show Salento.
Irony aside, i sincerely feel sorry for the Venezuelans. The worst thing that can happen is when your country turns to be the next battlefield between the Great Powers. It's terrible.

P.S.
BTW, did you noticed the name of the Venezuelan Defense Minister? Vladimir Padrino.
 
(https://www.dw.com/en/instex-europe-sets-up-transactions-channel-with-iran/a-47303580)

"INSTEX: Europe sets up transactions channel with Iran

Germany, France and the UK have set up a payment channel with Iran called INSTEX, to help continue trade and circumvent US sanctions. Washington has cautioned EU nations against such actions."

Interesting development late yesterday.

Furthermore...

https://twitter.com/eu_eeas

Looking at the latest tweets. It seems there has been an EU-Japan trade agreement.

(https://twitter.com/Trade_EU/status/1090997744951590912)


(https://www.dw.com/en/eu-and-japan-create-worlds-biggest-free-trade-zone/a-47319521)


"EU and Japan create world's biggest free trade zoneAlmost all tariffs on trade between the European Union and the world's third-biggest economy have been removed. European companies could save around a billion euros in duties each year."



A "contact group" made of international sovereign entities has been established during the Foreign Ministers Meeting that started yesterday in Bucharest, regarding Venezuela.

(https://twitter.com/eu_eeas/status/1091040721044496384)

In those tweets there is bits of gold here and there.

I will be called a conspiracy theorist probably... But where is Romania geographically located? Pretty close to all the fun... Such "informal meeting" could have easily taken place in Berlin or Paris, but it did not...

"Gymnich meeting

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnich_meeting)


A Gymnich meeting is an informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the member states of the European Union, organized according to the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union since 1974 (every six months). The ministers are not accompanied by their assistants, which makes the condition easier for informal and frank exchange of views. The meeting practice received its name from the first of such meetings at Castle Gymnich in Erftstadt, Germany."



Also, anyone familiar with US media bias can tell me if The Daily Beast and BuzzFeed are among US govt. mouthpieces? I seem to read a lot of confidential news leak there... I believe the US security services are more professional than letting such leaks go on for months, that is what makes me think it is intentional.


(https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-house-abruptly-cancelled-trumps-meeting-with-intel-chiefs)

"The White House abruptly canceled President Donald Trump’s daily intelligence briefing on Wednesday, the morning after top intelligence officials testified before Congress, The Daily Beast has learned.
Reached for comment, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders simply said, “It was moved.” She did not go into further detail as to why and did not respond to follow-up inquiries."


(https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612421/us-china-quantum-arms-race/) by Massachusetts Institute of Technology magazine "Technology Review". Do not take my word for it... they are the leading source for tech, beyond Stanford or Harvard IMO.

China’s ambitions

CETC’s work is part of a long-term effort by China to turn itself into a world leader in quantum technology. The country is providing generous funding for new quantum research centers at universities and building a national research center for quantum science that’s slated to open in 2020. It’s already leaped ahead of the US in registering patents in quantum communications and cryptography (see chart).


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Last year a billion dollar company was created every 3.8 Days in China.


(https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...tes-fewer-tech-unicorns-as-economy-slows-down)
"China Created a New Tech Unicorn Every 3.8 Days Last YearBloomberg NewsJanuary 28, 2019, 5:25 AM GMT+1"

Either they are being flooded by $, which of course they are due to trade... thus inflating their companies valuations.
Either they really are heavily invested in tech... and its paying off heavily.

Could also be a combination of both.

"[h=3]Unicorn Sightings[/h]China's largest tech unicorns span industries from fintech and media to drones
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@ArchetypeOne

I know that BuzzFeed's boss worked at the leftist Huffington-Post (Soros money)

The Political Operators working in the Government give classified, sensitive, and unverified informations to some of these news organizations, knowing that they will publish them.

To be fair, the Right does the same thing with other news/media outlets.
 
LABERIA said:
Ah, this means that Venezuela is controlled by foreigners now. Get ready for the show Salento.
Irony aside, i sincerely feel sorry for the Venezuelans. The worst thing that can happen is when your country turns to be the next battlefield between the Great Powers. It's terrible.

P.S.
BTW, did you noticed the name of the Venezuelan Defense Minister? Vladimir Padrino.
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The utopia of Socialist Equality has been completed.

Now the People of Venezuela are all Equally Miserables!
(Bigwigs apart)


'The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.'
- Margaret Thatcher -

Vladimir il Padrino! LoL
 
To be honest... Socialism should not be a bogey word because Authoritarian donkeys* used it as a pretext to oppress people. Every system has its flaws. Especially in implementation. We can not blame socialism, which I define as valuing society more than the sum of its parts... for the shortcomings of human nature.

We have to realize all people are equal, and as such equally corruptible. Absolute power corrupts absolutely... The chair is the evil, the person in the chair becomes prey of the agency/institution.

However, we have made such strides in science in the last 70 years I believe we can use technology to create 100%+ self sufficient entities. Think vertical farming, alternative energy mining, service based economy.

I further believe we can use such tools to limit the power of any one entity through technological, fully transparent means. Think block-chain.

That for me is Idealized Socialism. Where the greatest value is human capital, and knowledge in a sea of unknowns and ignorance.

The Netherlands for example lacks land, they have to reclaim land from the sea, being already below sea level. "The low countries" is a designation for a reason.
However the Dutch are like the 3d biggest agricultural producer in the world. Far exceeding domestic needs.

If we could organize society in a way where all individual actors incentives are aligned, while using technological strides to increase efficiency in energy, food production, education, medicine I am sure a new Zeitgeist would approach. Edit so I don't get misunderstood: I believe capitalism is the best possible system at the moment. Capitalism and Socialism are not mutually exclusive in my opinion. You can have life liberty and property (pursuit of happiness) in Norway too... despite it being a socialist leaning society, and operating very efficiently in the capitalistic system.

Very beautiful read from 2005 on how Norway nationalized their oil reserves into a sovereign wealth fund, the biggest in the world atm.
(https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB113340298608010935) Paraphrasing: They had the best mathematicians, economists, financial analysts, engineers, or anyone to provide good answers. What the Norwegian govt. did not know was the questions to ask. Hence they hired some British philosopher (IIRC) to frame the problem in the right question. And then answered it: Sell the oil, put the receipts into a National Sovereign Wealth Fund and invest it in the market. Such brilliant socialism, and such brilliant capitalism at the same time.


Michael Moore video was the shortest so excuse me for providing this guy as a source. Since I know he can be politically divisive. Don't mind the presenter, mind the content of the video.

(https://www.nbim.no/) Fund Web Page...

20170923_WOC555_0.png



https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Fniallmccarthy%2Ffiles%2F2017%2F09%2F20170922_SWF.jpg


We can see how the 5 Million Nation of Norway is punching much above its weight with competitors such as USA, China and Russia.
Sovereign-Wealth-Fund-map.png



But then again, I know my weaknesses as an Idealist and hopeless Romanticist. xD
 
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Pure Socialism is unnatural, we are made to compete against each other.
We are not all alike, some have more talent than others.

I saw my Eastern neighbors running away at the end of a failed Socialist experiment.
Surely they had a very valid motive to do that.
 
There is this beautiful parable by Jesus. In my opinion 2000 years ahead of its time. The parable regarding the mustard seed.

What I read into the words, is Pareto Efficiency. It is found everywhere in nature. 20-80% rule etc... (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_efficiency)



Meaning, I completely agree with you, not everyone is created equal. There is statistical variation in performance etc... But.
I am not speaking about equality of outcome, as I am completely against such forms of redistribution. They only do harm and Communism was proof of this.

What I am implying is, since people are different, have different talents and abilities, each one focuses on their strength and attempts to minimize their weaknesses. And when they come together in society the sum of their unity is more than the sum of their individual contributions.

So... Communism and equality of outcome... F no!
Socialism, and valuing human life and the sum of society.While allowing each individual to have equity of opportunity in a meritocratic society. For me: Yes, please!

Communism does not work with Capitalism.
Socialism as I defined it, and Nordic countries as they apply it, certainly is compatible with Capitalism.

Further edit:It breaks my heart when I think how many talented people do not have the opportunity to go to Higher Education because they have to provide for their existence/family. Also, my elders had to go through Communism first hand... so I know a thing or two about its Evil...
 
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You mentioned a Parable of Jesus.
Ironically in many socialist/communist nations the religion was suppressed.
Many were lucky not to end up Nailed to a Cross too, others were not.


I know many people like your Elders, my Father hired many of them, they crossed the Adriatic between San Cataldo - San Foca - Otranto at first. They told us their stories.
 
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