Politics

[LivingTheDream]

Did Biden pardon that D-bag, or is he fair game for the current DOJ?

Doesn't matter, he wasn't pardon for future crimes.

 

[rookhawk]

A bit of credit where credit is due. Setting aside the 747 gift that will require months, more likely years, to turn into an Air Force 1 with is array of capabilities, Trump's Middle East sojourn has been a triumphal procession and meaningful recasting of American power projection far more in keeping with our mercantile traditions than nation building ever was. The comfort of the Arab leadership with whom he dialogued was palatable in the photo ops.

Maybe I’m just an idiot that watched too much “Air Force One” starring Harrison Ford, but I assumed that our 747 AF1 was a hollowed out air frame with all measures of tactical upgrades beyond the knowledge of any other nation. It terrifies me we can go buy one on eBay and give it a paint job. I assumed it was resistant to missiles via Chaff systems, it had advanced jamming features, and would have other classified countermeasures to protect the Chief or the Joint Chiefs during a time of nuclear war. (E.g. staying in air indefinitely with in-air refueling)

Turns out we could have just rented one from Hertz or Avis all along?

 

[Brent in Az]

Maybe I’m just an idiot that watched too much “Air Force One” starring Harrison Ford, but I assumed that our 747 AF1 was a hollowed out air frame with all measures of tactical upgrades beyond the knowledge of any other nation. It terrifies me we can go buy one on eBay and give it a paint job. I assumed it was resistant to missiles via Chaff systems, it had advanced jamming features, and would have other classified countermeasures to protect the Chief or the Joint Chiefs during a time of nuclear war. (E.g. staying in air indefinitely with in-air refueling)

Turns out we could have just rented one from Hertz or Avis all along?

And an escape pod that can be jettisoned

 

[mdwest]

The Qatar win of the week wasn’t the gifted 747…

It was the $100B deal they signed with Boeing to buy 160 airliners…

 

[spike.t]

The Qatar win of the week wasn’t the gifted 747…

It was the $100B deal they signed with Boeing to buy 160 airliners…

Boeing already have a 7 year backlog on orders....and Qatar has a lot of planes on order as is.....a lot can change in that period of time...

 

[Altitude sickness]

I think the largest foreign policy gain of the week is meaningful trade with Arab states. Their culture places a huge value on quality bartering and or trading. It gives them parity with their partners.

We are now poised to ask them to increase oil production (and a few other under the radar favors) which will cripple both Iran and Russia.

Also the Iranian nuke deal will include cutting off oil to China. China produces little or zero oil. If we clamp down on the oil Iran has been sneaking to China it will cripple them. It’s hard to fight a war with no oil.

Arab nations want the Israel Gaza war over. So they will get Hamas in line and Trump will ask B.B. to not occupy Gaza. That conflict will be done.

The Syrian regime are not good people. Slowly letting them back into the fold (after they get over some big hurdles) is also a good long term strategy. It gives the other Arab states a win. They will keep Syria in line now. It keeps Russia and China out of the Middle East. Europe and U.S. can send Syrian refugees home.



HUGE moves this week.

 

[Altitude sickness]

I left out another huge move. UAE kept in the fold. China has been trying to gain influence in UAE. They are number three in AI development.

1. USA
2. China
3. UAE

 

[Brent in Az]

Doesn't matter, he wasn't pardon for future crimes.

True, but he still needs to be put under a microscope and indicted for his past transgressions.

 

[Brent in Az]

New German Chancellor slammed JD Vance and the Trump administration for what he claims is interference in German Democracy
This, on the same day Germany arrested 6 right wing activists for wrong -think, and kept them from traveling to a conference in Milano.

Tyranny in disguise.

 

[spike.t]

I think the largest foreign policy gain of the week is meaningful trade with Arab states. Their culture places a huge value on quality bartering and or trading. It gives them parity with their partners.

We are now poised to ask them to increase oil production (and a few other under the radar favors) which will cripple both Iran and Russia.

Also the Iranian nuke deal will include cutting off oil to China. China produces little or zero oil. If we clamp down on the oil Iran has been sneaking to China it will cripple them. It’s hard to fight a war with no oil.

Arab nations want the Israel Gaza war over. So they will get Hamas in line and Trump will ask B.B. to not occupy Gaza. That conflict will be done.

The Syrian regime are not good people. Slowly letting them back into the fold (after they get over some big hurdles) is also a good long term strategy. It gives the other Arab states a win. They will keep Syria in line now. It keeps Russia and China out of the Middle East. Europe and U.S. can send Syrian refugees home.



HUGE moves this week.

Oil output has recently been raised with Saudi pushing it and Russia agreed....also just read large amounts of Venezuelan oil are going to China via Brazil....

 

[mdwest]

Boeing already have a 7 year backlog on orders....and Qatar has a lot of planes on order as is.....a lot can change in that period of time...

View attachment 685240

Im not sure I agree with Aboulafia...

If Airbus, Boeing and others increase production, who exactly is going to fly all of these new planes?

There haven't been enough pilots to fly the airframes and the scheduled routes in the commercial aviation side of the house in years (COVID escalated this to a global scale.. but its been a problem in the US and Europe for more than a decade).. and on the military side the problem is actually worse..

And the shortage is getting worse, not better..

By 2032 its expected that there will be a global shortage of qualified commercial pilots of about 80,000..

Right now airlines are largely just ordering enough aircraft, and scheduling the delivery of those aircraft to meet the timelines they expect for replacing older aircraft in their fleets.. no one is expanding their fleets in large numbers, because there simply arent enough pilots to fly any additional aircraft they might add..

the world is becoming more and more jet-set... but the pilot career field isn't all that appealing anymore, and enough young people arent entering at a rate to keep up with the expanding demand

 

[spike.t]

Im not sure I agree with Aboulafia...

If Airbus, Boeing and others increase production, who exactly is going to fly all of these new planes?

There haven't been enough pilots to fly the airframes and the scheduled routes in the commercial aviation side of the house in years (COVID escalated this to a global scale.. but its been a problem in the US and Europe for more than a decade).. and on the military side the problem is actually worse..

And the shortage is getting worse, not better..

By 2032 its expected that there will be a global shortage of qualified commercial pilots of about 80,000..

Right now airlines are largely just ordering enough aircraft, and scheduling the delivery of those aircraft to meet the timelines they expect for replacing older aircraft in their fleets.. no one is expanding their fleets in large numbers, because there simply arent enough pilots to fly any additional aircraft they might add..

View attachment 685266

the world is becoming more and more jet-set... but the pilot career field isn't all that appealing anymore, and enough young people arent entering at a rate to keep up with the expanding demand

Airlines are waiting on planes being delivered....big backlog and airlines are holding on to old planes ,or as with some bringing back mothballed ones that they had actually taken out of service mostly during covid ..some airlines are cutting services due to lack of new planes and spare parts not being available....Boeing and airbus both have big back orders which is why China is desperate to get their industry ramped up....but certification is proving a bit of a problem for them thankfully.....

 

[bowjijohn]

Once again peace remains out of reach

The chances stand somewhere between ‘Bob’ and ‘no’ hope

Putin has once again refused any meaningful engagement

He trots out a prisoner release deal in a poor attempt of a fig leaf cover of his refusal to modify his geopolitical ambitions

When ‘o’ when will the West grow tired of this

He is never going to be an ally against China

He will come to the table when, and only when, the West provides sufficient weapons and support to render Russian success in Ukraine unattainable

He might trot out his nuclear toys and parade them about

However - though he might have nothing to lose- those with a finger on the actual button might think differently

 

[Brent in Az]

The glamour of being a commercial airline pilot is not what it used to be. The fierce competition between carriers has kept salaries lower, long hour's, and crappy schedules, attribute to shortages of pilots.
The competition for the better private jet pilot gigs has increased

 

[rookhawk]

Very interesting JRE podcast featuring a propulsion expert "Harold Sonny White" was put out recently.

They got on the topic of the frequent UAPs (UFOs), in particular the most credible ones sighted by instruments and military pilots that look like tic-tacs.

He had a theoretical explanation for the phenomenon. Apparently there are lasers that can be triangulated on a spot from multiple arrays that ionizes the air creating a plasma. This existing technology could create a visible phenomenon of a craft or object. The challenge is that while this tech could be used from the surface to create objects in the sky, it would have to be generated from the sky or space to create an object that would be visible under the water's surface as some of the UAPs documented by the US military have to date.

One hell of a weapon if a superpower can create ghosts whether to distract or ambush military resources.

 

[spike.t]

Jeez what fkd up mother...

Texas mother accused of helping son plan school shooting

Police say Ashley Pardo "knowingly aided" her son's plans to attack his school in exchange for him babysitting his younger siblings.

www.bbc.com

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Jeez what fkd up mother...

Texas mother accused of helping son plan school shooting

Police say Ashley Pardo "knowingly aided" her son's plans to attack his school in exchange for him babysitting his younger siblings.

www.bbc.com

She should never have been released. And should be stripped of being a mom. Just... wow.

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

Oil output has recently been raised with Saudi pushing it and Russia agreed....also just read large amounts of Venezuelan oil are going to China via Brazil....

Impossible. I was told in this very thread that China is leading the way in green energy and will save the environment while the evil USA continues to use fossil fuels.

Surely they have no need for oil?

 

[deewayne2003]

Oil output has recently been raised with Saudi pushing it and Russia agreed....also just read large amounts of Venezuelan oil are going to China via Brazil....

Venezuelan oil has been going to China for some time, they take it because of the STEEP discount they get, a large portion of Venezuela's state owned tankers are impounded in ports around the world because they simply do not have the money to repair them or pay portage fees.

The port of Caracas is so polluted with crude oil from broken transfer pipes that after filling, the tankers must anchor offshore for days so that divers can scrub the tar oil off of the hulls because if they don't the ships hull is so dirty even after crossing the ocean that Chinese ports will not allow them to enter.

Think about how dirty a boat has to be before the Chinese say it's too polluted to enter their water....

 

[Brent in Az]