Thursday, February 4, 2021
A real possibility
Top U.S. Commander: We Must Assume ‘Very Real Possibility’ That We May Need To Use Nukes Against China, Russia
“China continues to make technological leaps in capabilities in every domain,” Richard wrote. “Across its conventional weapons systems, it continues to invest significant resources in hypersonic and advanced missile systems, as well as to expand its space and counter-space capabilities.”
I have real doubts about this article first it was in a conservative news outlet. It also seems to have a real anti-China vibe. I can understand the threat from Russia but not China. Last time I checked it was Russia the interfered with the US elections and disestablished the US.
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51 comments:
Russia is not a geopolitical threat to the US. They meddle, they poison dissidents, they posture and bluster. They are a 19th century oligarchy. China is a strong and growing geopolitical, economic, and military threat to the the US and it's interests worldwide. It needs to be kept in its box, through military strength and willingness to defend Taiwan and Japan from any threats.
2/04/2021 5:28 PM
I kind of understand what you are saying but maybe you are looking at too much fake news. I simply do not see any legitimate news sources saying anything like this. I see all sorts of stuff like about Russia and killing or jailing dissidents and interfering with the US elections or threatening Europe. I am not seeing anything about China other than fake news talking points. So with that I have to reject your post that Russia is not a geopolitical threat as educated people say this is not the case. I will not take the word of some guy in a basement without a college degree who can make a youtube channel. Besides Taiwan is part of China anyway.
China is clearly a peer adversary. We have an entire pacific fleet designed to contain them. There’s lots of negative news about China in terms of their spying, treatment of their ethnic minorities, trade policies, etc. The original post was meant to bait people into responding.
At the same time our country educates hundreds of thousands of Chinese students, offers H1-B visas to their workers, and has allowed federally funded professors at top notch schools to collaborate with them with the purpose of improving their capabilities.
2/05/2021 10:09 AM
You have been watching too much Fox news and RT. There is a reason we need to reign in fake news. You sound very paranoid about open education, productive scientific collaborations, and fear of "the other". The pacific fleet is not designed to contain China it has broad mission
for the middle east, North Korea, Russia, Pakistan ect, China is simply a small part of that.
As for China treating minorities poorly, do you really think it treats it minorities worse than the US or worse than Russia? We need to get our act together before we get on the case of China. I am afraid that you have bought into some right wing lie about China and that is not ok.
7:55 is certainly correct about Russia, but about China is either hopelessly naive or represents some propaganda network. The dictatorship of the Peoples Republic of China has been conducting what should be thought of as Cold War II for several decades. A few examples:
In the late '80s, early '90s the US and the world became aware of North Korea's nascent nuclear weapons program. The Chinese dictatorship could have stopped at no cost but it chose not to. It still could end it, at much higher cost, but still chooses not to.
The dictatorship has resurrected the Nine-Dash Line with which it claims the sea beyond Taiwan, south past the Philippine Islands and Vietnam almost to Malaysia. It also makes claims in direction of Japan and the Koreas.
For the past several decades, the dictatorship has stolen or coercively obtained all the intellectual property and trade secrets it can.
Having irresponsibly introduce Covis-19 to the world, it is doing everything possible to capitalize on its self-serving carelessness.
There's plenty more but no further reason to belabor the point. Simply, the dictatorship of the PRC, as it pursues more power, is a threat to the world.
2/05/2021 12:35 PM
Sounds like Russian propaganda. If China is so bad how come I see so little in the news about but literately every day there is another story out of Russian about corruption or trying to control the world.
I will not take the word of some guy in a basement without a college degree who can make a youtube channel. Besides Taiwan is part of China anyway.
2/04/2021 7:55 PM
OK, that tells me immediately that you are a troll and not a serious person. You have no idea of my degrees or professional experience, which include a Ph.D. in physics and 30+ years at LANL. Second, your simplistic view of US policy towards Taiwan confirms your unserious nature. Just a blathering troll.
2/05/2021 5:41 PM
I never said that you are the one that ran a youtube channel. However I implied that is where you get your news from, where lots of people without journalism degrees or any press credentials can post hours long posts about how bad China is an ignore Russia. Again I simply do not see credible news sources making out China to be so bad yet there are endless ones on Russia.
Plenty of people with Ph.Ds that lack common sense or who will believe in all sorts of dubious news. As for Taiwan here is a simple questions does the US recognize Taiwan as independent or not? It is not that complicated.
What does real possibility mean? Maybe we should test first to show that we are serious. Of course testing might just mean that the other countries would also test.
"which include a Ph.D. in physics and 30+ years at LANL"
Is that suppose to impress us?
does the US recognize Taiwan as independent or not? It is not that complicated."
2/05/2021 9:15 PM
Yes it is complicated. If you know anything about US foreign policy you know that formally, the US does not recognize Taiwan as independent. However, on a daily, transactional basis, the US treats Taiwan as independent and warns China against overt moves to assert control. Not everything is black and white. Obama called it "strategic ambiguity." Hopefully you are sophisticated enough to understand that concept.
The Bible speaks of a nation that will have 200 million soldiers. Who else could muster such a force but China? Will China be a threat to the US? Hard to say but it will be a force.....and not for good.
"the US does not recognize Taiwan as independent"
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding...ding.
Sounds pretty simple. In any case what China does or does not do with Taiwan is irrelevant. As the last four years have shown the number one threat is Russia. They interfered with the elections, got Trump elected, have brought our very democracy to the edge. Our country in the current due to Russia, not China. Again if you watch the news I simply do not see much on China, but everyday is another story about Russia. Stop watching fake news.
Obama called it "strategic ambiguity." Hopefully you are sophisticated enough to understand that concept.
2/06/2021 5:25 PM
What's to understand about kicking the can down the road. So far, every administration since the 1950s has hoped and prayed that no incident involving Taiwan would force them to throw the Taiwan Chinese under the bus, because there is no way the US will go to war against a nuclear power to protect them.
2/07/2021 9:25 PM
Agreed, I doubt we would interfere if anything happens. Taiwan is of little strategic value to us not to mention China is a major trade partner of ours. Besides we have to worry about Russia, since as long as Russia is around to interfere with our elections our democracy is not safe. They did more damage to the US in four years than literally ww2.
"They did more damage to the US in four years than literally ww2."
My instincts tell me that the Corona-19 Virus did more harm in 1 year than anything else I've seen in my lifetime. I would have called it the China or Wuhan virus but an executive order from Biden has forbidden that.
If a nuclear war did break out, at least we could see if the yearly verification statements made by the labs were correct. And yes, that is satirical.
Insanity. Please document (not just claim without evidence) what "damage" Russia did more than WWII. Also why do you think China is not influencing US elections, with so many more Chinese nationals here than Russian nationals?
"My instincts tell me that the Corona-19 Virus did more harm in 1 year than anything else I've seen in my lifetime. I would have called it the China or Wuhan virus but an executive order from Biden has forbidden that."
You are partially there, so let me square the rest of this circle for you to understand my and many others point.
Point 1: Trump was elected due to Russian interference. This is is now agreed on by most intelligent/educated people that keep up to date with real and accurate news sources.
Point 2: The 500k and maybe 600k death associated with Covid are due to Trumps total mismanagement of the situation. For example compare the US deaths to NZ, South Korea, Australia and even China.
Point 3: 450k people from the US died in ww2.
Combine these three points and you can see that Russia is directly responsible for more US deaths in 1 year than the 5 years the US was in ww2.
That is how you lay down the logic. Also it shows you why we need to put new limits on free speech in the age of mass communication If people understood that only certain sources are reliable news and anything else is probably fake news than they may not have fallen for the Russian fake news that influenced the election. We have now seen the consequence of letting the random citizen from getting news from any place they just want.
This discussion is also relevant to the labs. It is clear now the biggest or one of the biggest threats to the US is domestic terrorism which is fueled by fake news, conspiracy theorists, and so on. The question is how can the labs help with the broader issues of combating this threat. Can the labs work on computer programs to detect fake news, track readers of fake news, or warn others that misinformation is flowing. Maybe some machine leaning algorithms to determine if some alternative news is misleading or if somebody could be a consumer of fake news and so on. The world changed after ww2 and 2020-2021 has changed the world on the same level or even more. Perhaps we need a new Manhattan project to combat the new threat of "information".
2/08/2021 9:12 PM
Wow. Did i just read that? Are you the glorious saint who will decide for the common person what they should read through your fake news detector and put the red letter on people’s shirts who you deem a “threat”. Let me square this for you, you aren't. This is the most totalitarian drivel I have ever read on this blog.
This is the most totalitarian drivel I have ever read on this blog.
2/10/2021 9:15 PM
Excuse me but the current and future efforts against domestic terrorism are to fight totalitarianism. In case you forget on Jan 6 there was a terrorist insurrection and coup attempt that would have led to a real totalitarian regime. You cannot tolerate intolerance so to speak. If you care to watch any of the current impeachment hearings it will become obvious how close we came to losing our nation. Fake news is a weapon of totalitarianism, conspiracy theories are a weapon of totalitarianism.
So your plan is to fight totalitarianism with your brand of totalitarianism. Great plan.
So your plan is to fight totalitarianism with your brand of totalitarianism. Great plan.
2/11/2021 11:39 PM
No but we should amend or Constitution to more aligned with how Europe deals with free speech and free press. Hate speech and hate symbols should in fact be illegal like it is in Europe.
Last time I checked Europe was not a totalitarian state.
2/12/2021 9:29 AM
"...we should amend or Constitution..."
Well in addition to your spelling difficulty, the fact that you think amending the Constitution is a good idea, or is even remotely likely with a polarized electorate, means you are not a serious person. Plus, who gets to define "hate speech and hate symbols"? You? No thanks.
You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We'd all love to change your head
I found this discussion which explains much better my point about how we should shift to a more rational European model of Free speech
:
See, that is one of the major differences between (continental) Europe and the US. This may have to do a lot with a differing bill of rights. In Germany, for example, the bill of rights includes the natural right to your personal honour and dignity. So if someone uses his free speech in a way that infringes on your honour or dignity, we have a conflict of rights. Usually a court decides which right ranks higher in that specific case. Since all natural rights hold the same priority, all decisions are case specific.
In addition to that we differentiate between opinion (not fact based) and claim (fact based). While you are free to have and express any opinion you wish to hold, when you start making claims, you're no longer in safe territory as you can be forced to present your evidence which supports your claim. That's why making a wild claim about child eating democrats would land you in deep trouble here if you come to court empty handed. Considering the poisoned atmosphere in the US vs. the one I live in, I am more fond of our interpretation compared to the "anything goes" way embraced by the US"
The German Strafgesetzbuch (Criminal Code) in section § 86a outlaws "use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations" outside the contexts of "art or scienc
The US would look a lot nicer with a similar law - no more confederate flags. 😉
Not to be too flippant on the subject but German law is not a great starting point for debate on totalitarianism.
Not to be too flippant on the subject but German law is not a great starting point for debate on totalitarianism.
2/15/2021 2:10 AM
Cute, but realistically current German Law is probably such to avoid totalitarianism. We can all agree that Europe is just such a nicer place in terms of politics, culture, food and education. I just love going to the Latin quarter in Paris, being on a bench Westminster in England, strolling the streets of Stockholm, looking at the architecture in Rome and such. It is so much nicer than what we have in the US and I suspect that much of the reason Europe is so much better is that the have much saner laws for speech, press, firearms and high education standards. All things the US could have if they had the will.
I know some of you might say that being a wealthy American on vacation to specific parts of a select number European cities and speaking to only tour guides might not actually give you a realistic picture of what living in Europe is actually like for average person but I say you can learn the general feel of the place by doing this. For example if you wants a cross section of the United States for a week than one should go to NYC, in particular Manhattan.
Ahh, yes Europe the way life should be lived, drinking wine by the Seine, punting on the Thames, frolicking on the canals in Amsterdam, taking a tram in Heidelberg, and not a care in the world. How is it that we cannot have this lovely life style in the US. Instead we have fake football, Buffaloes hot wings, and people arguing or doing open carry, or give me liberty or give me death stickers on trucks. Sigh
Ahh, yes Europe the way life should be lived, drinking wine by the Seine, punting on the Thames, frolicking on the canals in Amsterdam, taking a tram in Heidelberg, and not a care in the world. How is it that we cannot have this lovely life style in the US. Instead we have fake football, Buffaloes hot wings, and people arguing or doing open carry, or give me liberty or give me death stickers on trucks. Sigh
2/15/2021 6:45 PM
Last I checked there was no travel ban. Doubt you would be allowed to immigrate but you are welcome to try. Yes. If you want to work 32 hours a week, vacation 8 weeks a year and pay 60+% of your earnings to the government you are welcome to do so. You will also need to give up your car, move into a 1200 sqft apartment for a family of 2-4, give up your consumerism (amazon, etc.) and learn to live on much less. Now if that sounds good, why not do it?
2/16/2021 6:54 PM
That is fake news. You watch too much Fox. To be fair I do find the hotels in Paris to be a bit small but I am I am sure that nice housing can be found if one looked . In any case none of us need to live in a MacMansion. As for a car I have no problem giving up a huge American SUV for a nice small car. The only thing is that they seem to be into stick shifts, but I am sure there is room for a automatic Prius. I do love the little cars I see humming around Brussels, delighfull they are . And yes a 32 hour a week lifestyle seems nice but at least at the NNSA labs that is already standard and 8 week vacation sounds great. 60% tax, please that is fake news, besides . As for a family of 4, less kids is better for the environment and a single child raised in an a an area with high quality schools beats having 3 kids being educated in a red state. As for living with much less that is good for the planet. There is no need to move to Europe when we in the US have the capability to make such a life if we have the will. All we need is (1) cut defense spending including the NNSA labs and use the money for infrastructure and public transport. (2) Get rid of fake news (3) Make people accountable for their "Free Speech". (4) Get rid of the idea of spending more and living in a giant house such a great thing. (5) Better eduction for all including free college. (6) A real aknowlgenet of all of our crimes to other races and admission that we are all guilty. (7) Universial health care. (8) Holding politicians accountable for their actions. (9) Holding voters accountable for their votes.
2/16/2021 9:07 PM
Right, all we have to do is restrict a lot of those pesky "freedoms" and life will be a lot better for everyone. No one has ever thought that before.
Nothing fake on the numbers. Average home size by country can be easily checked. Statista is a good reference for many.
http://demographia.com/db-intlhouse.htm
You can do your own research being the educated person that Im sure you are. In the mean time, its great right? Planes leave every day. All you have to do is get a job over there and they will let you stay. Im sure you have a great resume. I dont know why you are arguing with me when I am encouraging you to live your best life according to you. ✌🏼
You can do your own research being the educated person that Im sure you are. In the mean time, its great right? Planes leave every day. All you have to do is get a job over there and they will let you stay. Im sure you have a great resume. I dont know why you are arguing with me when I am encouraging you to live your best life according to you. ✌🏼
2/17/2021 7:05 PM
I wish it was easy as that but Europe does not just let anyone in, also I would like to keep my bank account and taxes in the US. Europe is very nice I do not think they want uneducated, Q-anon, insurrectionists. Of course I am and many other Americans are not like that but that is the image of the US now. I cannot blame them who would want criminals or nutcases coming to your country. In any case why not just change America for the better rather than fleeing? We are the richest country on earth we can easily afford the European life stye with big houses as well. What is the downside?
Yes Europe is so much better. There is no racism, no Qanon, no tractor pulls, no NASCAR, no NFL, no off-road racing, no gun ranges, no pollution, no UFOS, no Bigfoot, no idiots on the internet, people know their place and respect people with a PhD or who come from good families and good breeding. Better food, way better food, no MacDonaolds, no hamburgers, no hotdogs, no Taco Bell, no bad Mexican food, no dam pancakes, and no Dunken Donuts and most importantly no damm Tim Hortons and none of this football on ice junk. No bad TV shows, no mean tweets, no creepy friends on Facebook and no Racist or Facsists . This is the dream we must achieve. I wish we never said FU to King George.
What is the downside?
2/18/2021 9:37 AM
Losing personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution?
The last post is interesting. I didn’t know Europe refuses immigration from America based on our bad reputation. I also don’t know what the “European lifestyle” is. Lots of people in Europe of varying levels of wealth. Didn’t know there is a singular European living condition.
"Didn’t know there is a singular European living condition."
When I go to the Latin quarter in Paris or to Westminister in England it looks like a pretty good lifestyle to me. One of my kids was in Florence for a semester and just loved it. With these keen observations I am sure that the average European lives a much better lifestyle in terms of money, health, education and culture than the average American. What does that "extra" freedom guaranteed by the constitution really give us besides a few billionaires like Musk and Gates and lots of idiots with guns? All that freedom does is make a few people really rich but lowers the average life style of the average American. I thin only Manhattan has a comparable life. It would be so much better for most people if we just gave up a few freedoms like owning guns, hate speech, fake news and saying no to soldiers sleep in your house. Think about it.
I wish it was easy as that but Europe does not just let anyone in, also I would like to keep my bank account and taxes in the US.
2/18/2021 9:37 AM
Just like I thought. Its all good until it touches your money. I have visited France for long periods of time on and off and small houses, less “stuff” and less money is how they live. You want your cake and eat it too. All that “better life” in Europe means more taxes and less freedom so choose.
Did you know that people that leave France and want to keep their citizenship have to keep paying french taxes? So they get the good old double tax. Thats the reason you will rarely meet a french immigrant.
I wish it was easy as that but Europe does not just let anyone in, also I would like to keep my bank account and taxes in the US.
2/18/2021 9:37 AM
The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money
The Iron Lady nails another socialist.
"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money "
How could we run out of money? If you take 90% of the money from Musk, Gates, and Bezos they would still be billionaires and we would have more than plenty of money.
Combine the net worth of Musk, Gates, and Bezos = $500 billion (approximately). Size of US economy (GDP) is $25 trillion. Confiscating their wealth would be a drop in the bucket, 2%. And that’s just one year.
Using the very popular OPM Department to solve all problems: Other People's Money
Combine the net worth of Musk, Gates, and Bezos = $500 billion (approximately). Size of US economy (GDP) is $25 trillion. Confiscating their wealth would be a drop in the bucket, 2%. And that’s just one year.
2/20/2021 9:36 PM
You should learn to math.
Ok but there are at least 50 billionaires in the US 2% times 50 is 100%. The point is that there is all these super rich people in the US while at the same time millions of homeless people we could easily take the money from the super rich and fix this place.
Ok but there are at least 50 billionaires in the US 2% times 50 is 100%. The point is that there is all these super rich people in the US while at the same time millions of homeless people we could easily take the money from the super rich and fix this place.
2/21/2021 9:45 AM
Please take sone time and read about homelessness and its causes. (Drug use, mental health etc. ) Then read a little deeper about the closing of mental hospitals, etc. Then come back with something reasonable instead of take everybody you dont knows money. Being superficial on a national laboratory’s blog seems so wrong.
2/21/2021 9:45 AM: "You should learn to math."
So your plan is for the government to take all of the money from all of the billionaires in the US? And money "fixes" everything? I bet you read and memorized Marx in High School. Good luck with that. We who have our own money want to keep it. And we will. Try us.
Ok but there are at least 50 billionaires in the US 2% times 50 is 100%.
Gates, Bezos and Musk are actually 3 people not one so you 2% divided by 3 or 0.68% not 2%. Not to mention that next 47 billionaires have increasing less money than Gates ect. Or as someone pointed out that only works for a year. There is also that small issue in that if take all that money away you have all those people at Amazon, Tesla, who would lose their jobs. You could also just increase the tax on these guys at say 20% more but at some point Bill Gates is going to say to hell with all his charity work and Musk will give up on Mars. But I agree no one needs a billion dollars.
I have been told that mathematics is inherently racist so I guess you are right. By the way you should also try some math on the whole black lives matter thing.
I did in fact read the communist manifesto to in high school, not the best book if you ask me but it could just work this time.
Those who would rob Peter to give to Paul, will always have the support of Paul.
I remember being at a dinner party with my Canadian friend. Her sister had just flown in from Canada and all she could talk about was how terrible the US heath care and educational systems were. My friend, who has lived here for a while was noticeably embarrassed and wouldn’t respond to her sister. It just comes off bad (here) when you compare the US to other countries and say it’s better there for this reason or that. I think it’s an unsophisticated and naive way of trying to make a point.
I think it’s an unsophisticated and naive way of trying to make a point.
2/22/2021 1:13 PM
Unsophisticated and naive? Hardly my friend it is Americans that are unsophisticated and naive.
Unsophisticated and naive? Hardly my friend it is Americans that are unsophisticated and naive.
2/22/2021 4:55 PM
We are doing just fine my friend. Move along.
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