THE ERA OF TRUMP

[Smitty-48]

The F-35 is 80% Commander Data processing for the 20% Man in the Loop, because that last 20%, the highest level function and decision making autonomous in denied airspace, is still at this juncture and for some years to come, prohibitively expensive to do by Commander Data alone, F-35 is a cost constrained solution, the public just has no concept of the actual cost of militarizing Commander Data and taking the 20% Man out of the Loop.

[Smitty-48]

To wit, it's not the man in the loop which is driving the cost of the jet, quite the opposite, the most expensive thing on the jet, by far, is the 80% Commander Data component, to go to 100% Commander Data is to spiral the costs up exponentially from where you are now.

The artificial brain which processes information for the pilot, is the game changer, but that's also the bulk of the price, if you're going to take it to the next level, and have that artificial brain process information and fly as proxy for the Commander-in-Chief, which is what the pilot officer does, you're talking big, big, big bucks indeed.

Autonomous weapon as opposed to autonomous commissioned officer, to totally different ball games, not even in the same field actually.

[Penner]

Donald Trump and his surrogates have suggested that they would consider giving Vladimir Putin a multibillion-dollar gift by lifting some of Washington’s onerous sanctions on Russia. And the incoming president’s pick for secretary of state, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, has ties to Putin and has panned sanctions against Moscow in the past.

All of which raises a question: Could Trump actually lift sanctions on Russia, giving the country’s weak economy a much-needed lift and setting the stage for a far closer relationship with Putin?

The short answer is that it depends on which sanctions Trump wants to lift. The US has different types of measures in place against Moscow, each motivated by a different kind of Russian misbehavior. Trump could definitely remove some of them on his own, but giving Russia a complete free pass would require persuading Congress that Putin had changed his stripes. That would be a tough sell given that many of Trump’s fellow Republicans believe the Russian leader is a foe of the US and is acting more ruthlessly than ever before.

http://www.vox.com/world/2016/12/23/140 ... -sanctions

[Smitty-48]

Penner spam fallacy; lifting sanctions on Russia is "helping Vladimir Putin out" as opposed to the reality "just not making war on him over Ukraine". The sanctions are an active measure, removing sanctions is not active, it's simply withdrawing from a proxy war which America is not bound to fight.

[Penner]

America tends to get rich, self-serving, egotistical leaders because we do not have disincentives in place. Those who are rich, self-serving, and egotistical can now rationally say that politics is an advantageous field for them to enter—usually to the detriment of the rest of us. Instead of making “public service” a job in which it is easier to serve yourself than the public, we could easily make it a job that only people with a true passion for public service would pursue. There is no reason to allow our politicians to mouth the phrase “With great power comes great responsibility” without living up to it themselves. So, for the most powerful and coveted jobs of all—President of the United States, along with cabinet members—I suggest the following tweaks:

• *Upon election or appointment, the personal assets of the President and cabinet members are liquidated and deposited into the general fund of the U.S. Treasury. They will be used to help pay for the government services that the President and cabinet members create and administer. The officials will receive an allowance to cover their food, housing, health care, and all other essentials while they’re in office.
  
  *After leaving office, the President and cabinet members receive an annual pension equal to the U.S. median household income (currently about $52,000). They are not allowed any other income for five years after their term ends.

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/heres- ... 1790360122

[StCapps]

America tends to get rich, self-serving, egotistical leaders because we do not have disincentives in place. Those who are rich, self-serving, and egotistical can now rationally say that politics is an advantageous field for them to enter—usually to the detriment of the rest of us. Instead of making “public service” a job in which it is easier to serve yourself than the public, we could easily make it a job that only people with a true passion for public service would pursue. There is no reason to allow our politicians to mouth the phrase “With great power comes great responsibility” without living up to it themselves. So, for the most powerful and coveted jobs of all—President of the United States, along with cabinet members—I suggest the following tweaks:

• *Upon election or appointment, the personal assets of the President and cabinet members are liquidated and deposited into the general fund of the U.S. Treasury. They will be used to help pay for the government services that the President and cabinet members create and administer. The officials will receive an allowance to cover their food, housing, health care, and all other essentials while they’re in office.
  
  *After leaving office, the President and cabinet members receive an annual pension equal to the U.S. median household income (currently about $52,000). They are not allowed any other income for five years after their term ends.

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/heres- ... 1790360122

If you had disincentives in place you'd still get self-serving egotistical leaders. Making them give up all their money won't solve shit except keeping rich people out of office.

[Smitty-48]

Pretty sure self-serving and egotistical is no crime in America, if it was, you'd all be in jail.

Purity spiralling clickbaiter liberal media hacks are not self-serving and egotistical? Pretty sure they are.

[StCapps]

Pretty sure self-serving and egotistical is no crime in America, if it was, you'd all be in jail.

The entire planet would be in jail.

[Smitty-48]

Pretty sure self-serving and egotistical is no crime in America, if it was, you'd all be in jail.

The entire planet would be in jail.

Not me, they'd never take me alive; come and take this self-serving egotistical Maple Leaf from my cold dead hands.

[apeman]

Penner spam fallacy; lifting sanctions on Russia is "helping Vladimir Putin out" as opposed to the reality "just not making war on him over Ukraine". The sanctions are an active measure, removing sanctions is not active, it's simply withdrawing from a proxy war which America is not bound to fight.

+1, terrible garbage