Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

What an Opening for Central America on Trade

Posted: February 27, 2020 by datechguy in Uncategorized
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There is a famous political saying that one should never let a crisis go to waste, and another not from the political world that says one man’s meat is another man poison one piece of the China Trade Wars / Virus story is the opportunity it provides for countries in Central America, land of the caravans.

As has been noted the primary driver of the refugees and caravans that had been driving policy at the US border is economic. People need work and see the US as an entry point for this. As someone who has for the last five years worked in a place where Spanish, Portuguese , Creole were more common than English and Arabic almost as common I have seen this close up.

With both the Trade wars and now the Corona virus running rampant in China there is now a great incentive for produces of products to find alternatives to China for production.

Why not Central America?

This has the potential of a win win win here, you have countries closer to the US in terms of shipping, populations looking for work, governments eager to increase their tax base and to make an even darker point criminal organizations in the area looking for legitimate ways to launder money.

Furthermore given the relative population of China vs Central America the number of jobs and industries needed to fund a boom in the region would be a relative pin-prick in the side of the Communist state.

Now there are risks, you have the randomness of the corruption of the local governments (yes you have the corruption of a communist state in China but it tends to be more ordered and predictable) you have the costs of setting up a supply chain, and you never know what revolutionary group is going to spring up and of course you have the Cartels which if they don’t invest in the ventures will “tax” them to allow them to operate.

However even with those risks you have not only an alternative supplier in case of disaster but a way to lift people out of poverty where they are so they don’t have to come in caravan to the US to make a better life.

Harvey Weinstein Convicted? Thank Donald Trump

Posted: February 25, 2020 by datechguy in Uncategorized

Robin Hood: My own men will escort my Lady. But before you take leave of her, it might be as well if you thanked her for saving your life.

Sir Guy: My life?

Robin Hood: Do you think you would’ve left this forest alive if it hadn’t been for her presence here?

The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938

In all of the media platitudes concerning the justice of Harvey Weinstein’s conviction yesterday there is a single name that is being left out.

That’s Donald Trump

Never forget that Harvey Weinstein was a great friend of Democrats in general and the Clintons in particular.

If Hillary Clinton had been elected in 2016 there is a zero possibility that Weinstein would have been facing a jury anytime soon. After all if the media had not considered his actions (actions they knew about) newsworthy for twenty years they certainly were not going to do so when such revelations might hurt a Clinton presidency.

It is only the election of Donald Trump and the declawing of Hillary that made any of this possible.

So if you are happy that Harvey’s reign of terror make sure you thank President Trump and the voters who sent him to the White House, because without their actions Harvey is still on the prowl (and I suspect Jeffrey Epstein with him).

Unexpectedly of course.

Report from Louisiana: Tragedy at Mardi Gras

Posted: February 24, 2020 by Pat Austin in Uncategorized
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By:  Pat Austin

SHREVEPORT —  Mardi Gras season this year has brought both raucous, bacchanalian festivities true to our “laissez les bon temps rouler” mantra, as well as terrible tragedy.

In New Orleans another terrible accident claimed the life of a man attending the Endymion parade Saturday night. As with the accident the previous week in which a woman was killed during the Nyx parade, this accident also involved a tandem float. For the unfamiliar, tandem floats usually belong to large super krewes and are multiple floats joined together by some kind of hitch. Some can be several sections and be as long as 300 feet.

In the accident Saturday night, Joseph Sampson, 58, jumped up to catch a throw, landed on some beads, slipped and fell, and somehow ended up under a float. His friends tried to grab him and pull him out while another tried to alert the driver to stop, an impossible task over the noise. As with the accident the previous week, the parade was terminated.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has now issued a directive that no more tandem floats will be allowed, thus causing krewes with tandem floats to scramble and make adjustments so they can roll in these last few days of Mardi Gras season.

Of course, some people agree and others disagree with the order. Everyone recognizes the tragedy of the deaths but contend that accidents are bound to happen and perhaps error in judgement should be considered. The woman the previous week was supposedly attempting to cross over between the two floats, got tangled and tripped over the hitch, and went under the float. No safety studies have been done or formal reports on either accident and tandem floats have been in use for many years. The disgruntled are calling Cantrell’s order a “knee jerk” reaction in an attempt to bolster her low popularity rate.

Here in Shreveport, in northwest Louisiana, we have three large parades over two weeks. Some portions of the parades have barricades but it would be almost impossible to place barricades along an entire parade route and it is unclear whether that would have averted the situation in NOLA. Many of these parades wind through neighborhoods. At some point you can’t legislate complete and total safety.

Mardi Gras is a major money maker for NOLA and Louisiana tourism. It is unlikely, as tragic as these events are, that any significant changes will take place; tandem floats may be back next year after safety studies, or whenever there is a new mayor.

In the meantime, roll on.

Pat Austin blogs at And So it Goes in Shreveport and is the author of Cane River Bohemia: Cammie Henry and her Circle at Melrose Plantation. Follow her on Instagram @patbecker25 and Twitter @paustin110.

No, Bernie isn’t working for the Russians

Posted: February 22, 2020 by ng36b in Uncategorized
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I’m sure Communist Russia has a special place in Bernie Sanders heart. As the Mayor of Burlington, he traveled to Russia to establish a sister city relationship with Yaroslav. That trip has plenty of video footage of Bernie giving gifts to Russians, plenty of which is available on Fox News.

But just because Bernie Sanders visited Russia and might align with some of their ideologies doesn’t mean that he’s colluding with the Russians. Just because the Russians were caught supporting Bernie, or attacking Hillary, doesn’t mean that Bernie Sanders snuck off on a plane to St. Petersburg to plan this with his Russian handlers. It’s doubtful that he has Russian handlers.

It’s a classic case of trying to explain data with what we know (our own candidates) and what we don’t know (Russia’s information campaign) and getting a bad explanation. If you look at it from Russia’s perspective, they don’t care who gets elected. What they want is a destabilized US regime, no matter the party, so that the US will focus on domestic issues and let Russia run amuck in Asia and Europe.

They did this during the last Presidential election by discrediting Hillary Clinton and supporting the Trump campaign. The goal was a damaged regime regardless of who won. If Clinton won, we would have seen Russian information saying she stole the election and calling for mass demonstrations. When Trump won, we saw…information saying he stole the election. All the Russians did was change the name.

We’ll see this again this year. Russia will troll every Democratic candidate. The Holy Russian Grail would be to go into the Democratic convention without a clear front runner. If that happens, we’ll see Russia turn up the trolling to an 11, and no matter who wins, they won’t be “legitimate.” During the general election, it’ll get worse.

Our best defense is engaging our brains and actually reading and understanding news instead of headlines and clickbait. The scary part we’ll be when we see the Russians move past the Presidential election and begin targeting Senators, Representatives and Judges. If they continue to succeed (and the failed impeachment was success for them), I’d expect this to happen next.

This post represents the views of the author and not those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, or any other government agency.

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