The Biden Presidency - 2020

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I would love a younger candidate but I think his presidency has been fine. Especially on the heels of Trump and taking office during a pandemic. He now also has to deal with a GOP controlled house that literally has no plan other than culture wars and impeachments.

This is where I am, too. I'd prefer someone 20-years younger, but I think he has done quite well considering that we did not have a peaceful transition of power and that the previous president has done everything possible before and since to damage him. Trump's behavior as a former president has been unprecedented and I don't think Biden gets enough credit for steadying the ship.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I'm still on the side that we need to think about how to intelligently move away from traditional college/university as our education model. I'm absolutely 100% in favor of education being important as a life-long endeavor. I'm also convinced that we will eventually need to find better ways of doing that than college, and that most of the advantages that college once had have been eclipsed/made irrelevant by technological and societal change. The sooner we figure that out and adapt, the better future generations will be.

Do you really want a less educated population? Remember that less education leads to higher poverty and crime rates. So the ROI on educating people is actually really good.

Nearly half the country believes demons exist. A sizeable chunk believe in QAnon and Pizzagate. A candidate for President believes 5G signals radiate our kids. And a bunch of people walked around Dallas thinking that guys nephew was going to rise from the dead and be Trump's running mate.

What are the advantages to not offering more education? It seems to only benefit those on top who have access to money. It limits competition in the marketplace and stymies innovation. And it costs us more money in the long run.

[Edward64]

We've known about the problem since last Fall but still nada.

Top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken calls for Haiti intervention

International troops are urgently needed to stabilize Haiti's spiraling humanitarian and security crisis, the U.S.'s top diplomat said this week at a Caribbean summit, echoing calls by the United Nations and Haiti's government.

It's great that Blinken is calling for this. Hopefully this means something will get done soon.

But Blinken stopped short of suggesting U.S.-led forces could be deployed to help calm the turmoil. And no other countries have stepped forward to say they would be willing to lead a security mission of this kind.

But no one can agree on who should lead it. The U.S. has so far demurred, partly because of its history of failed interventions in Haiti. Canada, which has a large Haitian diaspora, has also shown reluctance to lead from the front. U.N. peacekeepers previously committed sexual abuse of women in Haiti, highly tarnishing the organization's credibility. Only Jamaica's government has said it's willing to contribute troops.

I think its understandable that US and UN don't want to (or shouldn't) lead this thing. But honestly, the US should get over it and do it. I guess Canada can take the lead. Or maybe France to help out her former colony. But they don't seem to want to and it's in our sphere of influence

Under the cover of UN approval, take over the country, declare martial law, free to use deadly force against any gang members or baddies, forget about any democratic Presidential elections for a while. Govern like we did in Japan and cede back power in 7+ years.

Yeah, it's nation building ... but I'd support it if (1) UN approval & some support troops (2) we went all in (3) let the Haitians know exactly how we'll rule & conditions for return to their self governance.

Let's really help this frakked up s***hole (beyond Sean Penn).

[RainMaker]

I don't know. Maybe the US should stay out of Haiti for a change. Most of these issues stem from our involvement and the idea that we can fix it is kind of silly.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by Rainmaker

Do you really want a less educated population? Remember that less education leads to higher poverty and crime rates. So the ROI on educating people is actually really good.

No, and all you have to do is read what you literally quoted me as saying to see that.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

No, and all you have to do is read what you literally quoted me as saying to see that.

You said education is important and then said we need to do away with college without really offering an alternative.

What's the plan to educate the population?

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Edward64

We've known about the problem since last Fall but still nada.
:
Let's really help this frakked up s***hole (beyond Sean Penn).

Timely article that provides more details on the impetus. Lots to unpack in the article. The article made it sound that Caribbean leaders were reluctant to support a prior intervention but is okay with one now (no real details on the politics).

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nat...277043698.html

Supporters of deploying a specialized international force to help Haiti’s police root out armed gangs that are terrorizing the country moved closer Wednesday to getting the support of Caribbean leaders.

Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who currently chairs the 15-member Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, told journalists Wednesday that the regional bloc is now of the view that the country’s police force needs to be strengthened in order to create “a safe corridor to be able to bring in humanitarian support, which Haiti desperately needs.” But assistance needs to be approved by the U.N. Security Council and should be financed, Skerrit said, by France, Canada, the United States and others.

So it sounds the latest proposal is a UN led force. Kagame is President of Rwanda. Seems he wants to help also which is great.

The leaders, according to the State Department, also agreed on the urgency of deploying a U.N.-authorized multinational force or peacekeeping operation to enable the Haitian National Police to restore peace and security and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Haiti.

Kagame also included the Haitian crisis in his own address to leaders, reiterating his willingness to help. Kagame has one of the best-trained police units in Africa and previously had his uniformed personnel deployed to Haiti as part of the most recent U.N. “stabilization mission” that was led by Brazil.

I'm hopeful but this doesn't sound "all-in" to me. But don't know all the details yet. Definitely better than nothing though.

[Edward64]

Bye MTG.

Sounds like she needs new friends. Hopefully, she'll "calm" down and support McCarthy in the inevitable McCarthy vs Freedom Caucus fights (just out of spite).

Marjorie Taylor Greene booted from Freedom Caucus - POLITICO

The House Freedom Caucus voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from the pro-Trump group last month, a member confirmed Thursday, indicating that her fight with Rep. Lauren Boebert was part of the group’s reasoning.

“A vote was taken to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Freedom Caucus for some of the things she’s done,” said Freedom Caucus board member Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.). When asked if she was formally out, he replied: “As far as I know, that is the way it is.”

[Thomkal]

So the latest "going to expose the Biden Crime Family whistleblower?"


Yeah not so much:


https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr...g-unregistered

[SirFozzie]

Obviously because the Biden Crime Family has infiltrated several foreign governments to pay for his services specifically to entrap him.

(sarcasm, but I'm sure that it'll be the reaction of folks)

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Obviously because the Biden Crime Family has infiltrated several foreign governments to pay for his services specifically to entrap him.

(sarcasm, but I'm sure that it'll be the reaction of folks)

Yeah they want Biden to be even more corrupt than they are. Pretty sure we'll here how the "Deep State" is protecting Joe Biden sometime soon.



Edit: And that its all made up/lies

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

I hate to be unbelievably pessimistic, but I think it only changes when it fails completely, but I'm not 100% sure what that looks like because there's good evidence that it's already in failure.

I agree with this. I was talking more from the angle of what I think we should do, not what I think we will do.

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I mean we do basically have that in most areas but people don't realize it. Tech schools and community colleges provide free to near free opportunities for further education and training in trades. I feel like if we integrate it more, give seniors a choice to seamlessly choose the training that desire, it might be utilized more.

Do you have any specific ideas on how to integrate it more? I'm not really sure what that looks like.

Originally Posted by bob

I think another issue is that we all need to come together and decide whether or not college is education or job training.

Agree. Trying to be both is a great way to do neither well.

Originally Posted by Edward64

What is it you think are .... "the advantages that college once had have been eclipsed/made irrelevant by technological and societal change"?

Originally Posted by Rainmaker

You said education is important and then said we need to do away with college without really offering an alternative.

I don't have a completely clarified vision on what the result should look like. What I do know, to Edward's point, is that our current higher education system came into being around the time of the Industrial Revolution and served society well at that time. I don't think it does so any longer, for similar reasons that we don't do many other aspects of society the way we would have 150+ years ago. Urban planning is much different, we import and export goods in the global economy on a much larger scale, the ability to adapt with a much faster rate of technological change is important, what we think of as modern medicine was simply unknown then, on and on one could go.

As it relates directly to education:

- I don't think the Primary Education - Higher Education - Workforce Entry model makes sense anymore. Rather, continuing education throughout life is critical. Moreso in some professions than others for sure, but I think it's valuable to all people capable of being educated (the relatively small percentage who unfortunately are not is another matter), and so a system in which education happens alongside professional life as opposed to mostly preceeding it is more appropriate for the current rate of change that technological advance has presented us with.

- Memorizing facts is not nearly as important as it was, as we have devices that can give us all the facts and figures we want at our fingertips, and increasingly efficiently. The goal of education needs to shift to how to apply that knowledge.

- I don't think building grand complexes/compounds where students go, pay an exorbitant amount for living quarters/books/exploding administrative fees/etc. is appropriate in this world. There are practical exceptions for training for certain careers, but most general education at a minimum has no reason to need to happen in person. It can and should be done remotely. In this manner a much smaller number of educators can reach a much larger group of learners, as we already see happening in various forms of social media. There's no good reason why we can't get a lot more education done at a much lower price. Remote learning should IMO by the normative method.

I've personally learned more in my adult life than I ever did as a student simply because I sought it out in the age of the internet where so much information is available. There's also a lot of misinformation as well; I'm not suggesting a free-for-all. Education needs to move at the pace of technological advance, and the only way it can do that is to be a constant process. A traditional multi-year degree done immediately after high school is not appropriate to a dynamic society like this, but rather a more stagnant one that has long since been a relic of the past.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

- I don't think the Primary Education - Higher Education - Workforce Entry model makes sense anymore. Rather, continuing education throughout life is critical. Moreso in some professions than others for sure, but I think it's valuable to all people capable of being educated (the relatively small percentage who unfortunately are not is another matter), and so a system in which education happens alongside professional life as opposed to mostly preceeding it is more appropriate for the current rate of change that technological advance has presented us with.

In the companies I've been to, "formal" continuing education is encouraged. There's basically 2 types (1) ethics, soft skills etc. (2) job related. For the former, the training is pushed out to me and I'm told to do them or else. For the latter, they budget at least 40 hours a year to go do related training like at a software vendor etc.

Also, younger/newer employees do get more training. It's not unusual to send those fresh out of college to a 2-3 week "boot camp".

I've been fortunate to be in companies that provide continuing education, and understand many other companies do/can not. I don't know what you envision as curricula and schedule (e.g. average 1 day a week, 1 day a month etc.). TBH, I would hate to go beyond what I described above unless its to learn a brand new skill like a different software package ... too much work already.

Memorizing facts is not nearly as important as it was, as we have devices that can give us all the facts and figures we want at our fingertips, and increasingly efficiently. The goal of education needs to shift to how to apply that knowledge.

I was thinking about multiplication tables when reading this. I think there are "basics" and then there are more advanced stuff. Even if basics are covered by my calculator, its good to understand and able to do the foundational stuff without a calculator.

There's a lot of grey area here. I kinda agree but kinda disagree. I think it depends on the level of stuff one if memorizing.

- I don't think building grand complexes/compounds where students go, pay an exorbitant amount for living quarters/books/exploding administrative fees/etc. is appropriate in this world. There are practical exceptions for training for certain careers, but most general education at a minimum has no reason to need to happen in person. It can and should be done remotely. In this manner a much smaller number of educators can reach a much larger group of learners, as we already see happening in various forms of social media. There's no good reason why we can't get a lot more education done at a much lower price. Remote learning should IMO by the normative method.

In my experience, remote training can definitely occur for continuing education stuff. If we are in a college model for 18-22, I don't think it works near as well. Part of the college experience is also college life, interacting with others etc. One can certainly also remotely collaborate with other students, but I don't think it works as well. Definitely more remote learning but similar to the job model, I'd wat on-site also like a 4-1, 3-2 ratio.

I understand you are not advocating for but want to upend the 18-22 college model. I want to change it not upend it.

And yeah, the costs are way too much for non-Ivy league or private universities.

I've personally learned more in my adult life than I ever did as a student simply because I sought it out in the age of the internet where so much information is available. There's also a lot of misinformation as well; I'm not suggesting a free-for-all. Education needs to move at the pace of technological advance, and the only way it can do that is to be a constant process. A traditional multi-year degree done immediately after high school is not appropriate to a dynamic society like this, but rather a more stagnant one that has long since been a relic of the past.

No doubt I've learned more in my adult life also, no argument there.

Bottom-line. Using the 80-20 model, I'm for keeping the 70 and changing the 30. I think you're more for keeping the 30 and changing the 70.

[JPhillips]

Brian: There's plenty of data that shows the traditional college student doesn't do well in remote learning environments. As you go from most academically prepared to least, that achievement gap grows. This is certainly true where I teach. I did a fully online asynchronous class last semester and the learning outcomes were definitely below the in-person class.

In terms of paying for room and board, a lot of schools have seen a significant increase in the number of commuter students. Look beyond the top tier of schools and the traditional model is already changing a lot.

[Edward64]

The article stated personal data that could have been shared by the tax prep firms, but its not clear (to me, at least) if the stuff weren't somehow aggregated, anonymized etc.

Hard for me to believe these firms could believe that was okay. But Warren will figure it out. If truly personally identifiable data was shared, looking forward to the $10 check after a 3-5 year class action lawsuit.

Tax prep companies shared private taxpayer data with Google and Meta for years, congressional probe finds | CNN Business

Beyond ordinary personal data such as people’s names, phone numbers and email addresses, the list of information shared also included taxpayer data — details about people’s filing status, adjusted gross income, the size of their tax refunds and even information about the buttons and text fields they clicked on while filling out their tax forms, which could reveal what tax breaks they may have claimed or which government programs they use, according to the report.

The report, which drew on congressional interviews and written testimony from Meta, Google and the tax-prep companies, also found that every taxpayer who used TaxAct’s IRS Free File service while the tracking was enabled would have had their information shared with the tech companies. Some of the tax-prep companies still do not know whether the data they shared continues to be held by the tech platforms, the report said.

[miami_fan]

Re: education. I know the conversation has centered higher education but I think the focus should be more on what we are looking for from primary/secondary education first. IMO if we can get a better model for primary/secondary education systems, there would be a greater benefit for the society and allow for the change in the higher education model to happen more organically.

Do you have any specific ideas on how to integrate it more? I'm not really sure what that looks like.

I don't have any specifics but the first step has to be our society actually respecting and valuing the tech/trade schools and community colleges as legitimate institutions of learning. A friend of mine taught ENG101 at University of South Florida, University of Tampa and Hillsborough Community College all at the same time last year. Same syllabus, same book, same credit hours. USF costs $211 ($575 for out of state) per credit hour, U of T is $640 and HCC costs $104.39. But conventional wisdom is the students who went to the four year schools got a better education from those schools than the people who went to the community college got from them. Until that mindset changes that the tech schools and community colleges are not automatically and inherently less than, I don't think there is any way to integrate them more.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Brian: There's plenty of data that shows the traditional college student doesn't do well in remote learning environments. As you go from most academically prepared to least, that achievement gap grows. This is certainly true where I teach. I did a fully online asynchronous class last semester and the learning outcomes were definitely below the in-person class.

That's fair, but I'm not convinced this is insurmountable. Correct me if I'm wrong, but to my knowledge these are not long-term assessments. I also think that when you're talking about higher education, you're talking about adults and either they are self-motivated or they aren't (I was one who wasn't, and I had some good professors, but I was unreachable at that point in my life and it wasn't because I wasn't taught well, I wasn't willing to learn).

The point about commuting is well-taken, but I would say things are getting worse overall on balance, not better. For example, the increase in the already-obscene number of administrators which I can't see any other way than incompetent and just plain wasteful.

Originally Posted by Edward64

I was thinking about multiplication tables when reading this. I think there are "basics" and then there are more advanced stuff. Even if basics are covered by my calculator, its good to understand and able to do the foundational stuff without a calculator.

Sure, but the basics should be covered years before a person gets to this point. We're not talking about elementary school or junior high, we're talking about college/university and up.

Originally Posted by Edward64

Part of the college experience is also college life, interacting with others etc.

I don't think there's anything essential about 'college life. Interacting with others is great, esp. those of different backgrounds/cultures. There are also lots of ways to do that. To the degree that this is involved in the education system, it's a side benefit and shouldn't be the primary goal.

To your other points, I don't at all like the idea of relying on companies to make it happen. Companies are going to value education of their employees at different levels and for different reasons, but if it's a national priority to have good education and I think it should be, that kind of ad hoc approach doesn't really work.

Originally Posted by Edward64

Using the 80-20 model, I'm for keeping the 70 and changing the 30. I think you're more for keeping the 30 and changing the 70.

In general I view this the same way I view nation-states as an obsolete construct or the global economy being inevitable making it impossible to hoard/monopolize/produce all key resources in any one part of the world, etc. I'm very open to their being much better ideas to the basic outline I posted, but I am convinced that they way we do it now is as outdated as the telegraph as a form of communication or the horse-drawn carriage as a method of transportation. Great in their time. No longer a good way to do things in modern society.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Sure, but the basics should be covered years before a person gets to this point. We're not talking about elementary school or junior high, we're talking about college/university and up.

Yes, the multiplication example was primary/secondary education. I would still propose "memorize facts" is still generally important & needed at the college level. If your supposition is there is too much memorization required, I'd agree but think of the non-Maths like medical, history etc. A good amount of memorization is needed.

A side note - I opened another tab and typed in "how much memorization in ..." and it autocompleted "medical school". A little creepy.

I don't think there's anything essential about 'college life. Interacting with others is great, esp. those of different backgrounds/cultures. There are also lots of ways to do that. To the degree that this is involved in the education system, it's a side benefit and shouldn't be the primary goal.

We'll agree to disagree on this. Using my example of onsite vs remote work, I view in-person collaboration & interaction as essential (e.g. 4-1 or 3-2 ratio).

To your other points, I don't at all like the idea of relying on companies to make it happen. Companies are going to value education of their employees at different levels and for different reasons, but if it's a national priority to have good education and I think it should be, that kind of ad hoc approach doesn't really work.

This is an interesting point. I had assumed our continuing education discussion was primarily from job/work related whereas you are proposing otherwise.

TBH, not sure how to assess what "post-secondary but non-college, and not necessarily work related" continuing education would look like. I like the theory but unsure how that would work in a practical manner.

[Edward64]

I'm not sure I like this but think I like it. Having made payments for 20-25 years is a significant bar and shows pretty good faith.

To be more fair, Biden should do something for those that have been making payments for private student loans also. I think I read private loans are 8-10% of total so another $4B from somewhere. Not sure what he can constitutionally do though.

I'm sure there'll be a challenge here. The article doesn't go into on what grounds Biden can do this.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/14/bide...borrowers.html

The Biden administration announced Friday it would automatically forgive $39 billion in student debt for 804,000 borrowers.

The relief is a result of fixes to the student loan system’s income-driven repayment plans. Under those repayment plans, borrowers get any remaining debt canceled by the government after they have made payments for 20 years or 25 years, depending on when they borrowed, and their loan and plan type.

[Edward64]

Nice Yellen in China story.

I don't remember eating "Yunnan" specific Chinese food. There's a couple places in Atlanta China town, going to have to check it out.

Mushroom diplomacy: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sets off culinary craze in China | CNN

“When I walked by their table on my way to the washroom, I slowed down to take a glance at the dishes they ordered,” said Weibo user Pan Pan Mao in the post.

Among the dishes the food blogger claimed to have spotted were grilled fish with herbs, stir-fried pickled Yunnan wild greens with potato slices and cold rice noodles.

“Very Yunnan, very homey,” Pan Pan Mao commented.

The restaurant soon confirmed the visit on its Weibo account.

“US Treasury Secretary Yellen was here,” said the post, in Chinese.

“Speculating from the timestamp on the news, it was true that she came (to the restaurant) right after landing in China. Our staff said she loved mushrooms very much. She ordered four portions of jian shou qing (a Yunnan wild mushroom species). It was an extremely magical day.”

[GrantDawg]

Dude. How did I not know there was an Atlanta Chinatown? If I had read this about two hours earlier, I would have hit that for lunch with my son.

[Edward64]

Errrr … Buford Hwy just south of 285.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Errrr … Buford Hwy just south of 285.

I know Buford Highway is covered in Asian restaurants, but I never knew there was a Chinatown Mall. Mostly because I can't read any of the signs on that strip. I have always wanted to stop and try some stuff out there, but I'm overwhelmed by the number of places and most don't have English signs off the road to even know what they are.

[Edward64]

Heck, just drop in anyplace that looks interesting. There’ll be someone that knows English and English menus.

[albionmoonlight]

We're on a nice little mountain vacation this week, so I was driving through rural NC and Virginia. And I saw a very well done homemade sign talking about how Biden is in the pocket of China and the Cartels. Someone put a fair amount of time into making the sign.

And I just don't get how Joe Biden inspires this much rage. AOC, I get. Obama I get. Hillary I get. But Biden is just a normal old white guy. Where's the motivation to hate him so much?

[Flasch186]

He eats babies
Grooms kids
And if I recall correctly only had a short period of time left to turn America into Venezuela according to the people that wanted me to vote for trump during the last election.


I keep waiting for their mea culpa if we do not become Venezuela but I’m sure they’ll move the goal posts


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GrantDawg]

The Freedom Caucus bravely stopped Biden from his plans.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

We're on a nice little mountain vacation this week, so I was driving through rural NC and Virginia. And I saw a very well done homemade sign talking about how Biden is in the pocket of China and the Cartels. Someone put a fair amount of time into making the sign.

And I just don't get how Joe Biden inspires this much rage. AOC, I get. Obama I get. Hillary I get. But Biden is just a normal old white guy. Where's the motivation to hate him so much?

He's the face of the other side. And the other side is an existential threat to life as we know it and evil. That's about it.

[Ksyrup]

If I was a Dem running in 2024 (or here in KY, this year), I'd run all the GOP 2020 ads about how the country was going to be burned to the ground if Dems were elected. And then show the country actually burning while Trump was in office. Remember how we used to live that daily chaos? Funny how things just went back to normal, huh?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

He's the face of the other side. And the other side is an existential threat to life as we know it and evil. That's about it.

Yeah everything is a battle of good vs evil. That's the basis of Q, it's offshoots, and one of the foundations of MAGA.

[Atocep]

Jesse Watters mom calling into his show was amazing.

https://www.newsweek.com/jesse-watte...-holes-1813554

[Edward64]

Joe, no rush in getting this guy back. And certainly don't trade him for anything much.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66233797

The Pentagon has identified the soldier as Private 2nd Class Travis King. In a statement, a Pentagon spokesperson said that Pte King had been in the army since January 2021.

He is a cavalry scout - a reconnaissance specialist - originally assigned to an element of the army's 1st Armoured Division on a rotation with the US military in South Korea.

The Associated Press reports that Pte King was apparently facing disciplinary action after being held in South Korea on assault charges.

According to the BBC's US partner CBS News, Pte King passed through airport security in Seoul but somehow managed to leave the terminal and get on a tour of the border, from where he crossed over.

The American military has said he did so "wilfully and without authorisation".

An eyewitness on the same tour told CBS they had visited a building at the border site - reported by local media to be the truce village of Panmunjom - when "this man gives out a loud 'ha ha ha' and just runs in between some buildings".

"I thought it was a bad joke at first but, when he didn't come back, I realised it wasn't a joke and then everybody reacted and things got crazy," they said.

[miami_fan]

That sounds like someone who is defecting more than it sounds like someone who has been detained.

EDIT: I also don't want to leave out the possibility of him hoping to commit suicide by North Korean soldiers' gunfire

[Edward64]

Agree it sounds more like defecting. Guessing not very well thought out defection that'll he's regretting just about now.

When he eventually gets out, hope he writes a book on the pros & cons of socialism vs capitalism. He should be an expert by then

[CrimsonFox]

how does a guy only 2 years a soldier qualify for a horse???

and it doesn't sound like a defection. It sounds like a smartass american who thinks he can go wherever he wants to own thelibs or somethin

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

how does a guy only 2 years a soldier qualify for a horse???

and it doesn't sound like a defection. It sounds like a smartass american who thinks he can go wherever he wants to own thelibs or somethin

It is also possible the guy has had a mental break. He is at the age where bi-polar or schizophrenia usually shows up. It could be anything from defection to just trying to run away from charges.

[CrimsonFox]

Considering he was laughing while he did it I don't think it was the former

[Edward64]

I think he was looking for a non-extradition country to visit. NK was just conveniently close by.

But I guess it's possible he just wanted one last look at the border before he came home.

He was supposed to fly back to the US and was escorted by military personnel to the airport but he left past the security checkpoint and skipped his flight.

Instead, he joined the tour of the Joint Security Area in the demilitarized zone.

[CrimsonFox]

I read more. He was thrown in jail for kicking a south korean police car for 2 months. He was then going to be sent home to face more discipline in texas.

Sounds like a complete moron so making a run for the border fits that profile. Now he'll get to stamp both N and S Korean jail onhis bingop card...or maybe he's collecting for a free sub.

One article said he was "whisked away by a van" in N Korea....yeah he's fucking toast. NO one will ever see him again
They gonna interrogate the hell out of him

[Edward64]

I miss Rodman. Hope he goes to visit the crazy kid, its been a while. Not necessarily to try free anyone but just to say hello.

Wonder what the crazy sister thinks of Rodman, guessing she's not a basketball fan.

[CrimsonFox]

lol

[CrimsonFox]

I think I'm going to be as invested in this story as I was in the missing sub story

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

Considering he was laughing while he did it I don't think it was the former

You don't think someone who has suddenly been acting out in strange ways and then fled into an oppressive hostile territory laughing could possibly be having a mental break? I don't have enough information to really gauge, but what little that has been given it sounds exactly like a mental break to me. It sounds like he has gone out of control and is directly acting against his own best interest without consideration of the consequences.

It reminds me of a friends daughter. She was on track to get her PHD in education, and had never been in trouble in her life. Then she suddenly got arrested for taking a swing at a police officer because she thought he was trying to steal her child (she didn't have one). She calmed down, seemed fine for awhile, then disappeared for three months. When they finally found her, she was living in her car 1,500 miles away and hadn't showered in two weeks because "they" were trying to kill her.

[Lathum]

May we all find someone who loves us as much as the GOP loves trying to make the American people care about Hunter Bidens private life.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

It sounds like he has gone out of control and is directly acting against his own best interest without consideration of the consequences.

So you think he was a Jan 6 insurrectionist then...

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

I read more. He was thrown in jail for kicking a south korean police car for 2 months. He was then going to be sent home to face more discipline in texas.

Sounds like a complete moron so making a run for the border fits that profile. Now he'll get to stamp both N and S Korean jail onhis bingop card...or maybe he's collecting for a free sub.

One article said he was "whisked away by a van" in N Korea....yeah he's fucking toast. NO one will ever see him again
They gonna interrogate the hell out of him

I doubt NK care that much. Sure it will be cute to have an American soldier on TV and get to have talks with U.S. officials to secure his release. Him being whisked away has more to do with them not knowing what the hell to do with him as he ran through the DMZ. If they were not going to shoot him, the next best option is to whisk him away.

When I mentioned defection, I meant it in the strictest sense. I don't think this is another Edward Snowden. I doubt he has anything of real value to provide the North Koreans and I don't think the North Koreans expect anything other than a showpiece. I think that this is a kid who made the conscious decision that he was abandoning the possibility the military discipline he was facing at Fort Bliss would end in a military jail and/or a dishonorable discharge. He made the conscious decision to book a tour to the DMZ and the conscious decision to run across the border. I would be shocked to see him willing wrapping himself in the NK flag for example but hey I have been wrong before.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Edward64

In progress, let's hope it's successful.

I'd like to see the statistics as to how legacy admissions compare with general admissions. If legacy admissions legitimately "score average or higher" (which is probably not true) than the average, then fine. If they "score lower" than average, let it all come out.

Nice, thanks for being one of the first.

And can you help out on student debt? Don't know how big your endowment fund is and no idea how many of your graduates & never-graduated have debt payment challenges ... but your annual list price of $66K implies you have a share of the problem.

Wesleyan University president: Why we’re ending preferential legacy admissions

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I doubt NK care that much. Sure it will be cute to have an American soldier on TV and get to have talks with U.S. officials to secure his release. Him being whisked away has more to do with them not knowing what the hell to do with him as he ran through the DMZ. If they were not going to shoot him, the next best option is to whisk him away.

When I mentioned defection, I meant it in the strictest sense. I don't think this is another Edward Snowden. I doubt he has anything of real value to provide the North Koreans and I don't think the North Koreans expect anything other than a showpiece. I think that this is a kid who made the conscious decision that he was abandoning the possibility the military discipline he was facing at Fort Bliss would end in a military jail and/or a dishonorable discharge. He made the conscious decision to book a tour to the DMZ and the conscious decision to run across the border. I would be shocked to see him willing wrapping himself in the NK flag for example but hey I have been wrong before.

Yes this is more what I think too. And the conscious decision part is why I don't think he was mad as a hatter. Granted there may be some ptsd stuff.

edit: i just read this update
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/19/asia/...ntl/index.html
he's punched people and kicked cop cars before it seems.

[Edward64]

What the heck is Kissinger doing in China?

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/20/chin...n-beijing.html

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the meeting. However, Reuters reported that the White House said Kissinger was not visiting China on behalf of the U.S. government.

Not sent by Biden.

Veteran U.S. diplomat Henry Kissinger met with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday during a surprise visit to Beijing, according to state media.

The 100-year-old former U.S. Secretary of State was hosted by the Chinese premier at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, CCTV said in an online post.

Details of the talks were not disclosed, though a statement praised Kissinger as a “legendary diplomat” in reference to his prior work in negotiating U.S. rapprochement with China, according to a Google translation of the report.

“Chinese people value friendship, and we will never forget our old friend and your historic contribution to promoting the development of Sino-US relations and enhancing the friendship between the Chinese and American peoples,” an additional report from official state news agency Xinhua quoted Xi as saying, according to Google translate.

100 years old, still looking decent.

[Lathum]

Why is Joe Biden so unpopular?