Keeping Calm...

 

Foreign Policy

The United States Can’t Stay a Great Power Without beating Threats at Home
Before taking on challengers like China, Washington must put its own house in order.
BY ELSA B. KANIA | JANUARY 7, 2021, 1:53 PM

"Today, the gravest threats to U.S. national security come not from foreign adversaries and strategic competitors but from extremists and domestic terrorists who are attempting to subvert American democracy..."

"The future of American democracy appears disturbingly precarious, and the damage of the past four years may take decades to repair. Not since the Civil War has white supremacy so threatened the American republic. At the height of the crisis on Jan. 6, the phrase “civil war” was trending on Twitter as violent insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, interrupting the certification of the results of the Electoral College.

Yet even in the face of such urgent dangers to the security and integrity of U.S. national security, certain American politicians and policymakers continue to assert that the primary dangers to the United States and its national security come from China. To be sure, China’s rise presents significant challenges to the United States and to American leadership, yet to point to a foreign adversary or competitor as the chief threat when there is such shameful sedition at home is at best terribly discordant. As during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the civil rights challenge at home undercuts any moral claims abroad—something that once helped spur activists in the United States to make their country better..."

OUR ENEMIES:

• China
• Russia
• North Korea
• Middle East

How the U.S. Could Lose a War With China
It’s not that the Chinese Communist Party would take over Washington. But in its own region, China has the advantage.

KATHY GILSINANJULY 25, 2019

If a war broke out between the United States and China, the clash between two of the world’s most powerful militaries would be horrific. And the United States could very well lose.

That’s a concern among current and former defense officials and military analysts, one of whom told Breaking Defense earlier this year that in war games simulating great-power conflict in which the United States fights Russia and China, the United States “gets its ass handed to it.”

Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum last week, Admiral Philip Davidson, who oversees U.S. military forces in Asia, called China “the greatest long-term strategic threat to the United States and the rules-based international order.” He described China’s rapid military buildup in nearly every domain—air, sea, land, space, and cyber—and said that while China’s capabilities don’t outnumber America’s in the region for now, it’s possible they could overtake the United States’ within the next five years.

But the sheer number of ships, missiles, planes, and people doesn’t tell the whole story. What already gives the Chinese the advantage is geography.

The Obama administration’s ill-fated Asia pivot did not prevent the growth of China’s military and economic power in the region, as it built artificial islands, embedded itself in key infrastructure projects, and invested in its military. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has called into question whether the United States would defend its treaty allies in the Pacific, such as Japan, with complaints about the expense. (Davidson said at Aspen that “there is no more important American ally in the world than Japan.”)

LIFE

What is life?
The term living thing refers to things that are now or once were alive. A non-living thing is anything that was never alive. In order for something to be classified as living, it must grow and develop, use energy, reproduce, be made of cells, respond to its environment, and adapt.

Is the sun living or non living?

Is water living or non living?

Is the wind living?

Is lightening living?

Non living things do not have cells, but they do have atoms...  and if, they have atoms, they also have sub atomic particles and if they have sub atomic particles, then they have strings.

SO...

everything, life and non life, is composed of strings...

BUT...

what about things in OUTER SPACE?

MOST PEOPLE...  I would say...  in fact, probably everyone except for maybe 1% of us, don't really give a damn about life or the difference between life and non life...  it is just not something that they think about nor is it something that they want to think about...  because it has nothing to do with their particular lives or the way that they live those lives.

Being academic is not what Americans want out of life.  They do not want to know what they do not need to know to live their lives.  If they are a FACTORY WORKER, all they need to know is how to operate that machine or other machines...  they don't need to know science, math, chemistry, biology, a foreign language, history, or political science.

Similarly, a MATH TEACHER, does not need to know biology, chemistry,  history, or project management is order to teach their classes to students...

SO...

why is education K-12 designed the way it is?

Life is Life and what we need from our EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS is life skills so that we can more properly and more effectively and more efficiently live our lives...

Measuring One's Life

Professional Athletes can measure their life by the fact that they were blessed with unique physical abilities that allowed them to play professional sports...  most Americans are not blessed with those physical skills.

Professional Musicians, Artists, and Actors can also measure their life by the fact that they were blessed with unique skills that allowed them to live a different life that most Americans who were no blessed with these skills.

Professional Business People and Entrepreneurs can measure their life by the fact that they were blessed with a unique mental ability that allowed them to live a professionally financially rewarding life that most Americans will never experience because they were not blessed with any of these skills and/or abilities.

SO...

it is relatively easy to measure one's life when blessed with skills ands abilities that make one uniquely different from most Americans.  In fact, it would be reasonable to assume that only 20% of Americans have been blessed with these unique skills and/or abilities while 80% of Americans have not been blessed at all...  that is to say with these skills or abilities...

SO...

how do 80% of Americans measure their lives?

If we cannot measure our lives by our accomplishments...  then, by what measure(s) do we use?

• Family and Friends
• Giving to others
• Our faith (Clergy)
• How we live our lives
• Sending children to college
• Serving in the military
• Teaching others
• Working in healthcare
• Working in law enforcement
• Working in a fire department

Unfortunately, when Americans are informed that they have a life threatening disease like CANCER, then how one measures one's life changes.  Money, for the most part, is no longer of a big concern.  

1. Family becomes important
2. Faith becomes important
3. Happiness becomes important
4. Love of nature becomes important
5. Five senses becomes important

Buffett Speaks

 

Laugh Day

 

Our Failing Democracy

 

Antitrust: Big Tech

Klobuchar on Her Antitrust Bill Targeting Big

Tech: 'It’s About a Check and Balance'

by TRENT BAKER, Breitbart

Thursday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) discussed her proposal of sweeping reform to U.S. antitrust laws that is aimed at reducing monopoly power.

Klobuchar said on “CNN Newsroom” that her antitrust bill is “about a check and balance.” She argued the laws in place should be “as sophisticated” as tech companies like Facebook and Google so the new, small start-ups can take them on.

“You have a situation where, throughout history, new companies, small start-ups have changed the country, have made our country so strong, and right now, especially in the tech area, you have companies like Google that have 90% control over search engines,” Klobuchar emphasized. “And you have to allow a regeneration of our economy. What I’m proposing is make sure these agencies are able to take on trillion-dollar companies like Facebook and Google. They can’t do it with band-aids and duct tape. And then, make changes to the law. We’ve always done that over time. We can’t let sophisticated companies that, yes, are popular, that, yes, employ a lot of people. They will continue to do that, but we must have laws that are as sophisticated as the companies we’re dealing with. And that’s what this is about. It’s about a check and balance.”

In a tweet, Klobuchar echoed her sentiment, saying the United States has “a monopoly problem.”

Quantum Computing

IBM quantum computing development roadmap envisions applications running 100 times faster
by Chris O'Brien

Even as the hype around quantum computing continues to build, plenty of skeptical voices have emerged questioning the lofty predictions and growing venture capital pouring into the sector. In an attempt to cut through that debate, IBM has published a quantum computing development roadmap intended to bring some clarity while also reinforcing its belief that this emerging technology will have a major impact.

IBM believes it has an achievable timetable to advance its quantum hardware to reach the power and reliability that will allow for commercial applications within 5 years. The challenge then is enabling the tools and the environment to let companies and developers start experimenting with writing the applications that will allow them to harness this power.

“Nobody is using quantum computing commercially yet,” IBM vice president of quantum ecosystem development Bob Sutor said. “That will follow mid-decade or so. But it’s not something you can wake up and just suddenly be an expert in overnight. So typically, what you see is that the leaders in the field will move to new technology and they start experimenting with it to develop that expertise.”

Big tech companies such as Google and Microsoft are plunging ahead with ambitious quantum computing programs. Meanwhile, quantum startups have been raising steady amounts of money from VCs, including Zapata with $38 million for quantum machine learning, IQM with $46 million to commercialize its quantum computers, and Classiq with $10.5 million for its modeling tool for building algorithms for quantum computers.

IBM has been among the most aggressive in trying to build momentum for quantum computing. In 2016, the company launched the Q Network, which allows companies to begin experimenting with quantum computers via the company’s cloud service. According to Sutor, the Q Network now has more than 135 organizations, including corporations such as JP Morgan Chase and Exxon, as well as universities and startups.  TO READ ENTIRE ARTICLE, Click Here...

Business: General Principles

When one starts a business, one believes or perceives that the business will continue to survive and exist year after year, otherwise it is meaningless to start a business at all.

When one starts a business one does so because one does not want to work and be controlled by someone else.

When one starts a business one does so because one believe or perceives that one can earn enough money with that business to pay one's bills and possible save.

When one starts a business one does so because they believe or perceive that their service or product is necessary to and for others and will continue to be necessary well into the future.

Basic Principles

1.   Generate a business plan

2.  Perform a market analysis

3.  Prepare Financials

• Income and expense statement
• Balance Sheet
• Cash Flow

4.  Secure Financing (partners)

5.  Develop customers

6.  Determine suppliers

7.  Determine the location

8.  Building:  build or lease

9.  Hire employees

10.  Begin Operations

PLEASE NOTE:  A business is not created to provide employment for people...  a business is created first and foremost for the purpose of making money and more importantly a profit...  and the minimum amount of people are hired to achieve that purpose.

Bill Gates started Microsoft to make money

Steve Jobs created Apple to make money

Zuckerberg created Facebook to make money

Pharmaceutical Companies are working on a COVID vaccine to make money

Not So Funny... is it?

 

Personality

Personality is defined as the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that evolve from biological and environmental factors. While there is no generally agreed upon definition of personality, most theories focus on motivation and psychological interactions with one's environment.  SOURCE:  Wikipedia

According to Brett Hardin (who has his own blog):  People types have been around a long time. Originally called the four temperaments by Hippocrates, they establish the four archetypes of people’s personalities. It was expanded by Myers-Brigg personality test which is overly complicated.

At any given time someone can be any of the four, but people typically feel most natural in one. The archetype that people fall into is easy to recognize once you understand the four and you can change your posture and language accordingly, once you identify what personality you are dealing with.

The four personality types are: Driver, Expressive, Amiable, and Analytical. There are two variables to identify any personality: Are they better at facts & data or relationships? And are they introverted or extroverted.

• Driver — Fact-Based Extrovert
• Analytical — Fact-Based Introvert
• Amiable — Relationship Introvert
• Expressive — Relationship Extrovert

While Brett Hardin thinks that Myers-Briggs Personality is overly complicated...  this writer does not agree with that assessment at all...  in fact, the questionnaire that is used to determine the various personalities (and there are 16 of them) is relatively simply minded in the kinds of questions that are being asked...  and the only complicated aspect of that is deciding if you agree with the question or not as it pertains to what you do or do not do...  act or not act...   think or not think...

I have taken the Myers-Briggs questionnaire four different times and there was a  10 year interval between each time that I took the questionnaire...   and in those 10 years of growth and change one would think that one's personality would change...   BUT THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN MY PERSONALITY.

• I was an INTJ at age 35
• I was an INTJ at age 45
• I was an INTJ at age 55
• i was an intj at age 65

Interestingly, when I read the description of an INTJ, the description fit me perfectly in all aspects...   and, it was so accurate that the first couple of times that I read the description, it was damn near scary.

The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator is an introspective self-report questionnaire indicating differing psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. The test attempts to assign four categories: introversion or extraversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, judging or perceiving.

Most of the research supporting the MBTI's validity has been produced by the Center for Applications of Psychological Type, an organization run by the Myers-Briggs Foundation, and published in the center's own journal, the Journal of Psychological Type, raising questions of independence, bias, and conflict of interest.  Independent sources have called the test "little more than a Chinese fortune cookie", "pretty much meaningless", "one of the worst personality tests in existence," and "the fad that won't die".

Though the MBTI resembles some psychological theories, it has been criticized as pseudoscience and is not widely endorsed by academic researchers in the field. The indicator exhibits significant scientific (psychometric) deficiencies, notably including poor validity (i.e. not measuring what it purports to measure, not having predictive power or not having items that can be generalized), poor reliability (giving different results for the same person on different occasions), measuring categories that are not independent (some dichotomous traits have been noted to correlate with each other), and not being comprehensive (due to missing neuroticism). The four scales used in the MBTI have some correlation with four of the Big Five personality traits, which are a more commonly accepted framework.  SOURCE:  Wikipedia