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[Reelya]

google "sufficient foreign assistance" with the quotes to get the current version for Iran. This is a good example of how the hype works:

http://www.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/202707/iranian-icbm-by-2015/

Phil Stewart and Adam Entous of Reuters noticed this sentence stating that Iran could develop an ICBM by 2015 and made it there lede:

    With sufficient foreign assistance, Iran could probably develop and test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the United States by 2015.
...
Unfortunately, this is just intelligence community boilerplate — the same sentence has appeared in every edition of Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat: 2009, 2006, 2003 and 2000. Seriously, you can look it up.

How much foreign assistance is required for that prediction? "Sufficient" foreign assistance. And I guess it would be a country that already has ICBMs, which limits it to about 2-3 possible benefactors of these billions of dollars in military aid that Iran is supposed to have been getting "any day now" for the last 15 years.

The US government was claiming 2015 as the "Iranian ICBM year" right up to reports in 2013. Around 2012 basically everyone started to deride the intelligence reports as fucking ludicrous, so they finally updated the assessment in 2014.
http://allthingsnuclear.org/lgrego/pentagon-changes-its-assessment-of-irans-icbm-prospects

[Neonivek]

I will say... with Sufficient Foreign assistance... The moon could become the most powerful nation known and rain nukes upon us world dwellers.

[Reelya]

With Sufficient Foreign Assistance, the Adelie Penguin Empire could expand out from Antarctica and subjugate the humans. Although I think our new semi-aquatic avian overlords will need to keep a few humans around to actually run the empire.

[ChairmanPoo]

The real thing keeping NK afloat has historically been China, the nuclear program and artillery emplacements are just an attempt to remain unassailable as their only ally loses interest in being belligerent on the behalf of a regime they no longer like.

Oh, it's this post again

at some point China is going to North Korea. they are such a massive pain to everyone.

(23-11-2010)
at some point China is going to North Korea. they are such a massive pain to everyone.

Any war would lead to North Korea folding very quickly, certainly not something that would lead to millions of deaths.

I don't think China would actually much oppose such a move these days. From what is known to us, the PRC is starting to regard North Korea like a spoiled half-cousin who is far more trouble than they are worth.

And if they do this, they lose China's support, and the US marches in. They KNOW China said they'd pull their support if NK attacked anyone.

This keeps getting posted over and over and China never seems to get quite tired of whichever Kim is in charge at the moment.  I think China's fedupness with NK is very much exaggerated.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

You know if Trump is President does that give us the right to ban foreigners from Ameripol? Think about it.

The heck are you getting that idea from?

Anyway, North Carolina is being terrible (again).

Vox has a bit more in-depth article on it.

Anybody else feel like the feds need to go in and force them to straighten out? Though that'd obviously be a massive violation of states rights. Unless it's through the courts.

Oh, believe me, I'd be out there cheering with the American flag on my back if the Federal government marched down here and arrested our entire legislature. The Dems are nominally corrupt and the Republicans are trying to self-destruct the state just in case they get voted out later. They're still planning to stack the courts in order to negate the election of our liberal judges, too.

It is literally criminal. I will take back everything bad I've ever said about Obama if he purges the NC government before leaving office. The state is already looking at charges from the electoral commission for grossly illegal districting. Farewell, District 300-Mile Line Of Black People And Charlotte.

This keeps getting posted over and over and China never seems to get quite tired of whichever Kim is in charge at the moment.  I think China's fedupness with NK is very much exaggerated.

It is clear from China's lack of interest in protecting NK from global sanctions alone that they're fed up with them. That doesn't mean they're going to come charging down and annex NK, but it does mean NK is on the chopping block should the blood hit the fan (I'm changing the saying for 2016). They're a sacrificial ally, but still an ally. The fig leaf of their defensive alliance is used as leverage over NK, so it's also the practical thing to do as well.

[smjjames]

They'd rather have a buffer state between themselves and democratic SK. Though that probably only holds up for recently because I've heard that decades ago, the SK government was more of a junta and not as democratic as it is now.

[hector13]

Well it was like Hussein and the non-existent nuclear weapons at the time. If he said "no actually, we don't have nuclear weapons", he's basically telling all the rival nations around him "yeah, we don't have massive world destroying weapons to lob over the border if you decide to get belligerent".

With China, if they say "piss off NK" they're basically inviting a US backed invasion of a nearby country, so the US can garrison troops and weapons once they've hanged Kim. I don't think they want that.

[Shadowlord]

You know if Trump is President does that give us the right to ban foreigners from Ameripol? Think about it.

The heck are you getting that idea from?

Anyway, North Carolina is being terrible (again).

Vox has a bit more in-depth article on it.

Anybody else feel like the feds need to go in and force them to straighten out? Though that'd obviously be a massive violation of states rights. Unless it's through the courts.

1. The feds? What, President Trump?
2. States rights is code for slavery

[smjjames]

With China, if they say "piss off NK" they're basically inviting a US backed invasion of a nearby country, so the US can garrison troops and weapons once they've hanged Kim. I don't think they want that.

I don't think China actually has interest in invading Korea, and the only reason that we have troops there is because it's needed to protect (more of a deterrent really) SK. There's no guarantee that we will actually garrison troops there, SK (or an unified Korea) would have to ask the US to do that first.

You know if Trump is President does that give us the right to ban foreigners from Ameripol? Think about it.

The heck are you getting that idea from?

Anyway, North Carolina is being terrible (again).

Vox has a bit more in-depth article on it.

Anybody else feel like the feds need to go in and force them to straighten out? Though that'd obviously be a massive violation of states rights. Unless it's through the courts.

1. The feds? What, President Trump?
2. States rights is code for slavery

1. *shrug*
2. I meant as in being able to do their own thing much of the time.

[Dozebôm Lolumzalìs]

Smj, I'm pretty sure that Shadow's joking. He's probably annoyed by the 'EVERYTHING THE CONSERVATIVES SAY IS A DOG WHISTLE FOR EVIL STUFF' everybody's saying. I am too. Sure, they're awful, but there's no SEEKRIT COUD.

[Shadowlord]

Smj, I'm pretty sure that Shadow's joking. He's probably annoyed by the 'EVERYTHING THE CONSERVATIVES SAY IS A DOG WHISTLE FOR EVIL STUFF' everybody's saying. I am too. Sure, they're awful, but there's no SEEKRIT COUD.

No, I remember history and am referencing it, and how the civil war's cause was changed* retroactively** from slavery to "states' rights." :V

* by politicians, not historians, iirc, but it made it into history books because texas, probably
** "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."

[Sergarr]

But state rights is the way we get more Mexicans into the country right now, via "sanctuary cities", so they're not just all racism, you know.

[smjjames]

Smj, I'm pretty sure that Shadow's joking. He's probably annoyed by the 'EVERYTHING THE CONSERVATIVES SAY IS A DOG WHISTLE FOR EVIL STUFF' everybody's saying. I am too. Sure, they're awful, but there's no SEEKRIT COUD.

No, I remember history and am referencing it, and how the civil war's cause was changed* retroactively** from slavery to "states' rights." :V

* by politicians, not historians, iirc, but it made it into history books because texas, probably
** "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."

I wasn't even trying to refer to that... the whole Civil War revisionism I mean.

[Shadowlord]

Smj, I'm pretty sure that Shadow's joking. He's probably annoyed by the 'EVERYTHING THE CONSERVATIVES SAY IS A DOG WHISTLE FOR EVIL STUFF' everybody's saying. I am too. Sure, they're awful, but there's no SEEKRIT COUD.

No, I remember history and am referencing it, and how the civil war's cause was changed* retroactively** from slavery to "states' rights." :V

* by politicians, not historians, iirc, but it made it into history books because texas, probably
** "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."

I wasn't even trying to refer to that... the whole Civil War revisionism I mean.

Of course, of course.

But state rights is the way we get more Mexicans into the country right now, via "sanctuary cities", so they're not just all racism, you know.

Those are cities, not states. :V

[Sergarr]

But state rights is the way we get more Mexicans into the country right now, via "sanctuary cities", so they're not just all racism, you know.

Those are cities, not states. :V

The idea is the same, still. They both have the right to deny federal law enforcement, to a certain extent.

Another example - marijuana legalization. Federally, it's illegal, but in many states, it is legalized now. Is it racist to allow for states to legalize marijuana?