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| New York Times photo |
Wine and cheese? My good friends in the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations would love to go to charettes like that again! But, these days, I doubt the contractors dish out anything so good.
What put me in mind of wine and cheese was listening to the morning session of today's House Foreign Affairs Committee budget hearing, in which Representative Darrell Issa, questioning SecState Tillerson, spoke up for the plain but functional standard embassy designs that OBO built in the past, and denounced the "New York wine & cheese liberals” advocating works of art whom he believes took over our embassy design planning during SecState Hillary Clinton's tenure.
Like that "glass palace" in London (see this) that costs too much and which we haven't even finished yet, for example. Let's go back to the "efficient design and build" practices of the past, Issa said.
Tillerson really didn't speak to the design issue, but he did assure Issa that the Administration's 2018 budget plan will maintain OBO's current new construction program for another year, although we'll run into "planning difficulties” in 2019.
7 comments:
TSB: Max Keiser quotes Brookings University Professor Bruce Rydell that our "Potempkin Economy" runs on "Potempkin" trade deals that are just announced, but never signed like the $106 billion arms deal with the Saudi's. Turns out most of it was the same stuff that was announced by Obama and never delivered. Episode
1084. These are just letters of intent, not contracts. 4 frigates were included, but the frigates don't actually exist yet.
Trump announced a similar deal this morning for F-35 fighters for Qatar. They go on in the second half to show how Boeing is sending all it's airliner technology and jobs to Shanghai, the same way Siemens sent their train technology and France sent their automotive technology years ago. (Comac is the Chinese partner)
Illinois has announced that all work on roads will stop July 1st, cause they are broke. I wonder what Bernie will say about bailing out failed state Illinois? gwb
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-15/unable-pay-bills-illinois-sends-dear-contractor-letter-telling-firms-halt-road-work-
OOoopsi! Mattis overrules Trump on Qatari “terrorism,” sells it $12 bn in F-15s
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis gwb
TSB: The only person I know who gives a "Hoot" about US shooting
down the Syrian fighter jet is Juan Cole: And, Russia announced that it would possibly shoot down any US air craft operating in western Syria.
Those are about the most dangerous words I’ve heard in decades, since the era of the Cuban missile crisis or the dark Cold War film Fail Safe (1965) .
Now, is there anyone out there who thinks Mueller being ordered to deliver highly radioactive uranium to Russia is a big deal??As of this morning nobody is touching that one. Of course Trump hasn't tweeted yet.gwb
TSB: I love the Trump rallies! MSNBC,CNN cut away as soon as he said: "Show the Crowd!" .. Fox showed the crowd. There was one protestor, a guy blowing a whistle. Trump said:"Must be a Bernie supporter."
Today's R Senate healthcare bill talking points wants to apportion medicaid funds to states on a per capita basis. This is going to accellerate the decline in US life expectancy which is already falling fast from the diabetes and alzheimers epidemics. Not allowing immigrants into the country who cannot support themselves financially (already the law) will drive the democrats crazy.
People 50 and up who aren't healthy are going to decide that they need to vote because anything related to health care is going to be suddenly unaffordable. Government shutdown looks more certain now but us old timers will still get our checks!! gwb
TSB: The USS Fitzgerald being rammed by the Phillipine container ship was clearly not an accident. We know this from: 1.The satellite tracking of the large ship. 2.The Phillipine ship reported the "accident" happened at 2:30 AM. 2 days later this was changed to 1:30 am. 3.The Japanese businessman who
owned the ship refused to disclose the destination of the ship. (This is key because no destination would account for the track the ship took.)
The Fitzgerald's electronics were disabled around 1:20 am and went dead in the water. No collision at that time. No radio report from the Fitzgerald at that time because they could not communicate by radio and were dead in the water. All this from a former Navy accident investigator. If he's right you will never hear the black box recording from that ship. gwb
https://youtu.be/eANUtcpxL04 ~US NAVY SCRAMBLING~!! TRUTH REVEALED! FITZGERALD ATTACKED TWICE!!
Florida Maquis
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Published on Jun 20, 2017
Electronic attack disables,....cargo ship attempts to sink by collision,....
TSB: And once again we have the mother of one of sailors almost killed passing on some useful information. The Crystal turned off it's running lights and transponder prior to the ramming. US officials said it was the Fitzgerald that hit the Crystal. It's going to be hard to peddle that snake oil. gwb
https://youtu.be/DuwhMk3x0Og
TSB: And tonite "Anonymous" weighs in saying it was the N.Koreans who took over the Crystal's controls. Trouble with this account is that Crystal was only going 5-6 knots when it hit the Fitzgerald. At any rate, Trump's on it!
gwb
https://youtu.be/Myzx4Fib7bU
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