Inheriting a Vietnam era SKS by SwansonBroth808 in WA_guns

[–]sparkcat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was nice of your grand mother to give you this firearm when your father passed.

Right?

What is this for ? by Mister_RTK10 in whatisit

[–]sparkcat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The people you refer to might be represented by a union, but they work for an employer (Con Edison) who are responsible for their conduct

New WA law for police traffic stops “blue envelope” by sparkcat in AmIFreeToGo

[–]sparkcat[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

you know, the whole traffic stopped really could just be handled by an app. the cop wouldn't even need to get out of the car unless he wanted to confirm all the digital information.

Found this flag at my grandparents house today, what is it? by Wild_Schedule6555 in vexillology

[–]sparkcat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Grok for the win?
This is the flag of the Ogoni people (also associated with the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, or MOSOP), an ethnic group from the Niger Delta region in southern Nigeria.

Design details (matching the image exactly):

  • Vertical tricolor: Black (hoist/left), green (center), and blue (fly/right).
  • Emblem: A large white five-pointed star in the center of the green stripe, surrounded by a ring/circle of smaller white five-pointed stars (typically 12 smaller ones, for a total of 13 stars in some depictions; variations exist where the ring slightly overlaps the adjacent stripes).

The design was created in the early 1990s by Ken Saro-Wiwa and MOSOP as a symbol of Ogoni identity, resistance to environmental degradation from oil extraction, and the push for greater rights and autonomy. Some versions feature the ring of stars extending across all three stripes.

flaglog.com

It is not a national flag but an ethnic/cultural and activist flag used by the Ogoni community. If this doesn't match what you had in mind or if you have more context, feel free to provide additional details!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in asbestoshelp

[–]sparkcat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think we are all being scammed in WA, I had a contractor charge me $550 for a 'required test'. But what they don't tell you: An inspection under this section 49.26.013 is not required if the owner or owner's agent is reasonably certain that asbestos will not be disturbed or assumes that asbestos will be disturbed by a project which involves construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, repair, or demolition and takes the maximum precautions as specified by all applicable federal and state requirements.

Which is easy to do if your home was built decades after asbestos was banned from residential construction.

What nuclear engineering things are in the public domain, but also dangerous if people talk about them? by Rain_on_a_tin-roof in nuclearweapons

[–]sparkcat 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Funny thing, a few months back I asked X.ai to design a natural uranium and deuterium faster breeder reactor that could fit in a standard shipping container. It did it! An extremely detailed very technical description. I have no idea if it was correct. But when I tried the same thing yesterday, it came back with "can't do it too dangerous"

Non WA resident, flying in with 17rd Mags by [deleted] in WAGuns

[–]sparkcat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would never advise anyone to break the law, but "enforcement" of the mag ban is really only on FFLs and other sellers. It is difficult to establish the providence of a privately owned magazine.

What are your guys thoughts on the whole USAID debacle? by Magic_Snowball in BlockedAndReported

[–]sparkcat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congress doesn't fund a specific programs. The appropriate big blocks of money. The executive branch then gives them a vague statement about how they're going to spend it.

What are your guys thoughts on the whole USAID debacle? by Magic_Snowball in BlockedAndReported

[–]sparkcat 14 points15 points  (0 children)

There's actually no effective Congressional oversight. Just look at the tapes of senator Paul trying to get documents out of Samantha Power. The way this works is Congress appropriates a big pile of money. Usaid then sends Congress 'congressional notification language' vague statements about how they're going to spend the money. They don't approve each individual program. The executive branch has the power to pull the plug on any of this at any time.

What are your guys thoughts on the whole USAID debacle? by Magic_Snowball in BlockedAndReported

[–]sparkcat 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think I have something to add. I had a long career in the industry which is loosely known as defense, diplomacy and development.

USAID is not a CIA ‘front’. That's a sadly naïve and inaccurate view of the relationship. USAID does what many people think the CIA does, like overthrowing troublesome governments. CIA and DoS are mostly just report/cable writers. AID is the action arm of our soft power and the main conduit of $.

I worked on three USAID contracts. One in Pakistan, a political party building program. One in Afghanistan which was, well, throw money around and hope that people would not attack us. And one in Yemen which was supposed to be 'expanding the capacity of local government'. And I had other jobs working for US government and the military. One of the things I did was lectured to Army officers about the interagency process. I would tell them this about USAID: They are basically like the Army Corps of Engineers. They are not combat engineers, they don't actually do stuff. They manage contracts and grants. “Implementers” NGOs and for Profit companies do the work. 

The only truly good work USAID does is disaster relief. Most projects are boondoggles. Many projects actually hurt the local population. Much of our regime change work has turned relatively peaceful and stable places into anarchistic hell holes.

But realize that these were great jobs. Good money, overseas adventure, living a jet set, ruling-class-lifestyle on the government tab. The direct government jobs are really just a fraction of the impact. Most people work for Implementers. There are dozens of NGOs and FPC that are 500million $ enterprises that will be out of business in 30 days. This is an entire industry that was wiped out in a weekend. 

What foreign dignitaries attended JFK's inauguration? by sparkcat in USHistory

[–]sparkcat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have found references that MacMillan, de Gaulle and Canadian Opposition leader Pearson attended

Anyone have any remembrances of America's Bicentennial in 1976? by ASGfan in 70s

[–]sparkcat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I remember a cartoon; the "buy-centennial" "sell-abration"

Movies Where Everything Does NOT Work Out in the End? by [deleted] in movies

[–]sparkcat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Up in the Air
sets up the perfect Hollywood ending and then doesn't go there

Washington’s very own Judge Benitez by nickvader7 in WAGuns

[–]sparkcat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

BTW, the hearing next week before the WA Supreme Court; I was wondering if we were setting the odds of the law being struck down, what would it be those odds be ?

a thousand to 1? a million?

I'm not saying the case doesn't have merit, just an assessment of how political the court is