destruction of america

[paradime]

14 hours ago, datzenmike said:

 

Chinese EVs???? About as deadly as sky diving with a Chinese military surplus parachute.

 

 

 

 

 

I know you hate EVs Mike, but damn!!! With a YT channel named like Piston Pundit, I think you can expect biased information and they delivered. Your vid is cherry picking data to form the most negative perspective possible. It takes portions of a report out of context, and ignores everything else. I think even you'd say this is disinformation. 

 

1. It was 2 and a half yrs ago in the first qt of 2023 where China had 8 EV fires per day. Piston Pundit left out that it was from a faulty battery management systems in a cheep model EV, and issues with non standardized charging stations. A mandatory recall and software update ended the issue.

2. China has 4X the population of the US and 5.5X more EVs per capita, so if that's not factored in, it's just hyperbolic garbage.

3. in 2024, we had a total of 1,227 EV fires. China had 2,557. In contrast, that yr there were 177,300 ICE car fires in the US, thats 1 every 5 minutes, or 288 every day.

4. Reduced battery performance in cold temps is the same in North America as it is in China. If you're stupid enough not to take that into consideration, it's not the car's fault.

5. You'd have to be egocentrically oblivious to think the people who buy a $11,000 EV would expect, or even need it to meet modern American standards? Relatively speaking, a cheep EV is luxury compared to a scooter. 

 

 

[datzenmike]

Still wouldn't jump with a surplus Chinese parachute. 

 

I expect the CCP control the news of EV fires, (or any lithium ion battery fires fr that matter) as they are trying to sell them here. 

 

 

[datzenmike]

20 hours ago, wayno said:

 

...

 

I do not buy stuff made in Canada or any other country myself unless I have no other choice, like I said I buy from garage sales, I buy garden stuff like water fittings, sprinklers, watering timers, pavers for between my rows of plants, most watering is done automatically, that open area in the back is where I put my telescope when observing the night sky from my backyard..

 

 

 

 

Nice garden wayno. Now that I'm retired I have much more time for my garden. I'm sure working in your own garden lowers BP

[bottomwatcher]

18 hours ago, wayno said:

 

The making of them heaters, less than 10 years ago I seen photos/articles about people getting sick from industrial pollution in China making stuff.

 

 I was first given the blood pressure pill and statin because I had a heart attack in 2016(the doctors said it was my second heart attack in the emergency room), it is policy to put people on drugs as it makes them money, they do not care if you need the pill, just before(week?) I had the heart attack in 2016 my BP was 125/85, without pills it is what I said it is, last night it was 109/61 with a 73 beats per minute, I have seen as low as 85/48 very early this year because of another pill, I was getting dizzy, sometimes I think they are trying to kill me, I take half that pill now and I did not tell the doctor until recently(in the last month).

 

I do not buy stuff made in Canada or any other country myself unless I have no other choice, like I said I buy from garage sales, I buy garden stuff like water fittings, sprinklers, watering timers, pavers for between my rows of plants, most watering is done automatically, that open area in the back is where I put my telescope when observing the night sky from my backyard..

 

 

 

Wayno we are probably similar buying used and fixing shit ourselves and other people would be in better financial shape if they did the same. but our lifestyles are horrible for the economy. Somebody has to buy new cars, boats and other toys for them to trickle down to what we want to pay. They also hire plumbers, electricians, AC technicians whatever to do what they can't or don't want to do. That's what keeps people employed and money flowing, that's what our economy is built on. Bottom line other than our taxes we are probably more scavengers of the economy and I am fine with that because the ups and downs have a lot smaller effect on me. 

[paradime]

Restoration has never been my thing, or should I say I can't because my brain has no creativity off switch. I was into pulling old thing apart for reverse engineering, repurposed components to make new things, and improving old stuff with modification. As a kid I made a go-cart out of a baby stroller and a gas powered leaf blower, made money converting skates into skate boards, turned my bicycle into a motorbike using a chainsaw with a centrifugal clutch, and mounted a pencil sharpener to a slot-car motor, etc, etc. It's continued in my 510 with parts from 6 different auto manufacturers, and a tractor company. Needless to say, pragmatism is not my strong point. 

[Rustbin]

I'm in good company on this site, fix shit, make shit and buy used cheap shit. Then we argue about shit we can't do anything about. 

[mrbigtanker]

[paradime]

 

[wayno]

On 11/2/2025 at 5:31 AM, bottomwatcher said:

Wayno we are probably similar buying used and fixing shit ourselves and other people would be in better financial shape if they did the same. but our lifestyles are horrible for the economy. Somebody has to buy new cars, boats and other toys for them to trickle down to what we want to pay. They also hire plumbers, electricians, AC technicians whatever to do what they can't or don't want to do. That's what keeps people employed and money flowing, that's what our economy is built on. Bottom line other than our taxes we are probably more scavengers of the economy and I am fine with that because the ups and downs have a lot smaller effect on me. 

 

I have been this way all my life, the most I ever made was $10.00 an hour working as an employee, then I started my own pressure washing business in 1994, I started cheap to get work and make a name for myself, at the end I was charging $70.00 to $80.00 an hour, my competitors hated me as I was cheaper than they were and I did better work, never had a claim in 30 years, and with pressurized water that was a freaking miracle.

 

I did not get effected as hard as others on the ups and downs of the economy either, being/becoming self-employed was the best decision I ever made in my life.

Edited Monday at 08:14 PM by wayno

[datzenmike]

If we weren't such cheap ass bastards we wouldn't be driving Datsuns. A Scottish ancestor of mine struck it rich by discovering a process for making copper wire! He and another Scotsman were fighting over a penny they both found on the street.

[paradime]

Someone tell me how this bale out for Argentina is putting America first. The Trump administration announced a big fuck you to American ranchers with plans to increase the import of Argentinian beef at a significantly lower tariff rate. WTF already! We can't even pay our own bills, so how is it justifiable that wall street global inverters who are benefiting from this? How is propping up Javier Milei in our best interests? 

 

 

[datzenmike]

You forget Trump eats only Big Macs? Some of that meat is from 'a variety of farms across the globe'. 

[paradime]

40 minutes ago, datzenmike said:

You forget Trump eats only Big Macs? Some of that meat is from 'a variety of farms across the globe'. 

Half truth because Mc-D's burgers are only 50.01% beef. The 49.99% comes from a New Delhi landfill. 

[datzenmike]

True but what beef is in there is 100% beef. 

[paradime]

 

[paradime]

For whom the bell tolls. Will Trump's endorsement of Quomo put Mamdani in the NY governor's office? Will schwarzenegger and $80M of the RNC's money defeat CA's I(n your face TX) prop 50? Is Trump snubbing the black Rep woman Earle-Sears going to make the Dem white woman Spnburger the first female governor of Virginia? Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of As The Political Shit Turns.

[bottomwatcher]

As Kamela (Cackles)was a gift to the Republican party it looks like Trump is the gift to the Democrats that's keeps on giving. This seems like a race to the bottom. 

[datzenmike]

Withholding food from the poor while hosting a 'Gatsby Party' at Mara Lago. "Let them eat cake" 

 

 

[paradime]

NY elected Mamdani, prop 50 passed, and Virginia elected Spanberger. 

 

Follow the money. The real cost of MAGA economic policies. Hard to find a more pragmatic unbiased critical analysis than Waren Buffett.

 

 

[paradime]

 

Remember when visionary US halo products inspired passion and innovation? 8 yrs ago the Tesla Roadster was supposed to rewrite the record books, but it fell on it's face. Today short sighted drive for maximum profit supersedes our country's passion and innovation, so we are falling behind in tech R&D and demonstrating  improved performance of our products. The Chinese EV company BYD's 3'000 hp Yangwang U9 Xtreme just broke the record for the world's fastest production car at 308.4 mph. It's also the fastest EV sports car on the Nürburgring, clocking a 6:59.157 seconds, and it does all this at 1/10th the price of a Veyron 16.4 Super Sport.  Elvas has left the building, and the world knows it.

[datzenmike]

True, but none of those are at all practical. A 3000 hp grocery getter? But like the space race of the '60s it gave us other things beside impracticable rocket travel, like:

 

 

• Memory foam: Developed to cushion astronauts during takeoff and landing, it is now used in mattresses and athletic shoes.
• Cordless vacuum: The "Dustbuster" was a spin-off from a portable drill designed for astronauts on the Apollo missions.
• Freeze-dried food: A technique developed for the Apollo missions to provide lightweight, long-lasting food.
• Scratch-resistant lenses: A coating initially created for astronaut helmets is now used on eyeglasses and camera lenses.
• Cordless tools: The need for battery-powered tools in space led to the development of many modern cordless devices.
• Satellite TV: The development of communication satellites for space travel has enabled modern satellite television. 

•  

 

Medical advancements

 

• Infrared thermometers: Technology originally used to measure the temperature of stars and planets is now used in non-contact ear thermometers to measure body temperature.
• Artificial limbs: Innovations from developing robotic and prosthetic technology for space have led to more functional and durable artificial limbs.
• Medical imaging: Techniques and systems developed for monitoring astronauts have been adapted for use in CAT scans, MRIs, and other medical imaging equipment.
• Insulin pumps: Systems designed to monitor astronaut vital signs helped lead to the technology used in modern insulin pumps.
• Cochlear implants: Advanced technology for processing signals in space helped pave the way for these devices. 

•  

 

Safety and industrial innovations

 

• Firefighting equipment: The need for protective gear for astronauts led to the development of advanced, heat-resistant materials used in firefighting equipment.
• Water filtration: NASA's need for advanced water purification and recycling systems for long-term space missions resulted in technology now used for clean drinking water on Earth.
• Adjustable smoke detectors: Originally designed for the safety of the Skylab space station.
• Hydraulic rescue cutters: Also known as "Jaws of Life," these tools were developed from technology used to cut through metal on spacecraft. 

•  

 

Other examples

 

• Solar panels: The need for efficient, lightweight power sources for spacecraft drove advancements in solar cell technology.
• Advanced insulation: Materials developed to protect spacecraft from extreme temperatures are now used in home insulation.
• GPS technology: The foundational satellite technology that enables global positioning systems was developed during the space race. 

•  

 

 

[Rustbin]

NASA didn't patent the things because it was publicly funded, leaving it open for people to use. Would Space X allow pubic use of it's ideas? 

[datzenmike]

I wouldn't.

[datzenmike]

If Hitler was here and said the moon orbits the earth, no matter how detestable he was, he would be stating a fact that is not arguable. So don't shoot this messenger for the following facts about 10 of the countless Trump lies. Without a doubt Schiff is a d/b but as far as Trump lies go, he's right. Trump is a pathological liar...

 

Curtis and Hart (2020) defined pathological lying as "a persistent, pervasive, and often compulsive pattern of excessive lying behavior that leads to clinically significant impairment of functioning in social, occupational, or other areas; causes marked distress; poses a risk to the self or others; and occurs for longer than 6 months"

 

 

[wayno]

The Hidden Transcript of Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson Testimony Is the Key to Reveal CIA Targeting of President Donald Trump

November 5, 2025 | Sundance | 386 Comments

In December of 2016, President Obama turned to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and CIA Director John Brennan with a request to change the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) and blame the Russians for election interference in the prior presidential election. Brennan gave the task of assembling the fraudulent intel to a CIA analyst named Julia Gurganus.

Subsequently, inside the CIA the National Intelligence Council (NIC) and the Directorate of Analysis began working on a pretext that would create the impression for the misleading Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) as demanded by Obama, Clapper and Brennan; ultimately it was constructed by Julia Gurganus.

Inside the National Intelligence Council, one of the key figures who helped create the ICA fabrication was a CIA analyst named Eric Ciaramella.

You might remember the name Eric Ciaramella from the 2019 impeachment effort against President Trump.  However, in 2016 Eric Ciaramella was a CIA deputy national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia on the CIA’s National Intelligence Council at the time the fraudulent Intelligence Community Assessment was created.

♦ The key point to remember here is that Eric Ciaramella was one of the fabricators of the fraudulent ICA; constructed late December 2016 and presented in January 2017 as part of the foundation for the Trump-Russia narrative.

Earlier this year, DNI Tulsi Gabbard began to drill down onto the issue of the fraudulent ICA and how it was constructed.  Current CIA analysts within the former National Intelligence Council (NIC) and CIA Directorate of Analysis began to notice Tulsi was going to declassify background documents, including the two-year House Intelligence Committee report revealing the fraud.  Tulsi Gabbard became a target.

Julia Gurganus was an active government employee at the time Tulsi Gabbard began making inquiries.  The CIA (NIC) changed the status of Julia Gurganus in June 2025 to that of a “covert” operative, in an effort to protect Gurganus.

The CIA changed the status of Julia Gurganus in June 2025, reclassifying her as ‘covert’, specifically because of the ODNI’s intent to reveal the fraud within the 2016 Russia election investigation.  This, the CIA thought, would forcibly stop DNI Gabbard from exposing Ms. Gurganus and taking action.  The 2025 CIA effort did not work.

 

In late July of this year, DNI Gabbard released the CIA intelligence information that was used in constructing the fraudulent ICA. On July 23rd, Tulsi Gabbard held a press conference alongside Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and outlined the issues.

In August 2025, DNI Gabbard then declassified and released the CIA work product, and then later removed Julia Gurganus security clearance.

The CIA embeds at the NIC and directorate of analysis were furious, and subsequently leaked a false story to the Wall Street Journal saying DNI Gabbard had compromised a covert CIA operative working in government – a familiar ploy that had worked for them in the past.  However, this time it did not work, because her work history clearly showed Julia Gurganus was a known CIA employee.

♦ Key point:  Julia Gurganus and Eric Ciaramella both worked on behalf of CIA Director John Brennan to fabricate the fraudulent ICA in 2016. Gurganus was still a CIA employee in August of this year.

Back to Ciaramella…

In 2019 National Security Council (NSC) member Alexander Vindman also responsible for Ukraine, Russia Eurasia affairs, told CIA Analyst Eric Ciaramella a fictional narrative about President Trump pressuring Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to provide dirt on Joe Biden in advance of the 2020 election.

Eric Ciaramella then became an “anonymous whistleblower” within the CIA to reveal the story and set up the predicate for the first Trump impeachment effort in late 2019.  You might remember the name, because during the impeachment effort anyone who mentioned Eric Ciaramella on social media had their information deleted, and they were blocked from their accounts.

Facebook, Google, META, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter all deleted any mention of Eric Ciaramella as the anonymous whistleblower, and banned any account that posted the name.  However, something else was always sketchy about this.

As the story was told, Ciaramella blew the whistle to Intelligence Community Inspector General, Michael Atkinson. It was further said that Atkinson “changed the CIA whistleblower rules” to permit an “anonymous” allegation; thereby protecting Eric Ciaramella.

Knowing, in hindsight, that CIA analyst Eric Ciaramella was one of the main people who constructed the 2016 fraudulent ICA, suddenly the motive to make him “anonymous” a few years later in 2019 for another stop-Trump effort makes sense.

Until today, the commonly accepted narrative was that ICIG Atkinson changed the CIA rules arbitrarily.  This is the main narrative as pushed by the media, allowed to permeate by the larger Intelligence Community, and supported by the willful blindness of a complicit Congress.

It never made sense how an IC Inspector General, especially one that involves review of CIA employees/operations, could make such a substantive change in rules for an agency that is opaque by design. There is just no way any IG can make that kind of decision about the CIA without the Director, the Deputy Director and CIA General Counsel being involved.

Someone in DNI or CIA leadership had to sign off on allowing ICIG Atkinson to change the rules and permit a complaint by Eric Ciaramella being turned into an “anonymous complaint.”

♦ Now, things are going to start getting a little dark here, because the implications are serious, and the aspect of ICIG Atkinson’s testimony to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) being sealed is a little more than alarming when you consider what they were trying to do – impeach a sitting USA President on a fabricated issue.  Some context is needed.

Inspectors General do not operate in a vacuum.  They are authorized to conduct investigative oversight, as an outcome of permissions from the cabinet agency heads themselves.  The ICIG office, formerly headed by Michael Atkinson, falls under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence.

As the Inspector General of the Dept of Justice does not operate without the expressed permission of the U.S. Attorney General, so too is it required for the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community to have permission to operate in CIA functions with the expressed permission of the CIA Director.

To give you an example: You might remember when President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder created the Dept of Justice National Security Division (DOJ-NSD), they did not permit the DOJ Inspector General to have any oversight or review.

The 2009-2017 public reasoning was “national security interests,” as the DOJ-NSD was in charge of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISC) operations as well as Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) reviews and investigations.  The factual, evidence-based reason was the DOJ-NSD running political surveillance operations using FISA and FARA as weaponized targeting mechanisms to keep track of their political opposition, ie Lawfare. [But that’s another story]

In fact, in 2015 the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the DOJ, Michael Horowitz, requested oversight and it was Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates who responded with a lengthy 58-page legal explanation saying, essentially, ‘nope – not allowed.’ (PDF HERE) All of the DOJ is subject to oversight, except the NSD.

You see, the Department of Justice’s own Inspector General (Michael Horowitz who opened a January 2017 investigation into the 2016 politicization of the FBI and DOJ) was not allowed to investigate anything that happened within the NSD agency of the Department of Justice. See the ‘useful arrangement‘?  Yeah, Funny that.

It was not until 2018, when the OIG was tasked by then Attorney General Jeff Sessions and President Trump to look into the fraudulent FISA application used against Carter Page, when the OIG was finally given authority to review activity within the Dept of Justice National Security Division.

♦ The two key points here are: #1) ICIG Michael Atkinson does not make unilateral decisions to change the internal rules within the CIA, without the expressed permission of the CIA Director, CIA Deputy Director and CIA General Counsel. #2) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) would also know of the changed rules and arrangement therein.

At the time of the impeachment allegation and investigation by the House (Aug to Dec 18, 2019), the CIA Director was Gina Haspel (May 21, 2018, to January 20, 2021). The CIA Deputy Director was Vaughn Bishop, and the CIA General Counsel was Courtney Simmons Elwood.  In addition, the Acting DNI was Joseph Maguire.

We can reasonably be certain that CIA General Counsel Courtney Elwood and Acting DNI Joseph Maguire did not sign-off on changing the CIA rules permitting an anonymous whistleblower, because published media reports at the time outline both offices as NOT supporting the effort of ICIG Atkinson.

In fact, as the story is told (and investigatively affirmed) CIA Analyst Eric Ciaramella was frustrated because he talked to CIA General Counsel Elwood about the leak from Alexander Vindman, and Elwood did not respond to his claims.

Instead, of following chain-of-command, CIA Analyst Ciaramella went to the House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, and relayed the story as told to him by Vindman.  The 2019 conversation between Ciaramella, the CIA analyst who previously fabricated the fraudulent Russia ICA in 2017, and Adam Schiff who fraudulently pushed the Trump-Russia narrative in 2017, took place prior to the CIA whistleblower complaint being filed.

Now we get to the crux of the story.

♦ On October 4, 2019, ICIG Michael Atkinson gave closed-door testimony to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) as part of their impeachment investigation.  One of the key questions to Atkinson surrounded the authority of his office changing the CIA whistleblower rules that permitted Eric Ciaramella to remain anonymous.

That Atkinson testimony was then “classified” and sealed under the auspices of “national security” by HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff, the same guy who Ciaramella talked to before filing the complaint.

If congress, or more importantly the American public, had known CIA Analyst Eric Ciaramella was both the key author of the fraudulent 2016 ICA and the later 2019 CIA complaint, it’s doubtful any impeachment effort would have moved forward.

From within the CIA, Eric Ciaramella was the impeachment narrative creator and the Russian interference narrative creator.  In short, a political fabricator of intelligence within the CIA.

Again, ICIG Atkinson could not change the ‘whistleblower’ regulations on his own.  Someone had to sign-off on that, giving him the authority. Additionally, Atkinson a former legal counsel to the Deputy Asst Attorney General within the DOJ-NSD, is not going to go out on such a limb without a cya to protect himself.

The only person likely to give that authority within the structures and confines that operate inside our government was then CIA Director, Gina Haspel.  The Deputy CIA Director is not going to make that kind of a decision, especially given the circumstances, and the CIA General Counsel was not touching it.

That outline of events means the 2016/2017 CIA ‘stop-Trump’ operation under CIA Director John Brennan, was effectively continued by CIA Director Gina Haspel in 2019/2020.

[SIDENOTE: Now, does the 2020 CIA operation known as the “51 Intelligence Experts’ who denied the Hunter Biden laptop story take on context?  Now does the recent reaction, the angry outburst by former CIA Director John Brennan about the ICA construct take on some context?]

This is where doors slam and DC officials run out of the room.

This is where ‘pretending not to know‘ takes on another meaning entirely.

♦ IMPLICATIONS: CIA Director Gina Haspel had no way to know if the 2019 impeachment of President Trump was going to be successful.  Just as the ICIG needed a CYA to protect himself, so too would Director Haspel want a legal defense mechanism in case the entire fiasco blew up.  Enter the only oversight agency that can provide Haspel cover, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Underneath all of these machinations, there’s no other way for Director Haspel to protect herself other than to use the primary mechanism within the functions of IC oversight, inform the SSCI chair and vice-chair of her changed rule guidance to ICIG Atkinson.  That Occam’s Razor scenario puts SSCI chairman ¹Richard Burr and SSCI vice-chair Mark Warner in the silo-system loop.  If things blew up, Haspel could always defend herself by pointing to her informing the mechanism for CIA oversight, the SSCI.

• DNI Dan Coats resigned from office when the Trump impeachment effort was announced, August 2019.

• Acting DNI Joseph Maguire was appointed by President Trump to replace Dan Coats.

• Following the impeachment trial, President Donald Trump was acquitted by the Senate on February 5th, 2020.

• On Feb 20, 2020, President Trump replaced acting DNI Joseph Maguire with acting DNI Ric Grenell.

• On February 28, 2020, President Trump nominated John Ratcliffe to be DNI.

• Ratcliffe was confirmed May 26, 2020, and took office.

Before the impeachment effort began, Congressman John Ratcliffe was President Trump’s first choice to replace outgoing DNI Dan Coats in 2019. However, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said they would not confirm John Ratcliffe.  President Trump was forced to appoint “acting DNIs.”

Somehow, within an unexplained reversal, after the impeachment effort ended, the SSCI had a change of position and agreed to confirm John Ratcliffe.

As the fully confirmed DNI, in 2020 John Ratcliffe would have full control of the ICIG, including an understanding of what took place within the CIA that led to the change in protocol creating the “anonymous whistleblower” complaint: the impeachment origination.

As Chair of the SSCI in 2019, it is highly likely that CIA Director Gina Haspel informed Richard Burr of the change in protocol creating the “anonymous whistleblower” complaint: the impeachment origination.  ¹Richard Burr was replaced by Marco Rubio in May 2020.

John Ratcliffe is now CIA Director.  Marco Rubio is now National Security Advisor.

The transcript of ICIG Michael Atkinson’s testimony remains sealed.

The truth has no agenda.

We have one ally.

I’m doing all I can…