Trump’s $25 Billion Wall needs a Math Reality Check! $200 billion is more realistic!

Captain Rick: Trump’s $25 billion Wall needs a Math Reality Check! $200 billion is more realistic! Trump wants to build a ‘big beautiful’ 2000 mile border wall between the US and Mexico for $25 billion (about $12.5 million per mile). What a JOKE!

Arizona is in process of building the South Mountain Freeway, bypassing Phoenix to the south. Its cost is nearly $2 billion for a 22 mile stretch of freeway (almost $200 million per mile).

Trumps estimate of $25 billion to build a ‘big beautiful’ wall is only about 1/8 the cost of what it takes to build a freeway per mile. I think Trump’s estimate of $25 billion is far short of reality. $200 billion ($.2 trillion) would be more realistic. I suggest Trump had better take a flash course in Math 101 before he trades away amnesty for millions of dreamers for a wall that can never be afforded.

Captain Rick’s Research
I have invested many hours over recent years studying illegal drug and immigration smuggling routes into Arizona, America’s most porous border with Mexico. I have viewed every foot of the border using Google & Bing satellite view using the closest zoom. Most of the border has no fence of any kind. Walls and fences are situated only near cities and major highways. The balance is wide open desert and mountain terrain.

America’s Most Porous Border for Illegal Drugs and Immigration is Arizona
The most porous section of the U.S.-Mexico border lies across the 75 mile southern boundary of the Tohono O’Odham Nation Reservation, which occupies a huge section of southern Arizona south of I-8 / I-10, between Sasabe (west of Nogales) and Sonoyta (Hwy 8 heading to Rocky Point). Viewing a satellite view of the area we can easily see a large geological scar … a canyon with a dry river bed / raging river during a monsoon …that runs from I-8, about 30 miles west of the I-8 / I-10 split, south past Ventana and Pisiemo and on into Mexico just east of Ali Chuk. It is the #1 illegal immigrant and drug smuggling super-route between the U.S. and Mexico. A big reason is because the entire route is virtually off limits to the U.S. border patrol due to U.S. / Nation treaties / laws. A large number of Nation Members receive payouts from the smugglers in exchange food, safe haven and lookout reports. In essence, they work for the smuggling cartels to protect this smuggling super-route from Mexico almost to the southern boundary of Phoenix. I suspect it is the most popular occupation in the Tohono O’Odham Nation, where unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse and consumption of welfare and Medicaid handouts is enormous.

Options for a Border Wall
If a border wall were built everywhere across the Mexico border, except this Arizona canyon, it would be of little benefit because a large number of the smugglers are using this super-route. The only kind of wall that would work would be dam, far more expensive than a wall, or even a section of freeway. The cost of a dam could run into the billions, eating up a big chunk of Trump’s $25 billion ‘piggy bank’ wall account. Several more problems exist. The dam across this canyon would create a lake that would flood major portions of the reservation. The U.S. government would have to strike a deal to compensate Tohono O’Odham Nation due to tribal treaties and laws. How many billions would that cost? To make the situation worse, this canyon is only one of many on the reservation, not to mention the large number elsewhere along the U.S. border. Building a dam across all of the canyons would run into the trillions and would be fiscally unaffordable and profoundly stupid.

Building a ‘Virtual Wall’ is an option, but based on data I have seen, they are a miserable failure. Unless America wants to employ military strike jets to respond, the smugglers are long gone before the ‘virtual technology’ enables the border patrol to respond, sometimes taking hours … and is almost impossible on the Tohono O’Odham Nation Reservation.

This is a story that few Americans understand … perhaps even President Trump
I urge readers to comment with thoughts and ideas to expand this post. I will revise/add to it as comments are received. I will also add new tags so that everyone in the world can search and find it via the WordPress, Google, Bing and other search engines. Together, perhaps we can help make America better.

Captain Rick: What do you think of Trump’s Wall?

U.S. Strike on Syria

Captain Rick: President Trump made an ignorant choice when he recently attacked Shayrat air base in Syria with 59 Tomahawk E Cruise Missiles. He was obviously buckling to FAKE NEWS, the corrupted US Intelligence Machine and the warmongering minds of the U.S. Military. I am reblogging this outstanding journalism by fellow WordPresser Josep Goded. It presents a realistic view of the U.S. Strike on Syria that refutes the tons of FAKE NEWS that has been spread by Mainstream Media.

Josep Goded

On Thursday night, Donald Trump directed a strike against a Syrian military airbase, which targeted fighter planes, ammunition bunkers, radars, and petroleum storage. The Syrian regime said that the attack killed 7 soldiers and wounded 3.

In a brief press conference, Trump assured the American public that the strike was in retaliation for the last chemical attack against innocent civilians in Khan Sheikhoun in north-western Syria, which caused as many as 80 casualties, including many children.

Despite the fact that the UN could not reliably determine the accountability of the Syrian regime over the chemical attack, the U.S. government and the mainstream media launched a campaign to accuse them.

Ignoring the resolution of the UN, the NATO and other allies expressed their support for the strike and said that it was proportional. On the other hand, the Russian government condemned the attack and said that the U.S. is helping terrorists…

View original post 443 more words

Russian President Vladimir Putin & U.S. SoS Rex Tillerson meet about airstrike of Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held more than two hours of frank conversation Wednesday in the Kremlin amid tensions over a U.S. airstrike against a Syria air base blamed for last week’s deadly chemical attack. The unscheduled talks between Putin and the secretary came as Moscow warned against the U.S. repeating its missile strike on a Syrian air base.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at left … Russian President Vladimir Putin right

In an interview broadcast Wednesday before the meeting with Tillerson, Putin said relations with the U.S. have worsened in the first few months of Trump’s presidency.

“It can be said that the level of trust at the working level, especially at the military level, has not become better but most likely has degraded,” he told state broadcaster Mir TV.

Putin also charged that the U.S. broke international law by striking the air base without providing evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met

The meeting lasted for almost two hours to see if they could rescue relations between the world’s mightiest military powers. Russia’s alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential election also hovered over the first face-to-face encounter between Putin and a Trump administration Cabinet member.

It was not the first meeting between the two men. Tillerson, as CEO of ExxonMobil, forged a close relationship with the Russian leader over business dealings in the past. In 2013, Putin personally awarded Tillerson the Russian Order of Friendship when the two met to negotiate ExxonMobil’s $50 billion deal for Russian oil and gas rights.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov  and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met and spoke to the press after the Putin-Tillerson meeting

Tillerson and Lavrov spoke to the press after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in an extended display of US-Russian disagreements over the chemical attack that left more than 80 dead; the role of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s future; US actions in the Middle East; and Russian involvement in the US election.

Still, the two diplomats hinted that they could find common ground on this issue. Tillerson said that the US wouldn’t dictate how Assad’s departure takes place, saying, "We leave that to the process going forward," and added that it’s important his departure "is done in an orderly way" and that it will "take a pace of its own."

Lavrov, meanwhile, said that Russia is "not staking everything on a personality … we are simply insisting that everybody sits around the table and talks about it."

Lavrov also announced that Putin has agreed to reinstate a military "deconfliction" channel to ensure there are no unintended clashes in the skies above Syria. And Tillerson said that the two sides had agreed to establish a working group that would address smaller frictions and aim to make progress on larger differences.

The news conference came after Lavrov issued a warning to Tillerson Wednesday against any further US strikes on the Syrian regime. Russia is Syria’s most powerful ally.

Russia has rejected the US conclusion that Damascus was responsible for last week’s chemical attack, which killed 89 people and prompted the US to carry out its first strike against the Syrian regime in the six-year conflict, taking out aircraft and infrastructure at a Syrian military air base.

"The facts we have are conclusive" that the attack was planned and carried by Syrian government forces, Tillerson said, adding that the US was "quite confident of that" and describing it as "just the latest in a series of uses of chemical weapons by the Assad regime."

Lavrov countered, "It is perfectly obvious the subject is one we diverge on." He floated an alternate theory that "some of these stockpiles are being controlled by extremists," and added, "Russia is insisting on an objective investigation" and will protest if it does not take place.

Tillerson said he told the Russian leader that current relations between the two countries are at a "low point" … "There is a low level of trust between our two countries" … "The world’s two foremost nuclear owners cannot have this kind of relationship."

Lavrov said that the U.S. and Russia have agreed on the need for a United Nations probe of the Syrian chemical attack … an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the chemical attack and the U.S. response to "try and identify the culprits" … a step that could dial down the rhetoric between the two nations for now.

The two sides expressed their agreement over the need to defeat the Islamic State in the region. Lavrov said defeating the terrorist group is a more important priority than Assad remaining in power. Lavrov also that Putin could restore a military hotline with the U.S. if Washington focuses on fighting the Islamic State and other extremist groups.

Both officials addressed the question of allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. elections. Tillerson said there was no talk of additional sanctions in the wake of U.S. charges over the issue, but noted that it was an issue raised by Congress. "We are mindful of the seriousness of that particular interference in our elections and I am sure that Russia is mindful of it as well." Lavrov, echoing past denials of any Russian hacking or other interference in the electoral process, said Moscow hasn’t seen “a single fact, or even a hint at facts” proving the U.S. allegations of Russian interference.

President Trump launched 59 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles on Syria … Russian Warship arrives along Israel Coast … Is this the beginning of WW 3 ?

President Trump launched 59 Tomahawk E Cruise Missiles on Syria causing severe damage to Shayrat air base in Syria, southeast of Homs. Russia also uses this base and has invested heavily in it. U.S. intelligence believes that a deadly gas attack on Syrian civilians was carried out by government aircraft from the Shayrat air base.

Two U.S. destroyers, the USS Ross and USS Porter, launched the Tomahawk cruise missiles south of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and hit their targets at at 3:45 a.m. local time in Syria. Each destroyer carries about 35 Tomahawks. U.S. officials said there were up to 100 Russian military personnel present at the base when the missiles hit. The Russians were warned about an hour before the missiles hit the base, defense officials said.

The Tomahawk “E” or Echo version is the latest model and has two-way satellite communication allowing the missile to be reprogrammed in flight if needed. The missiles can carry 1,000-pound warheads.

The U.S. launched the cruise missiles in response to a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians, the first direct assault on Syria since the beginning of that country’s bloody civil war in 2011.

The U.S. began launching airstrikes in Syria in September 2014 under President Barack Obama as part of its coalition campaign against ISIS, but has only targeted the terrorist group and not Syrian government forces … until today under President Trump.

Russia’s Response: Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the US airstrikes on Syria, describing it as "an act of aggression against a sovereign state" that "dealt a serious blow to Russia-US relations," according to a Kremlin statement. Russia said it believed Syria had destroyed all of its chemical weapons and the US strikes were based on a "trumped-up pretext." The risk of a direct collision between the US and Russia in Syria had "significantly increased" since the US missile strike, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov added that it was "indisputable" that the US airstrike on Syria "was carried out for the benefit of ISIS and other terrorist organizations."

A Russian warship, likely loaded with the newest Russian Cruise Missiles, has entered the eastern Mediterranean. Its destination and target is unclear. 

Captain Rick: I wonder if this is the beginning of World War 3?  I think President Trump made a poor choice, buckling in to FAKE NEWS and the US Intelligence Machine, all of which I think are very corrupt. In the process President Trump is blowing a big chance to gain a friendship with a very intelligent person … President Vladimir Putin of Russia … a person I consider to be one of the most intelligent leaders of our world. As a huge supporter of President Trump, I am saddened by his actions, which cast him into the same war monger group that contains both U.S. Presidents Bush.  I hope that President Trump will recapture his own mind, like he presented during campaign season and stop bowing into FAKE NEWS and question the info he is receiving from the very corrupt U.S. Intelligence Machine.  

70 Dead in Syria from Chemical Poisoning … FAKE NEWS blames Russia and Syria’s Assad … how will President Trump respond?

ANJ Breaking News … At least 70 people, including many children, died Tuesday after suffering symptoms of chemical poisoning, including foaming at the mouth and suffocation.

Russia’s defense ministry is blaming a Syrian airstrike on a "terrorist" ammunition depot for the deaths of dozens of people in what has been described as a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria’s Idlib province.
According to a statement posted Wednesday on the Russian ministry’s Facebook page, the strike hit "workshops, which produced chemical warfare munitions" in the eastern outskirts of the Khan Sheikhun town.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s military denied using chemical weapons and blamed rebels for the carnage.

President Donald Trump, speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, said the suspected chemical attack against Syrian civilians "crossed a lot of lines for me" and changed the way he views Syria and its leader Bashar al-Assad.
He blamed the attack in part on what he described as "a great opportunity missed" on the part of former President Obama.

Captain Rick: I urge all, including President Trump, to exercise caution on drawing judgment. FAKE NEWS is blaming Russia. That is a travesty. FAKE NEWS is also blaming Assad and seems to want Assad out of power.
I caution that thought might cause another ‘rush to judgment’ similar to Saddam Hussein being removed from power in Iraq, which proved to be a monumental mistake … one of the biggest of modern history. It left a quagmire from which ISIS grew from within. 

Trump is challenging the whole CIA-media nexus

Captain Rick reblogs this outstanding journalism about President Trump taking on the CIA and Main Stream Media written by fellow WordPress blogger Jon Rappoport. Follow Atridim News Journal for journalism excellence!

Captain Rick of Atridim News Journal …among the first journalists to project Donald Trump as President of the U.S.

Captain Rick: It was shortly after Donald Trump announced his run for president that I knew in my heart he was going to go all the way. I sensed the strong movement among Americans who longed to ‘Make America Great Again’ way back when FAKE NEWS and the GOP were fast asleep, content with the political cancer in DC.

Unlike todays FAKE NEWS journalists who mostly communicate via social media … Captain Rick, a REAL NEWS journalist actually walked the streets and trails to talk face-to-face with real people to find out how they were thinking and feeling. That is why Captain Rick knew that a revolution was brewing in America. That revolution thrust Trump into the White House and shocked FAKE NEWS and the GOP. It is time for the GOP to learn from its mistakes and promote the election of candidates who support the Trump movement towards Making America Great Again.

This Atridim News Journal blog on WordPress is accompanied by its companion Atridim News Journal blog on Facebook. It was there in early 2016 that Captain Rick began publishing weekly projections of how the large field of presidential candidates ranked. Looking back, Captain Rick called all of the rankings with perfection, while FAKE NEWS got it all so wrong, week after week. Its all on record for the world to review on ANJ on Facebook. A window is provided in the left column that shows ANJ blog posts on Facebook. Helpful info links are presented below.

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